The tastiest Easter egg costs £1.69!

It's time for our annual Easter Egg blind taste test! We compare three cheap eggs with three seriously pricey ones to find out which egg tastes best...

With Easter just two weeks away, this week was the perfect time to carry out our annual Easter egg taste test – prompting much excitement in the lovemoney.com office.

This year we decided to compare three cheap eggs with three pricier eggs to assess whether the price tag of an Easter egg has a significant impact on how it tastes. Does a more expensive egg guarantee a tastier one?

It certainly wasn’t hard to hunt out volunteers for the big taste test. In fact, several of the lovemoney.com crew were champing at the bit to get stuck in - although most of them were rewarded with aching stomachs soon afterwards.

So let’s check out what our group of samplers thought about the array of eggs on offer.

The test

Each tester was asked to rate their particular egg in terms of look, and who they would give it to, as well as whether they thought the price tag was worth it.

After that, I conducted a blind taste test in which our testers were asked to rank the six eggs out of ten. Eggs were eaten in different order, to ensure that no egg had first-taster advantage.

Now of course, I am not trying to say that this is the most scientific experiment ever. There were only six tasters after all - but as it's Easter, we're having a bit of fun. You could have a similar experiment on Easter morning with your family, we'd highly recommend it!

The line-up

Unfortunately we couldn’t find an own brand Easter egg at Lidl, so we used an Easter bunny instead. This was the cheapest purchase, at 60p per 100g. Waitrose, meanwhile, was the most expensive at £5.20 per 100g.

So let’s see what our testers thought.

Lidl Bunny

Lidl came out top in our mince pie taste test at Christmas. So we thought it was vital that Lidl was included in the grand Easter egg taste test to see whether it could perform as well.

So what did John Fitzsimons make of the presentation?

John’s verdict: ‘Fun, colourful. A good looking rabbit for children or people who are young at heart.’

Suitable for: Rabbit lovers or animal lovers generally. Also good for kids.

Would you pay £1.19 for this bunny? ‘Definitely – it looks like a bargain.’

Blind taste test comments: Samplers had mixed opinions about this one. Some said it had an odd aftertaste, while one tester described it as ‘light, but not too sweet. Could keep munching all day’.

Overall position: This was the cheapest ‘egg’ in the competition at a mere £1.19, or just 60p per 100g. However, in our taste test, it failed to please our judges, and came in last. However, one taster -  lovemoney.com Editor Donna Werbner - really liked it. Luckily for her, there was lots left to eat at the end of the test...

Nestlé Smarties egg

The Nestlé Smarties egg was last year’s winner, so we thought it would be interesting to see whether it could pick up the prize two years running.

And it was  lovemoney.com Head of Consumer Finance, Ed Bowsher’s turn to assess this one.

Ed’s verdict: ‘It’s fun, lively, colourful and child-friendly. I also like the fact there is no plastic and hence easier to recycle. And it’s practical too! There’s a box inside in which you can hold the egg and Smarties. Well done Nestlé!’

Suitable for: Children, or adults who want a fairly simply egg.

Would you pay £2.08 for this egg? ‘Definitely!’

Blind taste test comments: Our tasters described this egg as ‘pretty average’, ‘very strong taste’, ‘chewy and cheap tasting’. However, one sampler said it was ‘sweet and creamy, very pleasant’.

Overall position: Despite topping the charts last year, this year the Nestlé egg came in fourth. But despite its disappointing performance, if you’re looking for a bargain, Tesco is currently offering this egg for better than half price at just 97p!

Cadbury’s Buttons egg

Everyone loves Cadbury’s and this egg was reviewed by lovemoney.com Editor, Donna Werbner.

Donna’s verdict: ‘Cheap and childish’.

Suitable for: Children.

Would you pay £1.69 for this egg? Yes.

Blind taste test comments: This egg was met with mixed reactions. Some of our samplers correctly guessed it was Cadbury’s and described it as a ‘good solid egg’, ‘perfection’ and ‘yum’. However, others said it was ‘quite plain’ and had a ‘rather unpleasant taste and aftertaste’.

Overall position: Overall, this egg won over our testers, and was voted into the number one spot. It seems you just can’t beat the classic taste of Cadbury’s. And priced at just £1.69, it works out to be the second cheapest egg out of the six we tested. Of course, this egg was the smallest, but even so, per 100g, it still works out to be the third cheapest egg at £1.61 per 100g.

Thorntons Continental egg with 12 chocolates

I’m rather partial to the odd bit of Thorntons myself, and it was PR assistant Grace Carroll who sampled this one.

Grace’s verdict: ‘The presentation lends luxurious qualities to the egg. Gold and purple are effectively incorporated to connote an expensive, richly made, quality egg.’

Suitable for: ‘People with money! Upper class egg eaters!’

Would you pay £10.50 for this egg? No.

Blind taste test comments: Again, this egg earned itself a mixed bag of responses. Comments included, ‘That really is lovely’ and ‘very nice’. But other tasters disagreed, commenting, ‘artificial taste’, ‘fairly basic’, and ‘cheap’ – which at £10.50, it certainly wasn’t.

Overall position: Despite some negative comments, the Thorntons egg scored highly, and took second place. However, its price tag of £10.50 is certainly likely to put some people off.

That said, Thorntons is offering some great deals on a selection of other eggs, and you can pick up a 165g milk chocolate egg for a much more feasible £3.50 – what’s more, you can have this egg iced with a personal message for no extra charge. And if you buy two eggs, you’ll get a third free!

Additionally, Thorntons has an Easter offer for 15% off your total online order if you enter EV10 at the checkout

M&S milk chocolate half egg with 6 mini eggs

It was Publishing Director, Emma Davies’ turn to tackle this one!

Emma’s verdict: ‘Looks a bit more upmarket than the average egg – but also makes me question where the other half egg is. Nice colours, well wrapped.’

Suitable for: ‘Mum, aunty, older girl child – definitely for a lady’.

Would you pay £9.99 for this egg? ‘No. Doesn’t seem enough egg for that amount’.

Blind taste test comments: Our tasters couldn’t seem to agree on this one either. One sampler simply said it was ‘yuck. Did not enjoy it at all’, and another said it was ‘not particularly enjoyable.’ However, another tester said it was ‘super and sophisticated!’

Overall position: Overall, the M&S egg scored pretty highly, and as a result it came in third place. Again, however, this is a pricey egg at £9.99, but M&S is offering much more reasonable deals on a range of chocolate Easter characters which are worth investigating.

Waitrose Seriously Chocolatey Milk Chocolate egg

Personal Finance Writer Jane Baker took up the challenge of examining the Waitrose offering. And this little egg came in a gorgeous keepsake box.

Jane’s verdict: ‘Sophisticated. Nice colours and nicely packed.' But despite its polka dots, Jane didn't think the egg itself was as attractive.

Suitable for: ‘Mums, sisters, wives, girlfriends’.

Would you pay £12.99 for this egg? ‘It does look very nice but £13 is still very pricey for an Easter egg.’

Blind taste test comments: This egg didn’t go down terribly well with our samplers, despite the price tag. Comments included ‘Looks like it’s going to be upmarket, but in reality it’s quite bland’, ‘nothing amazing’ and ‘a bit strange’.

Overall position: As the most expensive egg in the taste test, this Waitrose number came in second from last – just a point and a half in front of Lidl.

The outcome

Interestingly, this just goes to show that the more you pay for an Easter egg doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be getting a tastier one! And if you do a blind tasting, a cheap Cadbury’s egg can prove far more popular than an over-priced elegant egg from Waitrose!

Here’s a quick reminder of how each egg rated in terms of taste:

Happy Easter!

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