Easter is an especially busy time of year for chocolate retailers, as a tempting range of bunnies, eggs and chocolate-filled hampers come on the market, bringing with it a spike in chocolate sales. 

But behind the Easter packaging and colourful foil wrapping there’s a dark side. Around 70% of the world’s cocoa comes from West Africa. It’s estimated that more than 1.56 million children and young people under the age of 18 work as labourers in cacao farming in Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana alone. This number is estimated to have increased 15–20% during the pandemic.

Some of these children are trafficked; many are working under harmful labour conditions. And it’s the cocoa they produce that ends up in the chocolate we eat.

The good news is that in recent years there’s been an increase in consumer demand for ethical and sustainable production methods, which has resulted in growth of certified chocolate products – including ethical Easter eggs.

Which chocolate Easter eggs are more ethical?

Due to the uptick in consumer concern around climate change, sustainable agriculture and working conditions for small-scale farmers, more brands have been entering the ethical market, putting independent programs in place or independently certifying their chocolate products. 

As consumer awareness increases, some retailers such as Aldi, Coles and Woolworths have also introduced their own certified chocolate and cocoa offerings. 

What’s considered ethical might be different for different people. For the purposes of this article, we’re applying the term to those chocolate products that have been certified by one of the primary certification bodies available in Australia: Rainforest Alliance, Fairtrade, or Cocoa Horizons.

While certification may not be perfect, it is often a positive step towards sustainability, especially when included as a part of other initiatives.

Certified chocolate and Easter eggs

So as Easter rolls around again, which brands have certified chocolate options available?

• Aldi’s Dairy Fine, Choceur and Moser Roth chocolate ranges are Rainforest Alliance- or Fairtrade-certified.
• Bennetto Natural Foods Co is B Corp-Certified, works with charitable partners and offsets their carbon emissions. Their chocolate is Fairtrade-certified, organic, vegan and gluten free.
• Chocolatier Australia‘s chocolate eggs are Rainforest Alliance-certified.
• Coles own brand cocoa products are Fairtrade- and Rainforest Alliance/UTZ-certified. They also use certification schemes such as Cocoa Horizons to reduce their impact on the environment.
• Darrell Lea sources 100% of its cocoa from sustainable sources through a partnership with Cocoa Horizons.
• Ferrero has 100% independently certified fairtrade cocoa in their chocolate products, with certifications from Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance and Cocoa Horizons.
• Haigh’s sources 80% of its cocoa from Rainforest Alliance-certified farms.��
• Koko Black sustainably sources its cocoa through Cocoa Horizons.
• Lindt sources all of its cocoa through the Rainforest Alliance certification program as of 2026. They also have their own farming programs in place to help reduce harm in their supply chains.
• Nestle has their own Cocoa Plan and in Australia all the cocoa they use in local production is Rainforest Alliance-certified. This can be found in KitKat, MilkyBar and Aero bars.
• Pico chocolate blocks are Fairtrade-certified, vegan and organic.
• Whittakers’ Ghanaian cacao beans are 100% Rainforest Alliance-certified – you’ll find this logo on chocolate that contains these beans.
• Woolworths’ Homebrand chocolate blocks are certified by Rainforest Alliance/UTZ.

Mondelez (Cadbury), Mars and Hershey have their own programs in place to reduce harm in their cocoa supply chains, although this ethically and sustainably sourced cocoa may not be in all products.

Be Slavery Free Chocolate Scorecard

Advocacy coalition Be Slavery Free works with a number of universities and NGOs to produce an annual , which is released prior to Easter and can help inform your buying decisions.��

This list rates the most sustainable chocolate brands and Easter eggs against a number of categories, including deforestation, environmental impacts and climate action, child labour, traceability and transparency in supply chains, and living income for workers.��

“The Chocolate Scorecard is immensely helpful in showing where a huge number of companies are in their journey to sustainability,”�� says Antonie Fountain of the VOICE Network, a watchdog and catalyst for a reformed cocoa sector.

The scorecard captures 90% of the global chocolate industry, and from 2023 the scorecard has also ranked retailers such as Kmart, Aldi, Costco and David Jones.

Each year Be Slavery Free also announces winners of a Good Egg Award and Rotten Egg Award. These awards reflect innovation in sustainability practices, or lack thereof. The 2026 Good Egg Awards were topped by Tony’s Chocolonely, with Mars winning the Gender Award recognising its work for supporting gender equality and reductions in child labour.

Mondelēz (Cadbury), was given the Bad Egg award due to a lack of transparency after failing to share any information for the awards.��

Fuzz Kitto, Co Director at Be Slavery Free says the Chocolate Scorecard is a helpful tool for shoppers.

“Consumers are being asked to swallow record chocolate prices, and shrinking products. The least they expect is chocolate free from slavery. The Chocolate Scorecard will help shoppers make smart purchases this Easter.”

The Scorecard and awards have helped encourage progress in the chocolate industry, with some brands vying to do better.��

For example In 2020, Godiva received a Rotten Egg Award for “failing to take responsibility for the conditions with which its chocolates are made despite making huge profits”. But the brand now states they are dedicated to “a sustainable and thriving cocoa industry where farmers prosper, communities are empowered, human rights are respected, and the environment is conserved” – although there are still improvements to be made. 

Nestle has also made progress in its practices, rising into the top 5 on the Scorecard in 2026.��Lindt has risen from 20th in 2025 to 13th this year, while Mars and Ferrero have both dropped in the rankings.

Overall, 2026’s findings have shown improvements in transparency across the industry, with 82% of companies sharing data on child labour, compared to 45% in 2023. However there are still improvements to be made on deforestation, use of harmful pesticides and lifting farmers out of poverty.

“We can see that consumers are looking to make informed decisions and expect companies to act in an ethical way to eliminate child labour and to produce chocolate in a way that is sustainable for the planet,” says Andrew Wallis, CEO of Unseen, a UK charity working to eradicate human trafficking and modern slavery.

“Companies are responding to that. Normal people like you and me are making a difference and causing companies to change.”��

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Don’t get me wrong, I love chocolate, but I don’t love paying more money for less of it, especially when it often tastes inferior to the original product it’s spawned from (hello Kit Kat eggs!). 

If you look past the pretty packaging and hollow hype, it’s clear the Easter Bunny and Big Choc are banking a sweet surcharge on our festive sugar rush. 

The worst offenders

Need some eggs-amples? Let’s start with that shady frog Freddo. At the time of writing, his 124g egg (which contains two Freddo treats inside) costs $11.50 at Woolworths, which equates to a unit price of $9.27 per 100g. 

By comparison, the usual 35g Freddo costs $2 at Woolies, or $5.71 per 100g. That’s a hefty hike of 62.35%, proving Freddo is pulling a fast one indeed. 

Over at Lindt, the EST (Easter Services Tax) is in full effect, with wildly different prices for 100g of milk chocolate. 

Their standard block costs $8.50 at Big W, while their famous gold bunny form sells for $12 for the same 100g weight. 

Okay, maybe the bunny’s cute ribbon and bell justifies the extra cost, but then there’s Lindt’s 93g milk chocolate ‘casket’ combo (containing one medium egg and 12 small eggs) which goes for a whopping $15, almost twice the price of the 100g block.

You can’t tell me whipping out an egg mould once a year justifies that kind of increase. 

It’s even more maddening when you realise some Easter items are losing weight at the same time (unlike me at Easter time). ����Vlog has exposed numerous cases of year-on-year “shrinkflation”, with popular products selling less chocolate for the same price, or even more. 

For example, in 2024, Cadbury Dairy Milk hollow eggs cost $12.50 for a 408g 24-egg pack ($3.06 per 100g). A year later, a box of 22 eggs cost more at $15 for 374g ($4.01 per 100g).

This year, a box costs $18 but it’s slimmed down again to 20 eggs at 340g ($5.29 per 100g). That’s a 73% increase in unit price over two years, with some serious Easter Ozempic going on too. 

Boycotting the Easter Bunny

It might all be worth it if these eggs actually tasted better than the original products, but let’s be honest, most don’t. We all know deep down that a Crunchie egg with its tiny honeycomb crumbs is no match for the delicious classic bar. 

