Britain is a nation of tea drinkers and most of us would agree that there is nothing better than to also have a biscuit.
However, as Kent Live's Sam Honey explains, it can be very hard to decide which biscuit, in particular, is the supreme choice.
In his opinion, the winner has to be a McVitie’s chocolate digestive - as 'it really is hard to contend with the simplistic beauty of it'.
"In terms of dunking power, it doesn't get better than this, the way the chocolate slightly melts with the warmth of the tea and the biscuit becomes softer but still has that defining crunch, it is perfect.
"I truly believe that the chocolate digestive is one of the best things we have ever created as a species, at least in the world of snacks that is."
Sam continued by saying that "that's not to say there aren't other good biscuits to accompany that afternoon cuppa, custard creams spring to mind for sure, and the humble rich tea really is not talked about enough.
However, he wanted to explore the world of the digestive, and find out if McVitie’s really is the king.
Here are her findings, as he compared own-brand digestives from M&S, Tesco and Aldi with the trusty McVities favourite.
McVitie’s
Before we can get into a review of the others, first we have to set the standard- so I grabbed a pack of the iconic biscuit to quickly get a reminder of what we’re comparing against.
To be precise, I grabbed a double pack for £2 which is pretty good value for two full packets of high quality biscuits.
As I have said, I really don’t think you can get much better than a chocolate digestive, and of course by this point McVitie’s have got it down.
The level of crunch, the taste, the ratio of chocolate to biscuit, it is as though McVitie’s have employed biscuit scientists (if that is an actual job, sign me up) to perfectly craft the ideal biscuit.
So, as you can imagine, there’s a lot to compete with here, and our first contender made quite the impression.
Tesco
Stopping first at none other than home of value itself, Tesco really caught me off guard with my initial taste.
It was strikingly similar to the classic we all know and love, leaving me very impressed.
What did set it apart however was more down to the texture, the biscuit itself was much crumblier, almost like shortbread, which is not necessarily a bad thing.
The chocolate tasted great and I could barely notice a difference, this would be perfect for that morning cuppa.
At the low price of just 60p, this has already made its way as a strong contender.
Marks and Spencer
When it comes to quality, few do it better than M&S to the point that it is synonymous with the brand.
So it should come as no surprise then that the M&S digestives were pretty good.
But, I dare say they were any better than ‘pretty good’ because there were a few key things holding it back.
For a start, something about the chocolate just didn’t seem to be on brand with the M&S name, tasting a little cheaper than I was expecting it to.
The biscuit part was rather good, and probably the closest out of these choices to the distinctive taste and texture of McVitie’s.
Overall though, I couldn’t help but feel just a little underwhelmed, and at a price of 75p, I’d much sooner take the cheaper Tesco alternative.
Aldi
On the subject of price though, you will very rarely find cheaper than Aldi, and of course the budget-supermarket provided the cheapest selection of these choices at just 45p this is an undeniable bargain.
However, upon opening the packet it is clear to see why the cheaper price was in place.
Immediately, the biscuits were noticeably smaller than the others which had all been roughly the same size.
On to taste, this was the weakest by far, with a noticeably cheaper chocolate, that reminded me of the rubbish kind you get in advent calendars.
The biscuit was more hard than enjoyably crunchy and the smaller size meant it was gone in about 2 bites.
This will definitely not be replacing McVitie’s any time soon.
The verdict
This was a tough call to make, I'll be honest, as my loyalty to McVitie’s runs deep.
In the interest of honesty though I have to say I was genuinely impressed with what Tesco had to offer, and for a fantastic price too.
Aldi and M&S left me feeling rather disappointed at the end of this taste test, in regard to these two McVitie’s remains the clear choice.
Does this mean that I will forever change over to Tesco's own brand to get my biscuit fix?
Probably not, no.
But, they do absolutely deserve credit for coming pretty close and making a delicious biscuit, so if I’m ever in Tesco and in the mood to save a few pennies, this will make a more than acceptable substitute to my usual.
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