The best value Easter Eggs in 2016
UK Money Bloggers partnered up with cashback sites Quidco and CheckoutSmart this week to test a dozen Easter Eggs, all in a bid to find you the best value choctastic treat.
Eight top money saving and personal finance bloggers were selfless enough to put themselves through bowls and bowls and bowls of chocolate so you can be sure you’re buying a decent Easter Egg for your kids (yeah, you keep telling yourselves it’s not for you…).
The first round consisted of a blind taste test with individual scores out of five. Then the prices and extras were revealed and the eggs were scored again for value for money.
There were 16 judges in total. Emma (From Aldi to Harrods), Lotty (Lotty Earns), Anita (Mrs Bargain Hunter), Andy (Be Clever With Your Cash), Lynn (Mrs Mummy Penny), Lisa (Unicorn Daydreams), Leanne (Broke in the Big Smoke) and Sara (Debt Camel) represented UK Money Bloggers, with the teams from Quidco and CheckoutSmart as well as journalists from Telegraph Money and The Daily Mirror rounding out the panel.
Here’s what we found:
Mars is top for taste and value
The “Mars and Friends” egg (the friends being two full size Mars bars) was the clear winner – voted the top buy in terms of both taste and value for money. Everyone rated it above three out of five on taste, giving it an average score of four.
Half a point behind was the Asda Extra Special Belgian Chocolate Egg, second in both lists. Both the Mars and Asda eggs were liked for their thickness and creaminess, and of course tasted great too.
The cheapest and most expensive rated poor value for money
Bottom of the taste pile – and proof something cheap doesn’t make it worth buying – was Lidl’s Favorina egg. It was only beaten to the bottom of the value list by very expensive Divine and Heston by Waitrose offerings, rated very poor value for money despite doing well in the taste tests.
There were a few big surprises too. Dairy Milk, Lindt and Thorntons all appeared in the bottom five for taste. Without the branding telling us what we were eating it seems these popular makes weren’t up to the standard we expect.
Full scores are below.
Scroll to the bottom for a chance to win some Hotel Chocolate goodies!
Which mini egg is best?
We also held a mini-taste test for the mini eggs. Bloggers Emma M (Coupon Queen), Emma B (Emma and 3) and Lesley (Trifty Lesley) got their friends and family involved to find the best of the smaller bunch.
Best for value were the Cadbury Mini Eggs (4/5), though just a fraction behind were the more expensive Lindt Lindor mini eggs (3.8/5). Galaxy Golden eggs were also thought a decent buy (3.5/5).
Taste wise, Tesco’s Mini soft centre chicks came were not well liked, but as the cheapest of the bunch they make a low-cost option for the not too fussy.
Full results of the Quidco/UK Money Bloggers Easter Egg taste test
Here’s the egg-by-egg list, ranked by our value for money scores. We’ve also sourced the cheapest place for you to buy them!
Mars Bar Easter Egg
280g. £3 at Sainsburys, £1.07 per 100g
Taste: 4/5
Value for money: 4.1/5
Asda Extra Special Belgian Chocolate Egg
100g, £2 at Asda, £2 per 100g
Taste: 3.6/5
Value for money: 3.25/5
Kinnerton Thomas and Friends Bumper pack
100g, 80p at Asda, £1.25 per 100g
Taste: 3/5
Value for money: 3.25/5
Tesco Easter Egg Hunt box
350g, £5 at Tesco, £1.30 per 100g
Taste: 3/5
Value for money: 3.1/5
Dairy Milk Buttons Easter Egg
128g, £1 at Asda and Morrisons, £0.78 per 100g
Taste: 2.9/5
Value for money: 3.1/5
Asda Free From Easter Egg
115g, £3 at Asda, £2.61 per 100g
Taste: 2.9/5
Value for money: 2.8/5
Lindor Lindt Easter Egg
215g, £6 at Asda, £2.79 per 100g
Taste: 3/5
Value for money: 2.7/5
Thorntons Classic Milk Chocolate Egg
220g, £1.82 at Waitrose and Ocado, £1.82 per 100g
Taste: 2.9/5
Value for money: 2.6/5
Moo Free Bunnycomb Egg
100g, £7 for two at Waitrose, £3.50 per 100g
Taste: 3.2/5
Value for money: 2.6/5
Lidl Favorina Easter Egg
80g, £0.79 at Lidl, £0.99 per 100g
Taste: 1.9/5
Value for money: 2.4/5
Heston by Waitrose Holden Egg
365g, £20 at Waitrose and Ocado, £5.48 per 100g
Taste: 3.2/5
Value for money: 1.9/5
Divine Fairtrade Milk Chocolate Egg
55g, £3 at Ocado, £5.45 per 100g
Taste: 3.4/5
Value for money: 1.8/5