How long will we put up with confectionery companies cashing in on our cacao-fuelled comas? Not to mention the extra packaging (aka landfill) this festive feasting generates, or the huge carbon miles some products clock up (the Lindt ‘casket’ is manufactured in Switzerland, Germany and Australia!). 

Maybe it’s time to boycott the Easter Bunny and demand a better deal because at the moment, these over-hyped, under-sized eggs aren’t worth shelling out for. 

In the meantime, I’m happily sticking to my old-school Crunchie bars.

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After all, they’re only tiny, right? And it’s easy to ignore the fact that you’ve eaten 10 of them in one sitting. That’s guilt-free indulgence in our books. 

With lots of different chocolate mini egg options on our supermarket shelves, we set out to find out which product wins on flavour.

And the winner is…

In a clear victory, the Cadbury eggs received the highest number of votes – 20 of the 27 tasters chose it as their favourite. Coles was next with six votes, Woolworths received one vote and there were no votes for the Darrell Lea eggs. 

In judging, more than one taster described the Darrell Lea option as chalky, saying it didn’t melt in the mouth as well as some of the others, though another judge thought it was quite creamy. The Woolworths option also didn’t earn much praise, with one taster describing it as “dusty”. 

The Coles eggs were described as “pretty good” and one of our tasters thought they were “the fanciest” of the lot.

But it was the Cadbury eggs that unequivocally earned the most praise. Judges said these eggs had a nice, consistent sweetness and a pleasant flavour. 

More than one taster identified it as the Cadbury variety straight away and noted that the familiarity was a deciding factor for them. 

Mini-egg prices compared

When it comes to cost, it’s hard to compare apples with apples, or even eggs with eggs, because pack sizes vary. We purchased the largest bag of each egg variety available at the time of purchase to secure the best unit price. 

Here are the results ordered from lowest to highest unit price.

• Coles 500g bag costs $10 ($2/100g)
• Woolworths 150g bag costs $5 ($3.33/100g)
• Cadbury 440g bag costs $16 ($3.64/100g)
• Darrell Lea 110g bag costs $7.50 ($6.82/100g)

What’s in your chocolate egg?

Looking at ingredients, all of the eggs in our test had the same amount of cocoa solids (28%). Milk solids varied, with the Cadbury and Darrell Lea varieties including 24% of milk solids, while the Woolworths eggs contained 18% and the Coles 15.5%. Sugar, emulsifiers and flavours (mostly vanilla) were also present in all the eggs.

Most surprising was the presence of various nuts in the Woolworths eggs. Peanuts, almonds, hazelnuts and macadamia nuts were all listed in the ingredients panel. All the other eggs included a “may contain” warning about different nuts and other allergens, but Woolworths was the only product that included nuts in the ingredients list.

Cadbury, Darrell Lea and Woolworths eggs were all made in Australia, but the Coles eggs were packed in Italy.

How ethical are these eggs?

Cocoa farming, most of which takes place in West Africa, has a long history of environmental devastation and the use of child labour, among other concerns. Many brands make reassuring claims about their sourcing policies, but there are no easy answers to the question of ethics in cocoa supply chains

All the eggs we included feature some sort of claim to suggest ethical behaviour. Darrell Lea features a logo for , Cadbury promotes its link to and both Woolworths and Coles declare certification. 

Despite this, the researchers and advocates working to improve the ethics of cocoa farming acknowledge that the problems are complex, and defining what constitutes ethically sourced chocolate is not straightforward.

The post Cadbury, Darrell Lea, Coles and Woolworths: Which mini chocolate Easter egg is best? appeared first on ����Vlog.

But how do the different brands compare?

We looked at supermarket chocolate variety boxes from Celebrations, Roses and Favourites, and counted and categorised their contents to find out which box is best for caramel lovers, fruit-goo fans, and more. We also compared the results against our last boxed chocolate analysis back in 2020 with some shocking results. 

On this page:

• Top of the chocs
• Which box is best?
• Value for money
• Paying more for less: What’s changed since 2020?
• Product details

Top of the chocs

We asked our ����Vlog audience to tell us their favourite chocolates in a box of Roses, Celebrations and Favourites, with each respondent asked to select their three least and most liked options from each box.

Roses

Top three: Hazelnut Swirl (38%), Turkish Delight and Caramel Deluxe (36%)
Least popular: Orange Creme (42%), Passionfruit Delight and Turkish Delight (36%) 
Turkish Delight proved to be the most divisive of chocolates, inciting both love and hatred in equal amounts. While those who liked Turkish Delight had little to say on the subject, those who didn’t had plenty of opinions to share. 
“Who are the people who like Turkish Delight?  Because it’s nobody I know,” said one respondent. “Turkish delight is yuk and always has been,” added another. “Cadbury Turkish Delight is, and always has been, foul,” said a third. 
There were mixed comments on the overall selection. One respondent told us they “love them all”, while another declared that “Soft centres are outdated.” 
More than one respondent told us that they disliked the changes they’d seen to the selection and lamented the loss of their particular favourite. “Bring back the coffee-flavoured option,” one told us. Another said they missed the hazelnut option that contained a whole hazelnut in the middle.

Celebrations

Top three: Maltesers (49%), Mars and Snickers (48%)
Least popular: Bounty (40%), Galaxy Caramel and Galaxy Chocolate (35%).
“Why does Bounty even exist?” asked one respondent, taking chocolate criticism to existential levels. Another stated more simply that “I just don’t like Bounty.” “It’s just too coconutty. It’s overpowering,” said another. 
“Galaxy is pointless,” someone told us. 
While some derided this selection as underwhelming – “they are just basic chocolates”, one complained – others preferred Celebrations to the other two chocolate boxes because of important omissions.
“Yay, no Turkish Delight!” one said. Another said they preferred this one because it didn’t include fruit flavours. “Celebrations is by far the superior chocolate mix,” one told us.  Others complained that they were too sweet, and one went so far as to describe the contents as “absolutely rubbish”.

Favourites

Top three: Crunchie (47%), Cherry Ripe (40%), Turkish Delight (39%)
Least popular: Caramilk (42%), Turkish Delight (38%), Moro (31%)
Turkish Delight is again in the top three most and least liked options, with one respondent imploring the makers to “Stop trying to make Turkish Delight happen”. Once more, some took the opposing view: “Turkish Delight for the win!” said one enthusiastic fan. 
More than one respondent complained that the chocolates were overly sweet, and a few expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of a dark chocolate option. While the larger, 470g Favourites box contains the classic Old Gold Original dark chocolate, the smaller, 265g box we looked at doesn’t offer this choice.

And the winner of the best box is…

Our survey asked respondents to choose which supermarket chocolate box they’d give as a gift, ignoring price and basing their choice on the contents of each box. The winner, with 46% of the vote, was the Cadbury Favourites. Second was Roses with 40%, and in last place, earning just 16% was Celebrations.

Best chocolate box by flavour

Chocolate flavours can be divisive – someone’s dream treat can be another’s worst nightmare – which is reflected in the results of our survey (see Top of the chocs, above). 

For example, Turkish Delight ranked in the top three favourites in two boxes, but also landed in the bottom three  among those same selections. 

To help you choose the box of chocolates with the highest number of your preferred flavour, in November 2025 we purchased three boxes of each of the three chocolate variety boxes – Celebrations, Roses, and Favourites – and sorted the chocolates into eight categories to provide an average of the number and type of each chocolate in the boxes. For the full breakdown of what we found in each box, see Product details, below.

Caramel and toffee

If you love caramel or toffee flavours, opt for a box of Celebrations. It had the highest quota of chocolates containing caramel (46%) and three options to choose from: Mars, Snickers and Galaxy Caramel. 

Next highest was Roses with 22% (Classic Caramel and Caramel Deluxe) followed by Favourites with 19% from the Boost and Moro chocolates. 

Nuts

Prefer nuts with your chocolate? Then reach for a box of Celebrations. Its contents included the nut-laden Picnic, which accounted for 18% of the total. Sharing with someone who can’t eat nuts? Cadbury Roses have the fewest nutty treats with 9%.

Fruit creme

If you go gaga for gooey fruit cremes, a box of Roses is your best option, with more than a quarter of our box (29%) dedicated to fruity centres, including Passionfruit Delights along with Orange and Strawberry Cremes. Neither of the other two boxes contained a fruit-goo chocolate.

