Easter Eggs

Divine 70% Dark Chocolate Easter Egg 55g

I've tried the Divine Dark Chocolate Mini eggs and the Divine 70% Dark Chocolate Hearts in the past and absolutely loved the both. So it was no surprise that I thought this 70% Dark Chocolate Easter Egg was going similarly fantastic.

The nice people at Divine Chocolate sent me this one before they're available in the shops so I don't know much about the pricing yet.

To some the egg may look uninspiring as its not all that big and doesn't "shout out" at people, but what it lacks in size, it makes up for in a purely delightful taste.

Divine are obviously conscious of the amount of packaging they use and so there's not going to be any plastic spacer to make it look gorgeous. However, the chocolate itself does the talking.

But when you do get it out of the box and unwrap the foil you'll see a wonderful small dark chocolate egg that has a fantastic aroma - it reminds me of the slight beachy aroma from the sand dunes behind them. Perhaps its the natural, clean, unadulterated aspect to the aroma? Having checked the available sources of information I can see that the cocao for this Easter egg comes from the Kuapo Kokoo plantation in Ghana which is pretty far from the sea so the flavour must just come from the natural ingredients used?

The flavours are beautiful too. Perhaps, they're not as direct as the 70% cocao would entail. It's more of a mild, almost delicate dark chocolate taste which is immensely pleasant. And to consider that they've managed to get such a well rounded, smooth flavour without the use of any artifical flavourings or preservatives (nor artificial flavourings) is a triumph in chocolate production.

But praise should also be given for the texture of the Easter egg. It's just as smooth as the taste. It lingers in your mouth and allows the complex flavours to come out slowly. It really is a great Easter egg!

Rating:

Taste: 90% - its rich, flavoursome, complex yet unpretentious - a delight

Texture: 75% - smooth, silky and each mouthful will leave you wanting more!

Appearance: 70% - it lets itself down on the outer appearance - but the environment is infinitely more important.

Nutritional Information: 80% - loads loads of information available including the energy/calories per egg, protein, carbohydrate, fat, fibre and sodium per 100g and per 55g egg

Packaging: 90% - all recyclable, and nothing unnecessary

Price: 80% - ~~I think it'll retail anywhere around £3.50~~ I've just heard back from Divine and they'll be around £3.00 - even better value!

Overall: 80.83% - a gorgeous Easter egg that not only satisfies your taste buds, but also your heart

Where To Buy The Divine 70% Dark Chocolate Easter Egg

Nutritional Information:

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Marks & Spencer Bubbly Bunny

I got this cute little Easter treat from Marks And Spencer for 49p I think it was and its fantastic value for money. After trying the Malteaster chocolate bunny I was fearing the worst - but thankfully it was wonderful.

The packaging may look decidedly average, the taste, however, was anything but. The wonderful thing about this chocolate bunny is that it tastes very much like a Cadbury's Wispa and has the same sort of bubbly interior.

Another great feature is that the chocolate is incredibly chewy. I don't know how they manage to do it, but the chocolate doesn't melt anywhere near as quickly as other chocolate, but seems to stick to your teeth and takes ages to disappear. It's certainly different.

There's a distinct nutty flavour to it that does last a good while and you'll find yourself nibbling off little bits as the chocolate is quite firm. Its a great cheap chocolate treat for kids. So if you ever find yourself going past M&S then pop in and take a look at their chocolate range!

Rating:

Taste: 65% - its pretty good for a cheap chocolate treat

Texture: 67% - its a strange one. Its crisp but chewy and very unusual

Appearance: 50% - mine came out damaged, and the packaging isn't too inspiring

Nutritional Information: 90% - its all there including typical nutritional values

Packaging: 70% - in terms of its environmental impact then its pretty good. But in terms of protecting the product it was poor.
Price: 80% - very good value for money

Overall: 70.3% - great if you're looking for something inexpensive to give to your children

Where To Buy The Marks & Spencer Bubbly Bunny

Marks And Spencer

Nutritional Information:

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Lindt Milk Chocolate Gold Bunny

I think Cat summed the Lindt Milk Chocolate Gold Bunny perfectly when she insisted that she didn't believe that "Lindt lives up to the hype". The little bunny looks gorgeous, But the flavours don't match the initial impression given by the packaging.

