Easter egg season is upon us. Tear off the foil wrapping and dismantle that hollow chocolate shell. But how much is that chocolate feast really costing you?

You’re probably well aware that some of the money you pay for your Easter egg goes towards the packaging, but do you know just how much?

The cost of packaging

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Irish Country Living hit the shops to find out how much we’re paying on eggs-travagent packaging rather than flavour.

We headed straight in the direction of the Cadbury’s Creme Egg Easter egg. The impressive package contained a large egg and six Creme Eggs, costing €16 in Dunnes Stores. However, we spotted a six-pack of Creme Eggs on their own for €3.

This means that the Easter egg and packaging alone account for €13. Delving further into the cost, we found that, gram for gram, the chocolate in the six-pack costs 1.2c per gram. However, that impressive Easter egg costs 3c per gram of chocolate, a massive mark-up of 150%.

This wasn’t the only egg in our comparison. While the Maltesers Easter egg, complete with four mini bars, costs €11, we found you could buy one of the bars on their own for 59c. Again, breaking it down, you’re paying 3.5c per gram of chocolate in your Easter egg package, compared to just 2c per gram in your bar, making the Easter egg 75% more expensive.

Smaller eggs are better value

That being said, for many people Easter simply isn’t Easter without that hollow shell of chocolate and a bar of Dairy Milk. So if you’re looking for the best value, opt for a smaller egg. A huge selection of miniature eggs were found on special offer in Dunnes Stores, Tesco and SuperValu.

In SuperValu, we found that the Creme Egg medium egg (177g) costs €3, or you can opt for the impressive special offer of three eggs for €5. That means that at 1.6c per gram of chocolate, these medium-sized eggs are far better value than the large ones. In fact, when you take the special offer into account, it works out at 0.9c per gram, which is even better value than buying the six-pack of Creme Eggs – and you still get the egg effect.

The wow effect

If you don’t care about the price and your Easter egg is a treat you’re not willing to give up, then look to the premium brands which are a little more expensive than the likes of Cadbury and Nestlé but really have a wow effect.

In our Irish Country Living taste test, Lily O’Brien’s Uglies Easter egg received top points. This chocolatier has a selection of eggs with a difference, with flavours ranging from zesty orange (€10), to toffee caramel crunch and nutty shortcake biscuit (€13), although it is worth noting that these are more medium-sized eggs than large eggs.

Similarly, Thorntons and Green and Black’s delve into the dark chocolate arena. However, one of the most impressive eggs on the market this year is from the Tesco Finest range. Their medley of Belgian chocolate Easter eggs was voted number one amongst a taste test of 500 eggs in the UK.

In one word, this egg is luxurious. Presented in a wooden case, it is five eggs in one, with some incredible flavour combinations including milk chocolate studded with hazelnut, dark chocolate with butterscotch, white chocolate with tangy raspberry, intense dark chocolate and milk chocolate with roasted coconut nibs. Best of all, this egg, which is selling off the shelves in selected supermarkets both here and in the UK, is actually made by Lir Chocolates in Navan.

Word is that the Irish chocolate maker can barely make enough of the eggs, the demand is so high. It is expensive at €30, but really has that wow effect.

What’s the best Easter egg on the market? We taste tested four of the most popular eggs in Irish Country Living’s HQ.

Lily O’Brien’s Uglies Easter egg (230g @ €8.99)

79 points

Nobody in our Irish Country Living taste test knew this chocolate was Lily O’Brien’s, but many were in agreement that there was something very special about it. Although all our Easter eggs were milk chocolate, this one also had specks of cookie pieces throughout, which gave it a crunch and that extra wow factor. However, even without the crunch, the chocolate stood up on its own, with many saying it was light but luxurious. This was the first egg to disappear, but it’s worth noting it was smaller than the rest.

Cadbury’s Caramel Easter egg (316g @ €13.22)

63 points

Coming in with 63 points was the Cadbury’s Caramel Easter egg. For many, the Cadbury’s chocolate was easy to identify and this familiarity is what our testers loved. It was described as milky and smooth. However, those that didn’t like it complained that it was sickly sweet.

Butlers Milk Chocolate egg

(325g @ €11)

60 points

With 60 points, the Butlers chocolate came in third place. It was described as lovely and rich with a weightier, chunkier feel to the chocolate. However, it just didn’t get the taste buds going the way the other two brands did. Some guessed it was a premium brand, but not all.

Galaxy Easter Pleasure

(319g @ €9.47)

48 points

Many people actually thought that the Butlers chocolate tasted like the Galaxy egg. However, it only got 48 points in comparison as it was deemed to be very heavy, tasting that bit cheaper. Many also didn’t like the colour, saying that it looked grey rather than a rich chocolate colour. However,those that liked it though, said they thought it was smooth and melted beautifully in their mouth.