Mint

Roses is the only variety box we looked at that had a mint option (Peppermint Creme), but there were only three in each box of 34 chocolates (nine percent).

White chocolate

If white chocolate is your jam, these boxes might not be for you. Neither Roses nor Celebrations contained any white chocolate options. Favourites include the Caramilk, which is caramelised white chocolate, an option that may not please a white chocolate purist. Even then, it only makes up 11% of the total box.  

Dark chocolate

Dark chocolate fans should choose Roses, as 26% of its contents contain a dark-chocolate element. (Warning: two of the fruit creme options are included here, so if you dislike fruit goo you might want to steer clear.) Favourites come second with 11% dark chocolate options in the form of Cherry Ripes.

Coconut

Coconut lovers will want to pick up a box of Celebrations, which is 17% coconut-based chocs, while coconut haters will rejoice that Roses has none at all.

Turkish Delight

If you’re a fan of this controversial option, pick the Cadbury Favourites, which had the highest percentage of Turkish Delight at 11% of the total. In our analysis of the Roses boxes, Turkish Delight made up 9% of the contents. If you’re among those who don’t like it, Celebrations have none at all.

Note: percentages are based on the contents of three boxes/tubs of each brand, all bought in November 2025.

Value for money

Out of the three boxes, Celebrations was the cheapest option by unit price at $4.84 per 100g. Roses and Favourites were very similar to each other, at $5.26 and $5.28 per 100g

We also looked at the actual weight of each box of chocolates versus the claimed weight. All contained more than their claimed weight, with an average extra 18g more in our boxes of Celebration, 16g in the Roses and 12g in the Favourites, though this could be at least partly attributed to the wrappers on the individual chocolates that we left on during weighing.

Paying more for less chocolate: What’s changed since 2020?

Since we last looked at boxed chocolates in 2020 there have been well-publicised issues with shrinkflation, and chocolates are one of the products most commonly affected. In fact, chocolate products have appeared in many of the shrinkflation investigations we’ve conducted in recent years. 

The size of the boxes for Roses and Favourites have changed since 2020 so we were unable to do a head-to-head comparison but we could look at the unit price and see how that’s changed.

In 2020, we paid $15.50 for a 450g box of Roses. In 2025, we paid $20 for a smaller 380g box. Looking at the price per 100g of chocolate, that’s a huge increase of 53%. 

The Favourites selection we bought in 2020 was $14 for a 373g box. In 2025 $14 is the standard price of a smaller 265g box. That’s a 41% increase in price per 100g.

Celebrations was the only selection box that remained the same size. In 2020, their 320g box cost $12 and in 2025 that had risen to $15.50. That 29% increase was the lowest among the three chocolate box varieties we looked at. 

We also noted changes in the types of chocolates on offer in these selections. Favourites featured fewer dark chocolates, no longer offering the Old Gold in the size we looked at. They had also lost the Dream, Flake (replace by Twirl) and the Caramello (replaced by Caramilk). Roses had fewer nuts, a lot more fruit cremes and less white chocolate. If you were a fan of the White Raspberry, Hazelnut Creme Crisp or Dark Mocha Nougat you’ll be disappointed to learn they’re now gone from the box. Celebrations also contained fewer options containing nuts. 

Another big change is the loss of one much-loved supermarket chocolate box, Quality Street. Unfortunately, this product is no longer available in Australia, as Nestlé confirmed in November that it would no longer be imported.

Product details

About our survey: We surveyed our ����Vlog audience between 18 and 20 November 2025. We received 191 responses to our survey, and the data in this article is based on these results. 

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Meanwhile, chocolate that costs top dollar but doesn’t live up to the hype can leave a bitter taste in your mouth.

To sort the best blocks from the bland, our panel of three experts recently conducted a��blind taste test of 19 supermarket milk chocolates from brands including Cadbury, Lindt, Woolworths, Coles and Aldi. Each chocolate was assessed on four criteria: taste, aroma, texture and appearance (read more about the test here).����

The test results were surprising, with our experts rating some cheaper chocs well above higher-priced blocks.��To make sure you don’t choose chocolate that disappoints, here are the best budget blocks plus the expensive ones to leave off your treat list.

The best-tasting budget milk chocolate

Woolworths Belgian Milk Chocolate

• ����Vlog Expert Rating: 81% (Recommended)
• Price: $2 per 100g

Woolworths’ Belgian Milk Chocolate really punches above its weight: it’s the second-cheapest choc block in our test but also one of the highest scoring.

It’s less than half the price of Tony’s Chocolonely, which was rated the top choc block by our experts with a������Vlog Expert Rating of 86%.��

(That means you can eat twice as much of it, right?)

Our experts gave this Woolsworth block a rating of 81%, saying it has a “pleasant sweetness that does not override or dominate”, “good aftertaste” and “nice melt in mouth”.

The cheapest chocolate overall – but it won’t knock your socks off

Aldi Dairy Fine Milk Chocolate

• ����Vlog Expert Rating: 70%
• Price: $1.94 per 100g

If you’re looking to save, Aldi is generally hands-down the place to go.��

It consistently rates as the cheapest shop in our supermarket basket price survey, and many of its products perform well in our testing – and even outperform brand-name products costing many times more.

Unfortunately its Dairy Fine milk choc didn’t live up to Aldi’s usual standards – though perhaps you could say it did live up to its name since it’s “fine” but not great.

And if you thought that spending more on Aldi chocolate might buy you a better block, think again: Aldi Choceur milk chocolate costs $2.50 per 100g and scored just 67%.

Skip these cheap chocs and spend the money you’ve saved by shopping at Aldi on a better-tasting block from elsewhere.

The best cheap vegan, dairy free and sugar free chocolate

Unfortunately for people with dietary requirements, there’s not much in the way of cheap chocolate.

We tested a range of alternative chocolates, including vegan, dairy free, sugar free and one low-carb option that contains whey protein, and even the cheapest costs more than twice as much as cheaper regular chocolate.

Surprisingly, a no-sugar chocolate was one of the highest-scoring in our test.

Lindt’s Milk Chocolate No Sugar Added scored 83% and it’s one of the five chocolates our experts recommend.

But it isn’t cheap at $9.75 per 100g, and it does contain milk so isn’t suitable for vegans or dairy-free treat seekers.

By contrast, Coles’ No Added Sugar Mylk Chocolate is the cheapest of the dairy-free chocs we tested – and it’s the equal highest scoring of the bunch, so if you’re looking for a non-dairy, low-sugar treat, this is the one to buy.

Coles No Added Sugar Mylk Chocolate

• ����Vlog Expert Rating: 71%
• Price per 100g: $5

Along with Pico Original M*lk, this was the top dairy-free chocolate.��

However, the Pico costs twice as much, so Coles delivers a better block for your buck – and it’s sugar free.

But that doesn’t mean you should overindulge: it’s sweetened with erythritol, which can cause digestive issues if you eat too much.��

The disappointing dairy-free chocolates

Nomo (No Missing Out) Creamy Choc Plant-Powered

• ����Vlog Expert Rating: 56%
• Price per 100g: $8.55

Perhaps Nomo should consider a name change: you will be missing out with this vegan chocolate.

It took out the wooden spoon with a score of just 56% – though it only comes in a 38g bar, so at least it’s good in terms of portion control.

The experts were unanimous in their dislike of this chocolate, with comments including “it doesn’t have a pleasant aroma or flavour”, and “terrible texture with very fake flavour that’s not natural.”

Missing out on this vegan choc is probably a wise decision.

Lindt Classic Vegan Smooth

• ����Vlog Expert Rating: 62%
• Price per 100g: $9.75

While Lindt is one of the top picks in the regular milk chocolate and sugar-free varieties, unfortunately it doesn’t cater so well to the vegan and dairy-free markets.��

(Though perhaps that’s to be expected for a brand that’s built its reputation on traditional chocolate.)

It came second last overall in our test and it’s the second most expensive of all the alternative chocs.

If you’re prepared to spend this kind of money, you’re better off going with Pico Original M*lk, which costs just 25 cents per 100g more and is the top-tasting vegan chocs our experts sampled.

