It's an indisputable fact that every right-minded person loves a digestive biscuit.
A staple in the British biscuit barrel since 1839, the digestive has always been one of the nation’s top choices since they were invented by Alexander Grant with the aim of helping digestion.
However, when the chocolate version was developed by McVities in 1925 with the ‘Chocolate Homewheat Digestive,’ the game was changed forever for biscuit fans, with a 2018 YouGov poll even naming them as the nations favourite. But which type of chocolate digestive is the best? With so many different brands on the market today I decided to test out which brand was the best for myself, looking at a mixture of name and home-brands.
Waitrose- 90p
The first chocolate digestive I tried was a Waitrose home-brand biscuit that came in at a cost of 90p. Overall this was a very nice biscuit that wasn't too far removed from my usual purchase of a McVities chocolate digestive, and was definitely one that set me off to a good start. There was a good amount of tasty chocolate, which coated a biscuit that also had a good flavour. I will say it wasn't quite as nice as McVities' original, but taking in to account the cheaper price it was not far off, and would be one that I would recommend.
Overall Score 3/5
Asda -55p
The second biscuit on the list was an Asda's chocolate digestive coming in at a cost of 55p. The biscuit to chocolate ratio leaned heavily towards the former here than the Waitrose digestive, however the chocolate that was on there was very tasty. There was also a nice aroma when you opened the packaging and a crunch to the biscuit that was very satisfying. At 55p there was also the money saving element, with a great taste to value ratio, which meant the Asda biscuit slightly edged the Waitrose alternative for me.
Overall score 3/5
Tesco- 60p
The Tesco's home-brand addition to this list was maybe the most surprising of all of the biscuits that I tried over the course of the day. Overall I would have to score this as the runner up on my list as there was a really distinctive flavour to the biscuit that I liked a lot. Coming in at a reasonable 60p the Tesco option provided a generous coating of chocolate and moreish crunch with every bite. It was also another example of a great price to taste ratio, coming in at only 5p more expensive than Asda, but providing a slightly better quality for the money. I also felt that the packaging was slightly more solid as to avoid any breakage of the biscuits on the way home from the shop.
Overall score 4/5
Ms Molly's- 49p
Another Tesco exclusive Ms Molly's was a welcome addition to this list of biscuits, actually coming in as the cheapest option overall at a modest 49p. There was a slightly different in taste and texture to the Tesco home brand, but even though it was 11p cheaper it more than held its own. A good proportion of chocolate and biscuit, that was tasty and moreish, along with a good aroma when you opened the pack. It's not the best on the list for sure, but at 49p you really can't go wrong.
Overall score 3.5/5
Co-op- 99p
Coming in at a cost of 99p the Co-op chocolate digestive was overall my least favourite. For me the chocolate wasn’t quite as tasty as the others, even tasting a little harsh, with a biscuit that was not quite as nice as the others either. It wasn't totally inedible but with a cost of 99p attached there are simply much cheaper and tastier options on the market.
Overall score 2/5
McVities - £1.69
While I came in to this experiment with an open mind at seeing which biscuit was best there is no doubt that McVities retains its place as the king of chocolate digestives. Granted it was the most expensive of all on the list coming in at a cost of £1.69, however the overall taste and quality of the thick chocolate coating and delicious biscuit made me think it was worth every penny. While I would say there is definitely stiff competition with the others on the list, and it is definitely worth trying them, particularly if you're trying to save money, the McVities was still my favourite and showed why they are the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a chocolate biscuit.
Overall score 5/5
Which chocolate digestive is your favourite? Have your say in the comments below.
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