Chocolate is already sweet enough, but do you know what makes it taste even sweeter? Knowing that you're paying less for chocolate that's as good as the premium brands.
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).
Our experts rated some cheaper chocs well above higher-priced blocks
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
Top-tier taste at a bargain price: Woolworths' Belgian chocolate.
Woolworths Belgian Milk Chocolate
- CHOICE 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 CHOICE 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
Dairy not-so-Fine: Aldi's cheap choc disappoints.
Aldi Dairy Fine Milk Chocolate
- CHOICE 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.
This Lindt chocolate has no added sugar but it's still sweet.
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.
This Coles dairy-free choc is cheap and sweet, but without added sugar.
Coles No Added Sugar Mylk Chocolate
- CHOICE 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
You won't get FOMO if you miss out on Nomo.
Nomo (No Missing Out) Creamy Choc Plant-Powered
- CHOICE 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.
Perhaps should stick to making regular milk chocolate instead of this vegan version.
Lindt Classic Vegan Smooth
- CHOICE 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.
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Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.