The post The best cheap milk chocolate from our taste test�� appeared first on ����Vlog.

On this page:

• Best tasting milk chocolate
• Alternative milk chocolate options
• Cheapest milk chocolate
• Most expensive milk chocolate
• What makes for a good milk chocolate?
• How we test

We know that loitering in a supermarket’s confectionery aisle trying to decide what to buy can place unwanted stress on your willpower. And with the prices of chocolate at an all-time high, you want to make sure you’re spending your money on a delicious block.��

So we’ve taken one for the team and taste tested 19 milk chocolates, from brands including Cadbury, Lindt, Aldi, Whittaker’s, Tony’s Chocolonely and Pico, to help you choose the best.

Best tasting milk chocolate

Our taste-testing panel of three experts assessed each chocolate on four criteria – taste, aroma, texture and appearance.��

We recommend milk chocolate blocks that received a ����Vlog Expert Rating (our overall score) of 80% or more.��

Of the 19 products we tested, five make that list, including one that’s marketed as a sugar-free option.

Tony’s Chocolonely Milk Chocolate

• ����Vlog Expert Rating: 86%
• Price per 100g: $5.53
• Country of origin statement: Made in Belgium
• Experts say:��“Interesting design of the block, good snap, not too sweet, creamy, melts well. Overall a very pleasant texture and flavour – a nice chocolate that I could keep eating.” “Good blend of cocoa and milk. Pleasant to eat.” “Very smashable chocolate.”

Lindt Excellence Extra Creamy Milk

• ����Vlog Expert Rating: 84%
• Price per 100g: $8.50
• Country of origin statement: Made in France
• Experts say: “Very caramel aroma, little gloss on chocolate, pleasant sweetness but mainly caramel flavour with mild cocoa overtones. Pleasant chocolate to eat overall.” “Beautiful fresh milk cocoa profile. Very smooth. Very nice product.” “Easy to eat. Enjoyable. Distinct flavour compared to the rest.”

Mr Beast Feastables Milk Chocolate

• ����Vlog Expert Rating:��84%
• Price per 100g: $6.67
• Country of origin statement: Made in Peru
• Experts say: “Good sheen, moderate cocoa aroma, not too sweet, pleasant nutty caramel flavour. A very pleasant eating chocolate. It melts quickly in the mouth, not very creamy but toasted overtones.” “Very little aroma. Good cocoa profile for milk chocolate. Subtle dairy is integrated well. Very smooth.” “Smooth, nice flavour, branding and mold.”

Woolworths Belgian Milk Chocolate

• ����Vlog Expert Rating: 81%
• Price per 100g: $2.00
• Country of origin statement: Made in Belgium
• Experts say: “Mild cocoa aroma and flavour, pleasant sweetness that does not override or dominate, some caramel but slight musty aftertaste.” “Pleasant flavour. Good balance of cocoa and milk. Good aftertaste. Nice melt in mouth.” “Strong cocoa aroma, not as much flavour, nice sheen, stronger roasted flavour.”

Alternative milk chocolate options

When shopping for milk chocolate, we also included options you’re likely to find in the health-food aisle of the supermarkets. These are chocolates that claim to be vegan, sugar-free, organic and dairy-free.��

We included eight of these chocolates from brands like Pico, Sweet William, Lindt and Well Naturally. One of these products earned a recommendation from our taste-testing experts.

Lindt Milk Chocolate No Sugar Added

• ����Vlog Expert Rating: 83%
• Price per 100g: $9.75
• Country of origin statement: Italy
• Experts say: “Little cocoa aroma but more caramel, good texture/snap, melts quickly in the mouth, mild creaminess. Lingering aftertaste of caramel and some sweetness but not too overpowering. A pleasant chocolate.” “Milky aroma and flavour, smooth texture, pleasant flavour.” “Creamy (but not dairy creamy), fake aroma, flavour very pleasant, mouth feel after is a little weird.”

Sugar-free chocolate

Milk chocolate is supposed to be sweet. In fact, the average sugar content of the products in our test is a fairly hefty 47g per 100g (that’s 47%). But for people trying to reduce the amount of sugar in their diet, there are milk chocolate products with no added sugar.��

In our test, the no added sugar options came from Coles, Lindt, Well Naturally and Vita Werx, and all had a sugar content of under 10g per 100g.

Instead of sugar, they contain sweeteners such as erythritol, maltitol and thaumatin, which gives them sweetness without the associated kilojoules.

But while your teeth and waistlines might thank you, what about your taste buds?

According to our results, these sugar-free options can be hit or miss in terms of flavour. The Lindt No Sugar Added option gets the nod of approval from our judges, but the Vita Werx scored significantly lower with a ����Vlog Expert Rating of 65%.

The no added sugar options from this test are:

• Coles No Added Sugar Mylk Chocolate (1.7% sugar)
• Vita Werx Protein Milk Choc Classic Milk (7.9% sugar)
• Lindt Milk Chocolate No Sugar Added (9% sugar)
• Well Naturally Milk Chocolate Smooth & Creamy No Added Sugar (9.6% sugar)

Dairy-free chocolate

Unfortunately, none of the dairy-free or vegan chocolates were recommended by our expert taste-testing panel, but if you’re avoiding dairy, you’ll want to know the tastiest options available to you.��

These two products scored equal-highest in the dairy-free category, both coming in at 71%:

• Pico Original M*lk (also vegan and organic)
• Coles No Added Sugar Mylk Chocolate��

Cheapest milk chocolate

The cheapest milk chocolate we tested was Aldi Dairy Fine Milk Chocolate. At $3.49 ($1.94 per 100g), this 180g block is a fraction of the cost of the most expensive blocks in the test.

The Coles Belgian Milk Chocolate and Woolworths Belgian Milk Chocolate followed closely for price, both costing $2 per 100g.

Our judges scored these three products at least 70% or more, with the Woolworths being the standout and one of our recommended blocks, proving that if you’re on a budget you don’t have to compromise on deliciousness.

Most expensive milk chocolate

If you prefer to buy organic, or you need chocolate that suits specific dietary requirements – such as if you’re vegan, avoiding sugar or have a dairy allergy – be prepared to pay more.

Organic, sugar-free and dairy-alternative options cost at least $5 per 100g (Coles No Added Sugar Mylk Chocolate), and as much as $10 per 100g (Pico Original M*lk).

It might be in the top three for most expensive, but the Lindt Milk Chocolate No Sugar Added ($9.75 per 100g) at least rates very well for taste.��

The same can’t be said for the pricey NOMO (No Missing Out) Creamy Choc Plant Powered ($8.55 per 100g) bar, which earned a ����Vlog Expert Rating of just 56%.��

The experts were unanimous in their dislike of this chocolate, with comments including “it doesn’t have a pleasant aroma or flavour”, and “terrible texture with very fake flavour that’s not natural.”

The rising cost of milk chocolate

In recent years the cocoa industry has been impacted by crop disease and poor growing conditions. This has resulted in soaring cocoa prices, and consequently, the amount consumers are paying for their favourite chocolate block has increased significantly.

When we last tested milk chocolate in 2021, a block of Cadbury Dairy Milk cost $5 for 180g (that’s $2.78 per 100g).��

Jump to 2025 and you’ll pay $8 for the same size block ($4.44 per 100g).

Another example of chocolate price inflation is the 250g block of Whittaker’s Creamy Milk. Costing $6 four years ago (or $2.40 per 100g), you’ll now pay $8.50 ($3.40 per 100g).

What makes for a good milk chocolate?

A range of factors determine the quality of chocolate – it’s not just about cocoa content or the region where the cacao beans are sourced. While the label won’t tell you everything, you can gather some wisdom from it.

Minimal ingredients

A good chocolate should have very few ingredients:

• cocoa mass
• cocoa butter
• sugar
• milk in a milk chocolate (dark chocolate, by definition, shouldn’t have any milk but some do)
• vanilla
• emulsifier such as soy lecithin, which helps to bind the ingredients together.

Cocoa content

The cocoa content (or cocoa solids) percentage on a block of chocolate refers to everything in that block that’s derived from the cacao bean. This includes cocoa mass/liquor (ground-up cacao nibs, which are roughly 50% cocoa butter) as well as any extra cocoa butter added to the chocolate.

