The Easter eggs have been tumbling into local stores for weeks. Meanwhile, we’ve had one eye on the crazy, decadent chocolate concoctions that overseas social media stars have been testing and reviewing. Eggs as big as your face, filled with biscuit and caramel sauce, truffles and even tiramisu. The English, in particular, seem to have gone off the confectionery edge.
With that in mind, we scooped up a selection of Easter chocolate offerings available from big local retailers and did the ultimate test: we got two of the Currency gogos to weigh in. These two seasoned chocolate fanatics – Annastesia Ndlovu and Jenny Buitendach – are not known to mince their words. They also both admit to a lifetime of love for KitKat and Cadbury Whole Nut and have been buying Easter eggs for kids and grandkids for decades.
Our method was simple: the gogos (and some of our team) tasted 14 samples, blind. They rated them all on taste and price, and then we tallied up points for a top three and a couple of special mentions. We did not do marshmallow eggs, as the gogos said they don’t like them!
Here is what they tried, and how they rated each of the chocolates.
The winner
Sally Williams Milk Chocolate Easter Treats Bag (102g)
- Checkers: R74.99
- Clicks: R81.99
“These are so good. What’s in them? Marie Biscuits, or is it nougat? They’re not too sweet and sort of remind us of fridge tart.”
Second place
Astir Small Praline Chocolate Eggs (250g)
- Checkers: R109.99 but R99.99 if you have a Checkers Xtra Rewards card
“Oooooh, this is like Nutella! The nuts set off the sweetness. And the saving makes these a great deal.”
Third place
Astros Egg, Cadbury (100g)
- Pick n Pay: R69.99
- Checkers: R74.99
- Makro: R63
“Both the egg and Astros have a good taste but the filling isn’t very generous. This is a great one for the kids.”
Special mention one: for being a great local buy
Beyers Caramel Bear Egg (90g)
- Checkers: R69.99
- Pick n Pay: R69.99
“The chocolate isn’t as rich as Cadbury but it’s pretty tasty and the bear is delicious. This is a lot more filling than the Astros Egg.”
Special mention two: for being healthy-ish and decent tasting
Nova Choc-oh-late Guilt-Free Eggs (three small eggs, no grammage)
- Checkers: R69.99
“After all the sweet eggs, these first seemed tasteless but in a weirdly good way. We thought they were maybe dark chocolate, but considering these are ‘healthy’ they aren’t bad and a decent price.”
A note: we did explain mid-sampling that these don’t have added sugar and are lacto-vegetarian friendly.
The losers
Forage and Feast Hot Cross Bun Limited Edition Milk Chocolate Egg (70g)
- Checkers only: R99.99
“What is this? Cinnamon? It’s far too sweet and R100 – expensive and a no-go for littlies.”
Nestlé Milkybar Mini Eggs (80g)
- We got ours at Dischem but they seem to be out of stock; UK Emporium has them for R49.50
“I wouldn’t buy these – I’d rather just have a bar of white chocolate. Why are they so crunchy? Maybe kids might like these but it’s definitely a no from us.”
Everything else
Cadbury Creme Egg (40g)
- Dischem: R11.99
- Game: R14.99
“It’s a classic, sure, but sickly sweet, though weirdly the filling seems to balance that out a bit.”
Forage and Feast Decadent Chocolate Egg Selection (120g)
- Checkers only: R99.99
“The praline egg is divine, followed by the cookies and cream and then the salted caramel, which is cloying.”
Cadbury Dairy Milk Hot Cross Bun Milk Chocolate Slab (150g)
- Dischem: R34.99
- Checkers: R44.99
- Pick n Pay: R49.99
- Game: R42.99
“Is this cinnamon again? Geez, it’s sweet. Perhaps these companies need to accept that hot cross buns and chocolate just don’t work.”
A note from Jo: she loves the flavour combo.
Lindt Lindor Assorted Mini Chocolate Eggs (83g)
- Woolworths: R74.99
“The white ones are delicious – the rest are fine. This is definitely Lindt and it’s better value than those ridiculously priced bunnies that they’re selling. Have you seen that one costs R150 for a small hollow chocolate?!”
Baron Egg Slab (95g)
- The Crazy Store: R39.98
“This isn’t bad – it’s not too sweet or too rich.”
A note: Everyone was amazed that this is from The Crazy Store.
Foiled Hollow Milk Chocolate Egg (70g)
- Woolworths: R49.99
“Tastes okay – we were just expecting more with the nice packaging, maybe something exciting.”
FANTASTICAL™ Giant Multi-Coloured Eggs (6 x 9g)
- Woolworths: R29.99
“These are hard and hectic for our old teeth, but the kids will love them. The filling tastes like Turkish delight and this is hands-down the best packaging – like a carton of eggs, but mini.”
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