A vegan-friendly Easter treat made by an artisan chocolate company based in Norfolk has been crowned the tastiest in the UK, beating conventional products from supermarkets and specialist rivals.
Booja-Booja’s hazelnut crunch chocolate truffles – encased in a hand-painted egg-shaped box – nabbed the overall top score in a “blind” taste test of 142 Easter eggs and chocolates carried out by the Good Housekeeping Institute.
The gluten-, dairy- and soya-free truffles – which are made of organic chocolate and suitable for vegans, like all the company’s products – cost £24.95 and achieved a whopping 89/100, thanks to their “smooth truffle filling”.
Hot on Booja-Booja’s heels were Tesco and Lindt. Tesco’s Finest dark chocolate Belgian egg, £5, won the dark chocolate category and came in second overall with a score of 87/100 due to its “distinctive blackberry flavour”. Lindt’s classic Gold Bunny – 1kg of chocolate for £39.99 – clinched the top spot in the kids’ category and came in third overall with a score of 84/100.
Marks & Spencer took the prize in the showstoppers category for its hand-decorated milk and dark chocolate egg with dulce de leche truffles, £15. The golden stardust centre was declared a hit with tasters and helped it notch up a score of 80/100. The full results are in the April issue of Good Housekeeping, on sale on 28 February.
“It’s clear that traditional retailers are having to do more and more to ensure consumers’ ever-evolving taste buds are satisfied,” said Caroline Bloor, consumer director at Good Housekeeping. “Seeing a vegan-friendly egg take the crown may come as a surprise to some, but this is why our famous blind tests are more important now than ever before.”
The shortlisted eggs in each of eight separate categories were blind-tasted by a judging panel and then scored for taste, texture, aroma and appearance.