The percentage of cocoa is an indication of the intensity of the chocolate flavour, but it doesn’t tell you anything about the quality or type of cacao bean, or the way it’s been fermented and dried. Nor does it distinguish the amount of cocoa butter.

International standard

International standards for chocolate and chocolate products say ‘milk chocolate’ must contain a minimum of 25% cocoa solids and a specified minimum of milk solids between 12% and 14%.

There’s no equivalent standard that products sold in Australia are required to meet, but of the products we tested, all those that provided this information on the label complied with those specifications.

There’s no mention of the percentage of cocoa solids and/or milk solids on the labels of the Mr Beast Feastables Milk Chocolate, and Vita Werx Protein Milk Choc Classic Milk, so it’s unclear if these products would comply. We also noticed that all the dairy-free products we looked at avoided using the phrase “milk chocolate”, with some opting for words like “mylk” or “m*lk” instead.

Cocoa butter

Cocoa butter content is arguably a better indication of quality than the overall percentage of cocoa, as it’s what makes the chocolate melt in your mouth, giving it a luxurious feel.

International standards for couverture (professional quality) chocolate, for example, specify that cocoa butter must make up at least 31% of its total cocoa solids content.

Unfortunately for consumers, there’s no requirement to label cocoa butter percentages on chocolate. The best indication of cocoa butter content is how far up the ingredients list it is. Many lower-grade chocolates such as compound chocolate have the more valuable cocoa butter extracted and replaced with cheaper hard vegetable fats such as palm oil.

What to look for

Here are some of the qualities you should look for in chocolate:

• Appearance: It should be smooth and shiny.
• Snap: When you break a piece of chocolate, it should give a good, clean snap.
• Aroma: In good chocolate, you might be able to detect lots of different smells, such as vanilla, fruit, wine, tobacco, grass, floral and earthy-woody smells. Smoky, burnt, mouldy or dirty smells are a bad sign.
• Texture: The chocolate should be hard and smooth, and melt easily but not too easily. Bad chocolate is gritty, chalky or waxy, and becomes gluggy when it melts in the mouth.
• Taste: Apart from the flavours of cocoa and vanilla, you might also experience any of the other flavours mentioned in the aromas above. It should also be pleasantly bitter, although how much bitterness is pleasant is subjective. Poor-quality chocolate has a tongue-curling effect caused by acid.

How we test

Products

We tested 19 chocolate blocks containing cocoa solids and labelled ‘milk’, ‘mylk’ or ‘m*lk’ (not including cooking/compound chocolate) that are available nationally in major supermarket chains. We excluded flavoured varieties.

Of the 19 products, eight were chocolates you’d more commonly find in the health food aisle of supermarkets and marketed as “sugar free”, “dairy free”, “vegan” and/or “organic”.

Tasting

Our experts tasted the milk chocolate samples ‘blind’ (without knowing the brands). Two sets of samples (set A and set B) were prepared and presented to each expert. The ‘A’ tasting samples had all packaging removed, and identifying features on the chocolate surface (logo, pattern, etc.) were obscured. Each sample, regardless of the presence of identifying features, was treated the same. Each sample was tasted and independently judged on three criteria: aroma, texture and flavour.

The ‘B’ tasting samples had all packaging removed, but any identifying features remained untouched. These samples were judged on one criterion only: appearance.

The regular chocolates were tasted in the same grouping, followed by the alternatives (sugar free, dairy free, etc) so results aren’t comparable between the two groups.

Scores

The ����Vlog Expert Rating is made up of 100% taste (35% flavour, 35% texture, 20% appearance and 10% aroma).

We recommend products with a ����Vlog Expert Rating of 80% or more.

Meet our expert taste testers

Andre Sandison has worked, managed and taught as a pastry chef with more than 25 years’ industry experience across hotels, restaurants and production patisseries internationally and throughout Australia. He also holds a Diploma in Food Technology. He has achieved the highest professional accolades competing in global patisserie and gelato competitions. He now shares his experience and professionalism as a Corporate Chef and Food Service Account Manager with Mayers Fine Foods.��

Brigid Treloar has been a freelance food consultant for over 30 years. The author of eight cookbooks, and co-author of three others, she also contributes to newspapers and magazines, reviews restaurants and judges cookery and recipe competitions. Brigid has presented specialist cooking classes around Australia and overseas, and often appears on TV and radio. She’s a lecturer at Le Cordon Bleu, consultant with Zest Waterfront Venues, and advises many of Australia’s food companies on product and recipe development. Brigid is Chair of Judges for Sydney Royal Fine Food Speciality Products (which includes products like jams, herbs, teas and chocolate) and is a judge for Professional Bakery, Aquaculture, Pasta, Olive Oil, Dairy Competitions and Sydney Perishable and Non-Perishable foods.

Eddie Stewart started his culinary career at the young age of 16 and has amassed over 20 years of experience in the industry. Throughout his career, he has worked in various boutique restaurants and world-renowned hotels to develop his own unique style. He has served as the Head Chef of Savoury and Business Development Manager for the internationally acclaimed Black Star Pastry in Sydney, where he gained extensive knowledge of the intricacies of the culinary business. In 2020, he joined forces with Min Chai to create a brand new concept called Tokyo Lamington, which serves deliciously created lamingtons and other baked items.

The post The best milk chocolate blocks we tasted: Cadbury, Lindt, Aldi and more appeared first on ����Vlog.

But one thing’s for sure: they’re a common fixture in Christmas celebrations year after year. (Whether or not that’s a good thing depends on how you feel about them!)

For many Australians, Christmas budgets will be tighter than usual in 2023. That’s why this year, we’ve focused on budget supermarket mince pies, asking ����Vlog staff to put their tastebuds on the line by blind taste testing the cheapest mince pie offerings from Coles, Woolworths and Aldi supermarkets.

Here’s how they compared.

Which was the best fruit mince pie?

We asked ����Vlog staff to taste each fruit mince pie, then vote for their favourite. This was a blind taste test, meaning that no one knew which pie was which.��

����Vlog staff take their taste testing responsibilities very seriously, so everyone weighed the options carefully before casting their votes.��

And for the second year running the winner is…. Aldi! Once again, it was only by a whisker.��

The German giant garnered almost 42% of the votes, while Woolies was hot on its heels with 39% of the votes.��

Unfortunately Coles just couldn’t keep up with the competition, with only 19% of votes going to their pies.��

And while Aldi won the popularity contest, it’s also a win for bottom lines: Aldi pies cost just 57 cents each ($3.39 for a pack), compared with Coles’ and Woolies’ pies, which cost 58 cents each ($3.50 per pack). That’s good news for mince pie fans who want to spend a little less this year.

What was on the table

Here are the fruit mince pie offerings from each of the supermarkets, in order of favourite to least favourite in our staff taste test.��

1. Aldi Kringle and Co Fruit Mince Pies (42% of votes)

• What the pack says: “Traditional Fruit Mince Pies with a home-style lattice top.”
• Price: $3.39 for a pack of 6 (360g)
• Price per pie: 57 cents

What ����Vlog staff said:��“It tastes more decadent and luxurious than the others. I could easily eat a whole pack of six in one go.” – Lou

2. Woolworths Shortcrust Fruit Mince Pies (39% of votes)

• What the pack says: “Shortcrust pastry with fruit mince filling.”
• Price: $3.50 for a pack of 6 (360g)
• Price per pie: 58 cents

What ����Vlog staff said:��“I think it has a better crunch and texture than the other two and seemed less sweet.”��–��Edward

3. Coles Christmas Fruit Mince Pies (19% of votes)

• What the pack says: “Shortcrust pastry filled with fruit mince.”
• Price: $3.50 for a pack of 6 (360g total)
• Price per pie: 58 cents

What ����Vlog staff said:��“I chose this one because the flavour was nice��– it suited my palate. The crunch was good, too.” – Steve

So there you have it. If you’re after a classic fruit mince pie on a budget this Christmas, it’s good to know you can save a little on the Aldi option without disappointing your guests.

Unless of course, you’re one of those who think all mince pies taste like spiced insect innards, in which case we suggest you stick with the shortbread assortment.

