The best milk chocolate Easter eggs and animals of 2017
We've tasted this year's selection of big name milk chocolate Easter eggs and animals. But who came out on top?
With Easter fast approaching, it was time for the annual loveFOOD blind taste test of the milk chocolate Easter eggs and animals on offer from the big supermarkets and food retailers.
Our panel munched through samples of 11 chocolate creations to find this year's champion.
Read on to find out who triumphed and let us know what you think.
11th place: Waitrose (average score 4.3 out of 10) available for £10
The Waitrose 1 milk chocolate 40% cocoa Easter egg divided opinion this year. Unfortunately, with an average score of under 5, it wasn’t the most popular of eggs, but the scores were still varied. One taster gave it 8 out of 10 and said it was ‘rich’, and another volunteer also marked it 8 out of 10 and said it was ‘so different to the others – started out salty and then bitter, but I liked it’. We think the other scores were lower because the egg was richer than the rest.
Some of the other scores were much lower as one taster marked it 3 out of 10 and said ‘Aargh! It tastes like uncooked cocoa!’ and another taster gave it 3 out of 10, saying it was ‘bitter’. This egg is obviously for the richer chocolate lovers out there.
10th place: Aldi Dairy fine Easter egg (average score 5.1 out of 10) available for just 75p
Aldi’s Dairy Fine Easter egg scored around half marks with just a few exceptions. One taster picked up on citrus undertones, marking it 8 out of 10 and said ‘It’s a bit lemony/orangey. Very sweet,’ but this taster was the only person to think that.
Whereas another taster gave it 4 out of 10 and said it was ‘too sweet.’ Looking at mid-range scores again one taster gave it 6 out of 10 and said it was plain, but sweet and satisfying. But one taster was unimpressed with the egg, giving it 3 out of 10 and said ‘It’s chalky. Yuck!’
Image credit: Morrisons
9th place: Morrisons Sparkles unicorn (average 5.3 out of 10) available for £4
Morrisons' Sparkles unicorn Easter treat is definitely a cutie, and we’re sure kids would love to receive one. But the scores for its taste were very varied. One taster gave it 7 out of 10 and said it was ‘quite smooth’, but another taster gave it a low score of 2 out of 10 and said it was ‘tasteless’. One taster marked it 8 out of 10 and said ‘It’s not too milky, quite sweet’.
8th place: Lidl rabbit (average score 5.6 out of 10) available for 79p
Most of the scores for the Lidl rabbit were 6s and 7s, but there were some low scores. One taster marked it 2 out of 10 and said it ‘tastes cheap’ and another taster gave it 1 out of 10 and said it was ‘too sweet, and tastes artificial’. But many tasters disagreed, as one gave it 7 out of 10 and said they could ‘taste a nutty flavour’ and another taster also marked it 7 out of 10 and said ‘it’s nice for plain milk chocolate’.
Image credit: Tesco
Joint 5th place: Tesco’s Doug the Dinosaur (average score 5.8 out of 10) available for £3.50
In the middle of the board we have three different Easter treats. Tesco’s Doug the Dinosaur mainly got 6s out of 10. One taster said it was a ‘bit too milky’ whereas another remarked that it’s ‘not the best chocolate, but pretty’. Another very cute option to pick for the kids.
Joint 5th place: Sainsbury’s milk chocolate egg (average score 5.8 out of 10) available for 80p
Similar to Doug the Dinosaur, Sainsbury’s Easter egg was scored above average in this year’s taste test. The bonus with this egg is that you get a bag of rainbow buttons too. One taster gave it 5 out of 10 and said there was a ‘weird aftertaste’.
Another taster picked up on the aftertaste and claimed it was ‘vegetable', giving it 4 out of 10. Whereas in comparison, one taster gave it 8 out of 10 and said it was ‘nice and milky’, and another taster gave it 10 out of 10, and that in itself is an accolade.
Image credit: Co-op
Joint 5th place: Co-op Fried Egg Easter egg (average score 5.8 out of 10) available for £5
Co-op’s hand decorated egg is made with Belgian chocolate, is FairTrade and a bit of an optical illusion on first glance. The scores were mostly around the middle of the board. One taster gave it 8 out of 10, saying that they ‘love the design and flavour’ and another taster marked it 6 out of 10 and said ‘it’s OK’. But on the other hand, one taster gave it 4 out of 10 and said it had ‘no real flavour’.
4th place: Hotel Chocolat mellow 40% milk egg (average score 6.1 out of 10) available for £10
As we make our way into the final four, you’ll see that the race was very close. In fourth place, we have Hotel Chocolat’s mellow 40% milk egg. And if you like a little extra chocolate, this egg also come with six molten caramel bunnies.
One taster gave it 9 out of 10 and said ‘this was the best!’ and another taster gave it 8 out of 10 and said it had ‘nice thickness and good flavour’. Whereas in comparison one taster gave it 5 out of 10 and said it was ‘non-descript’, and another taster agreed, giving it 5 out of 10 and said it was ‘bland, and nothing exciting’.
Image credit: Asda
Joint 2nd place: Asda Rabbit Hutch (average score 6.3 out of 10) available for £4
As we make our way to the top of the board, we have two Easter treats sharing the silver medal. Asda’s Rabbit Hutch is absolutely adorable! Visually, this was my favourite egg, and the fact it came with a white chocolate bunny to accompany it was a great addition.
One taster gave it 7 out of 10 and said it had a ‘lovely texture’, and another taster agreed, marking it 9 out of 10 and said it was ‘really thick, I love the texture’. But one taster did not like this egg, scoring it 2 out of 10 and saying ‘It’s gross, tastes cheap’.
Joint 2nd place: Thornton’s Continental egg (average score 6.3 out of 10) available for £10
As you can see from the scores, there wasn’t much to choose between the top three. Thornton’s Continental scored some high numbers, which is why it’s firmly positioned in joint second. One taster gave it 8 out of 10 and said ‘It’s lovely, creamy, tastes good’, and another marked it 8.5 out of 10, saying it was ‘quite nice, with an extra bitter taste’.
And if you’re looking for something that isn’t too over-powering, this egg might be the one to choose, as another taster also gave it 8 out of 10 and said it was ‘creamy, but not too sweet’. But, of course, everyone’s palate is different, and there were some lower scores too including one 5 out of 10 and another taster giving it 4 out of 10. But the high scores outweighed the low for Thornton’s this time around.
Image credit: Marks and Spencer
1st place: M&S Alfie Bunny (average score 6.4 out of 10) available for £6
And this year’s milk chocolate Easter champion is M&S's Alfie Bunny. As you would expect for first place, there were a lot of positive reviews. One taster gave it 8 out of 10 and said it was ‘very good, nice and creamy’ and another taster marked it 9 out of 10 and said it was 'lovely’.
But with an average score of 6.4, there were of course some lower scores from our tasters. One taster gave it 5 out of 10 and said it was ‘very sweet’, and another taster marked it 6 out of 10 and said it was ‘OK, but not great tasting’.
Whatever your choice of chocolate, have a cracking Easter everyone!
Now take a look at our Luxury Easter egg taste test.
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