Last year The Co-operative surprised us all by winning the lovefood Easter egg taste test. Can they do it again?
This is our third year taste-testing Easter eggs. A line-up of 16 eggs proved overwhelming in 2013 (it had the majority of the office out for the count by lunchtime), so this year our team of tasters were only expected to try 12.
And those eggs were:
- The Co-op Popping Candy;
- Mars Bar;
- Milky Way;
- Aldi Milk Chocolate Flame;
- Waitrose Peppermint Dark Chocolate;
- Tesco Chokablok Eton Mess;
- M&S Decorated Milk Chocolate;
- Lidl Decorated Easter Hen;
- Sainsbury’s Eric the Elephant;
- Cadbury Freddo Faces;
- Asda Extra Special Lustre;
- Tesco Finest Butterfly.
The results
So without further ado, here are our results from worst performer to champion.
12th: Asda Extra Special Lustre Egg
A sparkly little number, with an explosion of edible purple pebbles and white chocolate curls in the middle. Pretty to look at, but the taste let it down. Comments included: “Purple bits are not crispy crunchy”; “nice but not exceptional”; “just too much going on”; “unpleasant texture and crunch”; “I’m not sure what those pink things are”. If you’re an 'eggsperimental' (sorry) kind of person, then perhaps you’d like it more than our office did.
Score: 54%
Price per 100g: £2.45
11th: Mars The Egg
This classic egg came wrapped in its iconic gold foil, and was complete with two Mars bars. The egg was noticeably smaller than the box. People noticed how “cheap” it tasted: “Nothing exceptional”; “slightly oily”; and “weird aftertaste like cardboard” were included in the comments, although someone did detect a “smooth creamy texture”. It was pretty darn cheap though, especially when compared to the 12th-placed Asda egg, which it only just beat.
Score: 54.5%
Price per 100g: 99p
10th: Waitrose Peppermint
The Waitrose Dark Chocolate Peppermint option was a Marmite egg: some welcomed the refreshing aftertaste, while others thought it out of place. Comments included: “Too minty, more like an Aero bar than an Easter Egg”; “like toothpaste – unacceptable”; “love mint chocolate but peppermint after taste is dull”; “pleasantly minty”.
Score: 59%
Price per 100g: £3.78
Joint 8th: Nestlé Milky Bar Egg and M&S Milk Chocolate
The Milky Bar egg is an absolute classic, and one we’ve all probably received for one Easter or another. It’s a very small egg, ideal for little children. Those who liked white chocolate took to it well, but others weren’t so pleased. Comments included: “Classic creamy white chocolate, yum”; “strong and a bit sickly”; “smooth”; “a bit plasticky”.
The M&S Decorated Milk Chocolate Egg, which was adorned with a beautiful feather design, received mixed comments too: “Looks expensive but funny aftertaste”; “subtle tattooed egg”; “very creamy and rich – tastes expensive”; “too sweet and sickly”; “slight coffee smoothness”; and “boring but a nice pattern.”
Despite scoring the exact same result, the M&S egg was £1.23 per 100g more expensive than the Milky Bar egg.
Milky Bar score: 59%
Milky Bar price per 100g: £2.66
M&S score: 59%
M&S price per 100g: £3.89
7th: Lidl Decorated Easter Hen
Lidl doesn’t do Easter eggs per se – instead, they do a range of chocolate hens and bunnies. Our Easter Hen was lovely to look at, and we thought it a good gift for someone who likes their Easter chocolate a bit different. Comments included: “Nice chocolate”; “smooth balanced sweetness and light”; “rich and slightly dark”; “fuller flavour but still bland”; “tastes a bit dull”.
Score: 59.5%
Price per 100g: £1.20
6th: The Co-op Popping Candy Egg
Another exciting egg with lots of fancy frills, including popping candy incorporated into the chocolate egg, and encrusted Smarties on the front. Comments included: “The Smarties overpower the traditional chocolate taste”; “weird crunch to this one”; “nice popping candy experience”; “great for kids”; “popping candy shouldn’t be in Easter eggs!”; “decorations are a bit tough to chew”; and “grainy texture”. Shame, considering Co-op's victory last year.
Score: 60%
Price per 100g: £3.13
5th: Aldi Milk Chocolate Flame Egg
This egg commands quite a presence, what with its reams of gold packaging and gold bow. It scored well in terms of taste, too. Comments included: “Not much depth of flavour”; “a moreish, deep taste”; “very smooth and creamy chocolate”; “tastes a bit orange-y”; “not too sweet”; and “not too sure about it”. An incredible performance, considering the price per 100g of this egg.
Score: 62%
Price per 100g: 85p
Joint 3rd: Sainsbury’s and Tesco Chokablok
Two eggs win the bronze medal this year. First of all, the cheapest of all our eggs: Sainsbury’s Eric the Elephant egg, which is just 75p per 100g. It’s an egg designed for kids, and comes complete with a bag of gummy sweets. Comments included: “Yum, fantastic full flavour – I could eat loads of it”; “bit sweet and cheap”; “best served ice cold”; and “a bit bitter but I like it”.
Scoring the exact same result was the Eton Mess egg from Tesco’s Chokablok range. It’s speckled white in appearance, with great big blobs of meringue and frozen raspberries embedded into the egg’s centre. Comments varied wildly and included: “Nicest of all the white chocolate eggs”; “assaulted by sickly raspberries”; “really horrible aftertaste”; “interesting berry bits”; “great floral taste”; “disgusting!”; and “I like the pink bits”. Bear in mind that the Sainsbury’s egg was 92p per 100g cheaper than the Tesco egg.
Sainsbury’s score: 63%
Sainsbury’s price per 100g: £2.66
Tesco score: 63%
Tesco price per 100g: £3.89
2nd: Tesco Finest Butterfly Egg
A pretty egg complete with sugar butterflies and golden mini eggs – but you have to pay £12 for the privilege of eating it. It scored really well with our taste testers, and comments included: “Lingering and lip-smacking chocolate”; “very nice – tastes expensive”; “good thickness” and “best of the milk chocolate eggs for me”. However, others found it to be “bland and basic” and “pretty average”.
Score: 65.5%
Price per 100g: £3.64
1st: Cadbury Freddo Faces
This cute Easter egg was also featured in our Top 10 Easter Eggs for 2014 article and basically consists of a standard Cadbury egg, with a bag of Freddo-shaped faces inside. Cadbury came second in last year’s taste test so it seems that a standard, trusted Cadbury egg will always compete with modern-day Easter eggs, no matter how many fancy frills the latter might have. It was also one of the cheaper eggs tested too.
Flattering comments included: “Nice thick chocolate”; “a sweet surprise”; “just right”; and “nice and smooth”. Although a few who preferred the fancier eggs thought it boring.
Score: 66%
Price per 100g: £1.04
Have you tried any of the above Easter eggs? Which one was your favourite? Talk to us in the comments box below – and have a very happy Easter.
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