The post Which budget supermarket fruit mince pie tastes best? appeared first on ����Vlog.

On this page:

• Best Christmas puddings
• Are expensive puddings better?
• What makes a great Christmas pudding?
• Top tips for cooking Christmas pudding
• Meet our expert taste testers
• How we test

We blind tasted and reviewed 18 Christmas puddings, from brands including Aldi, Coles, Itha’s and the Pudding Lady. Whether you’re a seasonal scrooge or prepared to splurge, there’s a perfect Christmas pud for you.

Best Christmas puddings

According to our experts, these were the three tastiest puddings we tested.

Coles Finest Luxury Christmas Pudding

• ����Vlog Expert Rating: 84%
• �ʰ�������:��$12.00 ($1.33 per 100g)
• Country of origin statement:��Made in New Zealand
• Experts say:��“Very moist but doughy”. “Rich and generous with fruit and nuts, good as a special occasion pudding”. “Looks good”. “Open texture which crumbles very easily on cutting”.

The Traditional Plum Pudding Co Homemade Plum Pudding

• ����Vlog Expert Rating:��78%
• Price:��$36 ($6.00 per 100g)
• Country of origin statement: Made in Australia from at least 45% Australian ingredients
• Website:��
• Experts say:��“Very fruity and good flavour”. “Looks like a traditional pudding: good colour, aroma, fruit and nuts evenly throughout”.

Newcastle Pudding Lady Traditional Christmas Pudding

• ����Vlog Expert Rating: 74%
• Price:��$31 ($6.20 per 100g)
• Country of origin statement:��Made in Australia from at least 90% Australian ingredients
• Website: ��
• Experts say: “Moist, very sticky”. “Evenly moist in fruit and pudding, pleasant aroma, colour and texture – would be happy to serve this”. “Holds together on cutting for presentation”.

Are expensive puddings better?

If you’ve ever made Christmas pudding at home, you’ll know it’s not cheap to make. The cost of quality ingredients like dried fruit, butter and alcohol adds up. And they’re generally made to a labour- and time-intensive recipe. So, if you’re buying ready-made, it’s reasonable to assume you might have to fork out a little more for a top-quality pud.

But if you’ve already blown your budget on the seafood spread or glazed ham, don’t despair – our results show you can buy a delicious centrepiece for your Christmas spread and still have change from $20.

The top-tasting pud in our test, Coles Finest Luxury Christmas Pudding, was just $1.33 per 100g (or $12 a pudding).��

It was a big leap price-wise from there for the preferred puddings. Those that took second and third place, The Traditional Plum Pudding Co Homemade Plum Pudding and the Newcastle Pudding Lady Traditional Christmas Pudding, were among the most expensive, at $6.00 per 100g and $6.20 per 100g respectively.

The equal most expensive product (by unit price) in our test was the judges’ least favourite. Itha’s Puddings Traditional Pudding was $6.40 per 100g but scored just 47%. The Pudding Lane Classic Christmas Pudding costs the same per 100g but scored a more respectable 66%.

What makes a great Christmas pudding?

According to our trusted ����Vlog Community, the qualities to look for when choosing a Christmas pudding are lots of fruit, moistness, general flavour and strong spiciness, and it should be matured for at least a month.

Lots of fruit

The two best-tasting puddings in our review, Coles Finest Luxury Christmas Pudding and The Traditional Plum Pudding Co Homemade Plum Pudding, are more than half fruit – a mixture of raisins, glacé cherries and mixed peel.��

If you’re in the “more fruit is better” camp, here are the puddings that listed their fruit content percentage and how that compared with the taste scores from our experts.��

Moistness

It’s no surprise that the top three puddings were reported to have a good distribution of fruit and moistness. There are a few factors that make a Christmas pudding moist, including whether it’s steamed or baked in a water bath, the amount of fruit, and the type and quantity of fat. Steaming will keep the pudding more moist over the long cooking time, as will more fruit.

Flavour

We don’t just want sweetness from our puddings. Contributing to the flavour of Christmas puddings, other than fruit, are fat, alcohol and spice.��

Fat can come from a number of different sources. Suet, a traditional component of English Christmas pudding, is the fat found around the kidneys of cows and sheep. It provides moisture and a rich flavour. Palm oil is used as an alternative to suet as it creates a similar crumbly texture. Butter is another option to improve the flavour, but it can make a pudding greasy.��

Only one pud in this test contained suet – the Silver Penny Puddings Traditional Christmas Pudding with a ����Vlog Expert Rating of 59%. Palm oil was specified in six of the 18 puddings, and seven contained butter.��

The puddings contained a variety of alcoholic drinks for flavour with the traditional brandy in all but one. Some also contained rum, cider, stout or sherry, and two contained port. The pudding with the equal-highest brandy content was our top-scoring Coles Finest Luxury Christmas Pudding (which also contained port), with 9% brandy.

Spiciness

Overall, the expert taste testers complained that the puddings lacked the characteristic spiciness of a Christmas pudding. Surprisingly, there was one pud that didn’t list any spices on its ingredient list: The Traditional Food Company Steamed Pudding. Perhaps its lack of spices contributed to its lower score of 62%.

Maturation

Maturing is the action of leaving the pudding until the flavours have developed. Maturing causes some of the compounds in the pudding to break down to release new compounds, which taste sweet and caramelised with fruity aromas and flavours. None of the top three scoring puddings specified that they were matured.��

The matured puddings in our test were the Woolworths Classic Matured Pudding, matured for nine months, earning a ����Vlog Expert Rating of 68% and described as rich and fruity by the expert taste testers; the IGA Traditional Christmas Pudding (which earned 62%), matured for six months; and the Coles Christmas Festive Matured Pudding (49%), matured for nine months.

Top tips for cooking Christmas pudding

Our own home economist Fiona Mair answers some frequently asked questions about Christmas pudding (including how long it’ll keep) so you can nail it on the big day.

Can you steam Christmas pudding?

Yes, and some brands will have steaming instructions on the package.��If the pudding is packaged in a plastic pudding bowl, don’t��remove or pierce the seal. Place the pudding directly��into a saucepan with water halfway up the pudding bowl and put on the saucepan lid. If the pudding is not in a pudding bowl, it can be wrapped in foil tightly and use the same method. Bring the water to a boil and simmer for 1.5–2 hours.

Do you have to reheat a Christmas pudding?

Yes, pre-packaged Christmas puddings require reheating. If a small portion is needed, it’s best to heat individual servings and leave the rest covered in the fridge. The pudding will last longer, and you shouldn’t be reheating the pudding several times in the microwave as this can dry out the pudding or overcook it in areas.��

How do you reheat a pudding in a microwave?

To reheat a steamed pudding in a microwave, remove the seal from the pudding container or any foil packaging. Some puddings that are wrapped in plastic will require piercing in a few spots. If the pudding is in a pudding bowl, invert it onto a plate, but don’t remove the pudding bowl.��

Reheat the pudding on medium (60–70%) power for 2 minutes for a 1000W microwave, 2.5 minutes for 800–900W; or 1.5 min if the wattage is 1100–1200.��Allow the pudding to stand for 2 minutes covered, then remove the packaging and serve.��

Can you reheat Christmas pudding in a slow cooker or pressure cooker?

Reheating a pudding in a slow cooker is similar to steaming in a saucepan on the stove. However, the time needed will be at least 2.5 hours on the high setting.

If you’re making your own Christmas pudding from scratch, you can cook it in a pressure cooker, but I wouldn’t recommend reheating a steamed pudding in a pressure cooker.

How long does a Christmas pudding last?

Christmas pudding can last wrapped for up to a year.��If it’s opened and heated, then it will be best to consume it within a few weeks.��

Can you freeze Christmas pudding?

Yes, Christmas pudding is perfect for freezing. It’s best to cut it into individual serves,��wrap them in plastic and store them in a well-sealed freezer-safe container.

Meet our expert taste testers

Jan Boon is a home economist who has been involved in the food industry for more than 40 years. She is a Royal Agricultural Society (RAS)-recognised judge for the Fine Food Show and Easter Show and has been judging for local, interstate and regional shows for over 35 years. This year she was recognised by the Penrith Show Society for her continued service in judging.

