For many, they are as much a part of Christmas as mince pies and turkey.
But for those counting their pennies, Cadbury’s recently revived chocolate coins may not provide the best value.
The firm has brought back its bags after nine years and they are said to be ‘flying off the shelves’ – but at 14p per coin they are twice the price of some of their rivals.
And neither do they outperform all of the supermarket own-brand versions, according to a taste test for the Mail by food historian and chocolate expert Dr Annie Gray.
Dr Gray, a panelist on BBC Radio 4’s Kitchen Cabinet, sampled seven bags from supermarkets as well as Cadbury Dairy Milk Coins, awarding the confectionary giant a distinctly average three out of five.
She handed top prize to Aldi’s Dairyfine Chocolate Coins, which were 7p per coin.
Dr Gray said it was close between second place – which was Morrisons and Marks & Spencer, both priced at 12p per coin. Sainsbury’s Milk Chocolate Coins, costing 6p each – the cheapest tested – came in last with one out of five.
For those counting their pennies, Cadbury ‘s recently revived chocolate coins may not provide the best value
Chocolate coins are believed to date back to 1910, food historian Alex Hutchinson said they were probably a Jewish tradition first (stock image)
Dr Gray said she knocked a point off each brand because of their plastic net packaging, which is difficult to recycle. ‘Really, people, it’s 2023, I think we can do better,’ she said. ‘After that, visuals. Dairy Milk and M&S score well here, being both crisply embossed and a nice shade of gold.
‘The others are all generic. Most importantly, taste.
‘Sainsbury’s is terrible, Asda, Poundland and Lidl unremarkable and Dairy Milk exactly as you’d expect, and a bit too sickly for me.
‘Morrisons, M&S and Aldi have very little between them. M&S promises its cocoa is responsibly sourced; Aldi has a rainforest alliance sticker.
‘I taste again… Aldi wins. The end,’ Dr Gray concluded.
Chocolate coins are believed to date back to 1910 but while many assume they come from the Christian story of St Nicholas, who is said to have thrown coins down chimneys, food historian Alex Hutchinson said they were probably a Jewish tradition first.
The earliest case of mass-produced chocolate coins she found was a company called Loft in New York in the 1920s making chocolate coins for Hanukkah called ‘Geld’.
‘Most would assume chocolate coins are part of the Christmas traditions… however, it is not – chocolate coins appear to be Jewish,’ she said.
Julie Ashfield, from Aldi, said the supermarket was ‘committed to providing high quality products at great value, and we’re pleased to see this recognised by the tasting panel’.