Happy new year biscuit lovers. We arrived in this office a couple of weeks ago to find new editorial staff member Johann bucking for early promotion...here's what he brought in for us to sample today;
The Griffins sampler includes a variety of "favourites" from the well established Griffins range;
Krispie
Pink Wafer
Toffee Pops (Original)
Cookie Bear Chocolate Chip Cookies (more on the cookies demoniator later)
Cookie Bear Hundreds and Thousands
Choc Thins
Dark Chocolate Wheatens
Butter Shortbread
Chit Chat
The pack claims that the Sampler contains "New Zealand's Favourite Biscuits", and I thought that this year, we should be focussing on what really are New Zealand's favourite biscuits, and maybe eventually recommend some new combinations for the Sampler. I mean, I'm not sure why Gingernuts are missing from the pack...perhaps the contrast in flavour is simply too great. I'm also disappointed that Chocolate Wheatens are included instead of Chocolate Digestives. Although that might be a personal thing, as I prefer the texture of a digestive, it might be because the Wheaten is a perfect size for the pack.
Is Griffins skimping on favourites for packaging/price purposes? Wouldn't they make enough money out of the standard packs of biscuits anyway to not care about this issue? Surely the Sampler should be a flagship product - something that displays the very best of what the company makes, and perhaps it should be presented that way. As much as it makes for a good present, for the average biscuit eater, this would be probably the most impractical thing you can buy. For one thing, the space it would take up in the average pantry is unbelievable!
Overall the most popular biscuit in the pack was the Pink Wafer, which arguably isn't even a proper biscuit. I guess people dont' see these very often. Another favourite was the hundreds and thousands. Delicious as they are, I still don't get why we're attracted to things that are coloured completely different to what is usually considered to be an "edible" colour.
The least favourite biscuit of the pack was the chocolate wheaten. Yeah, who cares right?
The watershed moment came when we were sampling the Krispies. These are popular biscuits that taste like baked cocunut. Delicious! But the revelation came when Andrew got out a tub of smooth peanut butter. Sandwhiching the peanut butter between two Krispies is probably the most delicious thing you can achieve with the sampler - believe us. Try it now.
I can't comment on price because Johann is out of the office today, but I'll let you guys know with a follow up post later, but overall I think the Sampler isn't so great for the average biscuit eater. It went down a treat in the office as people had a choice, but for an every day purchase, just stick with what you know.
It's interesting to hear that the Chocolate Wheaten was the least favourite. Was there a reason behind this? Did the dark chocolate have anything to do with this?
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on the pink wafer not being a biscuit. It's primarily ingredient, I believe, is air.
I think Hundreds and Thousands are so high on the list because it's nostalgic. There is a very large mental component to what can often be described as a comfort food.