Brigid Treloar��has been a freelance food consultant for over 30 years. The author of eight cookbooks, she ran a cake business for 10 years for private, corporate and commercial clients and also contributes to newspapers and magazines, reviews restaurants, and judges cookery and recipe competitions, including the RAS Fine Food Professional Bakery Competition. Brigid is an industry assessor for Le Cordon Bleu, advises many of Australia’s food companies on product and recipe development, and also provides recipes and cooking information for company websites.

Adam Moore��is a prolific culinary judge. His credits include judging for Le Cordon Bleu cooking school and RAS Fine Food competitions across a range of categories.��He has formal qualifications in pastry, charcuterie and butchery, sensory evaluation, food styling and food photography. With more than 25 years in the industry, Adam has worked in restaurants, food service, retail, food manufacturing, marketing and sales. He’s a certified global executive chef, and culinology director at Culinary Revolutions.

How we test

Products

We tested 18 Christmas puddings, from high-end offerings by specialist producers to supermarket brand puddings that are available nationally instore or online. Price is based on the price we paid for one pudding (not including postage and handling where applicable) in October 2022.

Tasting

We re-heated puddings in the microwave according to the directions on the pack.��

Our experts tasted the Christmas puddings ‘blind’ (without knowing the brands). They assessed the puddings for appearance and quality of finish, moistness, flavour and aroma, texture, and quality of the mixture.

The experts were looking for good shape; weight; balanced fruit, spice and alcohol flavours; even distribution of good-quality fruit ingredients; and puds that held their shape when cut.

Scores

The ����Vlog Expert Rating is made up of 90% sensory attributes (appearance/quality of finish 30%, flavour and aroma 25%, mixture quality 25%, moistness/texture 20%) and 10% nutrition (determined solely by the Health Star Rating).

We recommend products with a ����Vlog Expert Rating of 70% or more.

The post Which Christmas pudding tastes best? appeared first on ����Vlog.

On this page:

• The issues and ethics around chocolate production
• Are things improving in the cocoa industry?
• Chocolate certification in Australia
• Where to from here?
• How to make a difference

While it’s considered a decadent treat by some, and a daily necessity by others, the push to make this sweet sensation into a more ethical indulgence is a necessary one. Here’s why.

The issues and ethics around chocolate production

The chocolate and confectionery industry is worth $6.7 billion in Australia, and has experienced an average of 0.4% growth per year over the last five years. This year it’s expected to grow 1.5% due to the easing of restrictions and conditions surrounding the pandemic.��

The three largest manufacturers in the sector are Mondelez (e.g. Cadbury, Green & Black’s), Mars (e.g. Maltesers, Snickers, Celebrations) and Nestle (e.g. KitKat and Milo).

Environmental issues

Cacao needs specific humidity conditions to flourish, so is predominantly grown in tropical zones of South America, Africa and Asia. However, there are a small number of other growing areas, and even a handful of new cacao farms operating in Far North Queensland. The vast majority of cocoa processing occurs in Europe and North America.

Cacao trees are not disease-resistant, so intensive use of fertilisers and pesticides is required to increase their production. The use of these chemicals can have negative impacts on the environment, contributing to waterway pollution from nutrient run-off, ozone depletion and greenhouse gas emissions in the manufacturing process of the pesticides, and heavy metal contamination.��

Recent additional increases in demand have exacerbated their use, and there has also been a significant increase in children’s exposure to these chemicals.

Additionally, the use of fossil fuels in boilers and roasters in the processing stage of chocolate production contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. Combined with the carbon footprint of supply chain transport, from bean to end product, there are significant emissions produced in the process of making chocolate.

Clearing of forests to make way for farmland, loss of soil fertility, and biodiversity loss from both land clearing and pesticide use are also issues created by the industry.��

According to WWF, it’s estimated that 70% of Côte d’Ivoire’s illegal deforestation is related to cacao farming. A Mighty Earth reported in 2021 that 47,000 hectares of forest was lost to cocoa production in the country in 2020.��

These areas of deforestation for cacao farming also have a higher risk of child labour in cocoa production.

Child labour and trafficking

More than 40% of the world’s cocoa is grown in Côte d’lvoire in West Africa, and 70% comes from farms in the West African region.��

It’s predominantly produced on small subsistence farms and smallholdings, where farmers often struggle to make ends meet. As a result, children are often made to work, or are trafficked and subjected to unfair and exploitative treatment.��

Using 2018 figures it’s estimated that a cacao farmer in Côte d’lvoire earns just�� $US0.78 per day and $US1 per day in Ghana. This is below the World Bank’s extreme poverty figure of $US1.90 per person per day.

A report on child labour in West African cacao-growing areas conducted by Tulane University in the US and the International Labour Organisation found that in 2013-14, in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana combined:

• 2.26 million children were working in cocoa production
• 2.12 million children were working in child labour in cocoa production
• 2.03 million children were working in hazardous tasks such as using hand-held machetes to cut down and crack open cocoa pods.

Are things improving in the cocoa industry?

In 2010 the chocolate industry and the governments of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana made a pledge and signed a Declaration and Framework to cut the worst forms of child labour in the sector by 70% by 2020.

However, a 2020 report from the research group Norc (full name is NORC at the University of Chicago), found that instead of getting better, things had actually gotten worse.

The report states that the prevalence of child labour increased from 31% of children age 5–17 in child labour in 2008–09, to 45% in the 2018–19 season. Of children from cacao-farming families in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, 43% were carrying out hazardous activities such as using agro-chemicals and sharp tools – which was up from 30% a decade earlier.

This has been largely because of a 62% increase in production. But it’s also because of the relationship between social and environmental pressures such as demand for more cheap labour (including children), deforestation, climate change and lower crop outputs.

Positive changes

But despite these findings there has been some positive change in the industry, with governments putting in place initiatives and action plans to reduce child labour, improve school attendance and address child trafficking.

Additionally, many chocolate-makers met the 2020 goals, which include not only eliminating child labour but also reducing deforestation and lifting producers out of poverty.��

For example, in March last year Ferrero announced they achieved their target of sourcing 100% certified sustainable cacao. This was in line with their pledge to source all of their cacao beans from sustainable sources by 2020.

“A lot of companies have upped their certification,” says Fuzz Kitto, co-director of the charity��. “Nestle, Mondelez, Ferrero, Mars, Hershey and Lindt make 70 to 80% of the world’s chocolate; they all have programs in place and are moving forwards. We have seen progress but there is still a way to go.”

Chocolate certification in Australia

There are organisations that audit cocoa production and then “certify” the product if it meets certain ethical or sustainable criteria.

Rainforest Alliance, Fairtrade, and Cocoa Horizons are the three primary certification bodies available in Australia.

Rainforest Alliance

Rainforest Alliance products contain ingredients sourced from certified forests or farms, which are managed according to rigorous environmental, social and economic criteria.��

According to the organisation, these criteria are designed to safeguard soils, forests and waterways; promote responsible land management and climate-smart practices; and to protect workers, their families and local communities.��

To carry the Rainforest Alliance Mark, products must contain a minimum 30% of a certified ingredient, and must qualify the percentage on the label.��

Where more than 90% of the total ingredients are sourced from certified farms the seal can be used without any additional percentage disclaimers.

Fairtrade

Fairtrade products aim to ensure small-scale farmers and workers have decent working conditions (including bans on forced and child labour), better commodity prices and sustainable production methods.��

By ensuring companies pay sustainable prices for Fairtrade products, Fairtrade’s goal is to help eradicate the injustices of conventional trade, which traditionally discriminates against the most marginalised producers.��

And Fairtrade producers and businesses in turn must meet a number of economic, environmental and social standards to help protect Fairtrade’s goals.��

There are four main Fairtrade logos you’ll likely see on certified chocolate products:

1. The Original Fairtrade Mark indicates that the product is fully traceable, i.e. all of the ingredients that are available as Fairtrade are Fairtrade-certified. You’re most likely to see this on single-ingredient products such as cocoa powder.��
2. The Fairtrade Mark with an arrow means that the ingredients that are available under Fairtrade conditions have to be Fairtrade (eg, cocoa, sugar, vanilla). The minimum total Fairtrade content is 20%. You can check the product labelling for more information about which ingredients are Fairtrade.
3. The Fairtrade Cocoa White Mark indicates that that particular ingredient has been fully sourced as Fairtrade. Chocolate products may also carry the White Marks for sugar and vanilla.
4. The Fairtrade Cocoa Program Mark indicates that all of the cocoa is Fairtrade-certified, while other ingredients, like vanilla or sugar, may not be.

