The 2012 Easter egg taste test

Ten Easter eggs, two chocolate bunnies, three hours of blind taste testing, and one winner. the results of the 2012 lovefood Easter Egg taste test are in.

Easter is nearly here, so we sacrificed our ever-expanding waistlines to find out which chocolate egg tastes best, so you won’t be disappointed. Each egg was meticulously assessed by 14 people and marked out of 10 for taste. We have converted the scores into percentages.

So here we go, starting from the bottom…

Under 50%

Green & Blacks milk chocolate egg

Tasting notes: Oh dear. Sorry G&B, but your egg came last in our taste test. One of our tasters thought the egg might be vegan, and another wrote: “Something is wrong with this”. It seems Green & Blacks is a little too bitter, and not sweet enough for our tastes.

Appearance: Luxurious and stylish upon initial examination. But some found the ‘unwrap and indulge’ wording a bit over the top, and the window was so small that you could only see blue foil.

Best for: An older relative, or someone who appreciates the fact that it’s Fairtrade chocolate.

Price: £6.59

La Maison milk chocolate egg

Tasting notes: This one polarised opinion to a degree, although ultimately it got more lower marks than high ones. One unhappy bunny gave it 1/10, claiming that it “tasted of nothing”. Harsh words. But different strokes for different folks – another taster give it a whopping 9/10, praising its intense taste.

Appearance: An invigorating lime green box – we like it. And the egg comes au naturale, dressed only in a pretty red and green bow. Who needs foil?

Best for: A lover, to show you care. It’s pretty pricey, and a designer egg at that.

Price: £23

KitKat Chunky egg

Tasting notes: “Sticky in the mouth”, “tastes cheap” and “is this expired?” were but a few of the many unflattering comments this egg received. Perhaps Nestle is past its best?

Appearance: Not the classiest box on the shelf. Plus there’s no real Easter reference (eg a cute chick, or a hopping bunny) on the packaging. But to be fair, you do get a mug with it - you can never have too many mugs.

Best for: Someone who doesn’t have enough mugs.

Aldi Choceur Flame milk chocolate flame egg

Tasting notes: Our first big fat zero out of 10. It was deemed overly sweet, and some said that they could taste artificial sweeteners in the chocolate. But for £2.99, we didn’t expect miracles.

Appearance: Deceivingly high end and expensive. We like the gold.

Best for: Adults and those who like gold.

Price: £2.99

7th place: Carluccio’s Uovo Decorato white chocolate egg

Tasting notes: Those who like white chocolate loved the thick, creamy Carluccio egg; but our taste-testers generally preferred milk, hence the 53% score. One white choccie fan said: “Marvellous compared to the milk chocolate offerings.”

Appearance: Classy, modern and we like the fact that there wasn’t tonnes of packaging.

Best for: White chocolate lovers (although it does come in milk and dark, too).

Price: £17.95

Joint 6th place: Lindt bunny and Thorntons Banoffee pie egg

Lindt bunny

Tasting notes: There's a “really nice texture and flavour” to that little bunny, and most agreed that it wasn’t too sweet. But opinions did differ drastically – one reviewer described the taste as “lardy”. And that reviewer was none other than lovefood editor Andrew Webb. 58% overall.

Appearance: Who couldn’t melt at the sight of that golden bunny, and the sound of its golden bell?

Best for: Young children and people who like cute things.

Price: £2 for a 100g bunny

Thorntons Banoffee Pie egg

Tasting notes: If you like banoffee pie, you’ll like this egg. Simples. Hence why comments ranged from a 0/10 “no way!” to a 9/10 “very impressed”.

Appearance: If Jackson Pollock were an Easter egg, he’d be a Thorntons one. Shards of dried banana chips, graffiti white chocolate and chewy toffee pieces all look great on the front.

Best for: Those who like their eggs a little crazy.

Price: £14.99

5th place: Dairy Milk Medal Egg

Tasting notes: A solid 60% for Dairy Milk. It’s a bar we’ve all grown to love. One taste-tester gave it 9/10 but another reviewer wrote: “It’s just not Dairy Milk!” Some thought it too sweet, though.

Appearance: The usual purple-ness, with a touch of Olympics.

Best for: Those who like their Cadbury and/or want to feel patriotic.

Price: £3.49

4th place: Lidl bunny

Tasting notes: Stop the press: the Lidl bunny beat the Lindt bunny! Editor Andrew, who prides himself on his palate, gave it a whopping 8/10 (he gave the Lindt bunny 3/10), describing the taste as “fizzy and fruity”. 61% overall.

Appearance: The design said "cheap but fun" to our testers.

Best for: Children. They’ll love the cute bunny smile, and the flowers around the bottom.

Price: £1.79 (and it’s much bigger than the Lindt bunny).

Bronze: Tesco Finest plain chocolate egg with peppermint oil

Tasting notes: Dark chocolate and mint: what a beautiful combination. “Good crunch in the chocolate and a nice sharp kick of peppermint” pretty much sums it up. 62% overall.

Appearance: Fairly bog standard appearance, but on the classier side of normal. We like the green peppermint detail on the front.

Best for: A work colleague or someone important you want to impress. It looks a little corporate for friends and family.

Price: £3, or 2 for £5

Silver: ASDA giant egg

Tasting notes: The supermarket hero of 2012. The tasters liked how rich the chocolate was, and a couple said that is was “the best so far”. However, it did also get a 4/10 too, showing you can't please everyone! But a strong 63% overall.

Appearance: MASSIVE. 1kg in weight!

Best for: A family. Crack it open and share together on Easter Sunday morning.

Price: £10

Gold: Galaxy All About Indulgence

Tasting notes: Who’d have thought it? Forget posh chocs; it’s all about good ol’ Galaxy this year. “Total chocolate”, “creamy and dreamy” and “perfect” were among the comments. It still only gets 64% though as some thought it was too thick.