When it comes to Easter eggs, they are very rarely good value for money. Cardboard boxes, plastic packaging and fancy foil paper all add to the cost and while a bar of Dairy Milk will cost you about 2c per gram of chocolate, you could be looking at up to 8c per gram of chocolate for some of the higher-end chocolate Easter eggs.

So if you are going to spend your hard-earned cash on an egg, you want to make sure you are getting the best chocolate on the shelf.

This year Irish Country Living had over 30 tasters involved in our Easter egg blind taste test. The packaging was stripped away, no one could be swayed by evidence of their favourite brand. We even kept it strictly to a milk chocolate egg.

No fancy editions – such as nuts, brownie pieces or even fancy berries – were in the mix. This was all about the milk chocolate and the chocolate alone.

1. Cadbury Dairy Milk Easter Egg (331g, €6 Tesco)

Irish Country Living has been running the Easter egg taste test for the past few years and although Cadbury always fared well, this is the first year it’s taken the top prize. Perhaps it’s the fact that it brings back lovely childhood memories, maybe it was the delicate sweetness that we can’t get enough of – but it was the very clear winner. People commented that it was the real deal, with a nice bite and a sweetness that wasn’t overpowering. The creaminess of the chocolate was the real winning factor and one taster even commented that it was on par with the finest Italian chocolate.

2. Butlers Milk Chocolate Easter Egg (395g, €14.95)

Coming in at second place was Butlers. On first glance, testers said it didn’t look too appetising, that it didn’t have the lovely shine evident in other eggs.

However, once people had a taste, their opinion changed fast. It was chunky with a good bite and a nice, smooth finish. Others commented that it was “melt in your mouth” with a rich taste that was well balanced. Again, the emphasis on creaminess helped it earn its spot in second place.

3. Marks & Spencer Shimmered Hollow Milk Chocolate Eggs (€12)

The Marks & Spencer Shimmered Hollow Milk Chocolate Eggs divided opinions right down the middle, more so than any other egg tested over the years.

This year, Marks & Spencer have a really attractive range of four eggs. These were all broken up like the others, so tasters couldn’t see how they were presented.

However, visually people were interested right from the start due to their powdery pink and blue appearance.

Upon tasting, our tasters either had a love or hate relationship. For some, it came in top place with comments such as they “could taste this was high-end chocolate”.

Others said they detected a little saltiness, making it all the more interesting. It consecutively scored top place with six tasters. For others, though, it was deemed to be their least favourite chocolate stating it was peculiar and extremely sweet, that it didn’t even taste like chocolate. Opinions came right down the middle on this egg.

4. Lily O’Brien’s Desserts Collection Egg (345g, €15)

Coming in just one point behind Marks & Spencer was Lily O’Brien’s. There were comments that it was nice and light. In fact, there were very few negative comments, and it wasn’t deemed a bad egg (pardon the pun). It appears it was simply up against some very strong players that tasters took an instant liking to.

5. Galaxy Minstrels Egg (262g, €6 Super Valu)

Coming in last was the Galaxy egg. Bland, tasteless, boring and cheap tasting were the comments expressed by many. Not one taster voted it their top chocolate – while nearly one third of the tasters voted it as their least favourite. You have been warned.

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