You’ll find these logos on a number of chocolate products including those from Coles, Woolworths, Aldi and Green & Blacks.

Cocoa Horizons

The Cocoa Horizons foundation was established in 2015 by cocoa-producing giant Barry Callebaut, which sells cocoa to smaller producers. This program focuses on cacao farmer prosperity, and helping to build self-sustaining farming communities.��

Cocoa Horizon’s goal is to improve the livelihoods of cocoa farmers and their communities through the promotion of sustainable, entrepreneurial farming practices, as well as improved productivity and community development, all of which helps protect the environment and vulnerable children.��

Cocoa Horizons works with a number of brand partners including Woolworths, Aldi, Darrell Lea and Hershey.

Where to from here?

The Norc report found that there are still 1.56 million children in the cocoa industry in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana alone. Which indicates continuing difficulties in identifying child labour, even through certification programs.��

“Certification is not the complete answer,” says Kitto. “Companies can often only check their direct supply chain down to the co-op level, and not necessarily at the farm level, which is where the labour is happening. So they do not always know where the cocoa comes from, which can make it hard to detect and stop child labour.”

According to Kitto there are some steps the industry could take next: “Increased use of Child Labour Monitoring and Remediation Systems (CLMRS) is one, and innovation and experimentation is key to the next step and is much needed to tackle the end of child labour.”��

CLMRS are embedded in the supply chain of chocolate and cocoa companies, helping to identify and remediate cases of child labour. The implementation of these systems will mean there is more commitment and follow up, beyond certification alone.��

Living income for farmers and other workers is another serious issue, with low wages and poverty being rife in the industry.��

The system for calculating a living wage has been refined in the last few years by the Global Living Income Coalition, and they take a scientific approach to regional living income assessments to work out what families actually need based on where they live.��

“It’s a much more real assessment than what we have had previously,” says Kitto. “A lot of the companies, such as Nestle, are already instigating this and paying a premium to farmers to help.”��

As for the certification systems currently in place, Kitto says they definitely still have value and are worth looking out for, whether they are company-based programs or independent.��

Even if they’e not perfect, he says, “they are an indicator that the companies are making an effort to address the issues in their cocoa supply chain”.

How to make a difference

The global chocolate industry is shifting, and buying certified and ethically sourced chocolate products can help drive further positive change in the industry.��

It’s worth noting though that not all brands – or all product ranges within a brand – may be certified and there are still improvements to be made.��

There are also lots of smaller local and artisan brands entering the market, so it’s important to keep an eye out for the certification logos and do your background research on what programs companies have in place.��

Shop Ethical! has an you can use as a starting point for information on what companies may be doing well, or areas where there are criticisms. The ratings Shop Ethical! give are company-wide, not just specific to their chocolate products.��

You can also put pressure on companies by contacting them directly and asking them to source their cocoa from sustainable and ethical sources.����

The post Guide to buying ethical chocolate appeared first on ����Vlog.

With the plant-based food market expanding rapidly, there are now plenty of options for vegans (and flexitarians) seeking a sugar rush. But what’s the best way to satisfy your chocolate cravings?

We threw several dairy-free curveballs into our dark and milk chocolate taste tests to keep our judges on their toes. They didn’t know which products were vegan and which weren’t, so they were judged on an even playing field.��

So we reveal the best tasting plant-based ‘milk’ chocolates and dark chocolates from our expert taste test – and how they compare with non-vegan products.��

How did we choose the best tasting vegan chocolate?

We set four chocolate experts the unfortunate task of tasting 24 milk/m*lk chocolates and 37 dark chocolates to see which ones they rated the best.��

Our experts are all highly regarded chocolate connoisseurs who have decades of experience between them. They tasted each chocolate ‘blind’, which means they didn’t know what brand they were tasting – and they didn’t know which products were dairy-free or not, so the vegan products had a fair go.��

They judged each product on its aroma, texture, flavour and appearance. We also assessed each product’s Health Star Rating – although, being chocolate, none of them scored particularly well in this respect!

But you’ll be pleased to know that taste accounted for 90% of each product’s score – since taste is the most important factor when it comes to chocolate!

Best tasting vegan ‘milk’ chocolate from our tests

There was one plant-based chocolate in our test that stood head and shoulders above the rest: Pico Original M*lk chocolate.��

Our expert taste testers rated it the best tasting of all the dairy-free chocolates in our test, with a taste score of 70% – almost 20 percentage points higher than the second-best vegan chocolate.��

What’s more, it had the second-highest cocoa content of all the products we tested, not just the vegan ones.��

On the downside, it was also one of the most expensive, costing $7.50 per 100g. In fact,��vegan chocolate products are among the priciest on the market. The most expensive in our test was Pana Organic Mylk, costing a steep $11.25 per 100g.��

But a bit of extra cash may be a reasonable tradeoff for you if your motivations for cutting down on dairy are ethical or environmental.

How the top scoring vegan chocolate compares

Although 67% may not seem like a very high score, when compared with all the other milk chocolates we tested, the Pico actually does quite well. It outperforms brands like Green & Black’s, Darrell Lea, Lindt and Cadbury – and by a big margin. For comparison, Darrell Lea scored 55% and Cadbury Dairy Milk just 49%.��

For a plant-based chocolate to stand up so well against dairy-based traditional milk chocolates is no mean feat – so you know it’s good stuff.��

Here’s how the top three vegan ‘milk’ chocolates stack up:

1. Pico Original M*lk

• ����Vlog Expert Rating: 67%
• Taste score: 70%
• Price per 100g: $7.50
• Country of origin: Made in Switzerland.

2. LovingEarth Creamy Coconut Mylk Chocolate with Raw Ashaninka Cacao

• ����Vlog Expert Rating: 47%
• Taste score: 51%
• Price per 100g: $8.06
• Country of origin: Made in Australia.

3. Pana Organic Mylk

• ����Vlog Expert Rating: 46%
• Taste score: 50%
• Price per 100g: $11.25
• Country of origin: Made in Australia using imported ingredients.

To learn more about milk chocolate, check out our��guide to buying the best milk chocolate.��

The dark side

If you’re a dark chocolate lover, there are plenty of plant-based options available. Of the 37 dark chocolates we tested, no fewer than 23 were vegan – so you won’t have to miss out!

Many dark chocolate products are ‘accidental’ dairy-free foods – that is, they’re not made specifically for the vegan market, but by virtue of them being dark chocolates, they just happen not to contain any animal products. This is why you’ll see many more ‘mainstream’ brands like Lindt, Whittaker’s and even Coles’ own-brand dark chocolate in the plant-based dark chocolate category.��

In case you didn’t know, other accidental vegan foods include Burger Rings, Coco Pops and Oreos!

Once again, Pico was one of the star performers, scoring 74% and taking third place overall with its Super Dark 85% Cocoa Single Origin. It was also one of the most expensive, but also had one of the highest percentages of cocoa.��

But it couldn’t quite trump Lindt’s Excellence 90% Cocoa bar, which topped the group with a score of 79%. Coming in just behind it was Aldi’s Just Organic 70% Dark Chocolate with a score of 78%.��

Here’s how the top three stack up:

Lindt Excellence 90% cocoa

• ����Vlog Expert Rating: 79%
• Taste score: 83%
• Price per 100g: $4.50
• Country of origin: Manufactured in Germany

Aldi Just Organic 70% Dark Chocolate

• ����Vlog Expert Rating: 78%
• Taste score: 84%
• Price per 100g: $2.79
• Country of origin: Packed in Germany from imported ingredients.

Pico Super Dark 85% Cocoa Single Origin

• ����Vlog Expert Rating: 74%
• Taste score: 79%
• Price per 100g: $7.50
• Country of origin: Made in Switzerland. Cocoa from Dominican Republic.��

To learn more about choosing the best dark chocolate, check out our guide to buying the best dark chocolate.��

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