Yes it may have a pretty little red ribbon on it. It may also have a cute little bell to go with it. But the chocolate doesn't come up to the standards I'd like and expect, especially as I might be spending £3.50 of my hard-earned cash on it.

The Lindt Gold Bunny also looks great when you remove her clothes. Ok, that just sounds wrong, but you can't fault the interest factor. The shape is a wonderful detour from the usual egg-shaped Easter chocolate.

Another plus point is the thickness of the chocolate. It's considerably more substantial than the Mini Smarties Shakers Easter Egg that I reviewed yesterday. The issue is that you're getting more chocolate that just isn't all that nice!

The flavour is incredibly smokey. I don't know what could cause that, but its a flavour that I wouldn't wish to try again. I'm sorry guys, but the Lindt Gold Bunny isn't one that'd make me hop with joy.

Rating:

Taste: 20% - I really didn't like it

Texture: 65% - it was ok, but nothing special

Appearance: 85% - I did love it, but you could tell it was mass-produced.

Nutritional Information: 60% - there was some there, but difficult to read

Packaging: 70% - I'm sure that many would through the foil in the bin though

Price: 60% - poor value for money

Overall: 60% - I won't be trying one of these again!

Where To Buy The Lindt Milk Chocolate Gold Bunny

Chocolate Buttons - £3.50
Tesco - £3.95
Ocado - £3.95
Sweetstall - £2.99

Nutritional Information:

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Mini Smarties Shakers Easter Eggs

These Mini Smarties aren't worth the money. I'm not going to beat about the bush. The Smarties Easter Egg with a Mug decorating kit I reviewed last year certainly was, even the normal Smarties Easter egg was barely acceptable, and the Smarties Mini eggs absolutely delicious. But these mini shakers are just naff.

It may have cost 45p, but I'd like my money back. The egg itself is only about 50mm (2 inches) tall, with a thickness that ranges between 4mm and 5mm and you get about 15-18 very small smarties inside.

Its the taste of these that is the most dissapointing factor. They taste like cardboard. I'm not kidding you, they're deadful. I'd love to know what they're made of.

The actual taste of the mini egg shell itself is hardly better. It's sweet and devoid of any other taste. It's their typical naff stuff. If they just stuck to the bags of mini eggs I'd be very happy. But this is just dreadful. Opps, I've just finished it. I'm either hungry or they're not all that bad when you get going. I'd much rather have a Lindt Milk Chocolate Mini Easter Egg though.

Rating:

Taste: 40% - hoped for so much more

Texture: 55% - a very oily milk chocolate shell with Smarties devoid of any character

Appearance: 70% - they did look fab though

Nutritional Information: 70% - comprehensive, but too small

Packaging 90% - difficult to fault

Price: 60% - the price is good, the value isn't

Overall: 64.16% - save your money

Where To Buy The Smarties Mini Eggs

Chocolate Buttons - box of 6 for £2.75
Chocolate Buttons - box of 48 for £19.95 - wholesale and bulk offer

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Marks & Spencer Raspberry Dusted Chocolate Eggs

Whilst in my local Marks & Spencer getting one of their weekend Dine in For £10 things I thought I'd pop over to their chocolate aisle to see what they've got going on for Easter and Valentine's Day, I saw that they had these Raspberry Dusted Chocolate Eggs for only £1.99 so I thought I'd give them a go.

I've got to say, I've very disappointed by them. I love fruity chocolate. Hotel Chocolat do great ones with their Blueberry and http://www.easter-eggs.org.uk/2009/02/strawberry-sensation-egg-sandwich.html Egg sandwiches and their awesome Chocolate Puddles, but these chocolate eggs fall very far short.

The raspberry coating is mild and the milk chocolate inside is of poor quality. They're distinctly average. Personally I wish I could get my £1.99 back. I bought two of their Millionaire's puddings at the same time and they were infinitely more delicious.

I'm not going to do a big review here as I'm so disappointed. For the couple of quid you get 14 mini eggs that just aren't worth the money. Simply avoid them and buy the real thing in terms of the Charbonnel et Walker Bucks Fizz Truffles instead.

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