Woolworths Chocolate Hot Cross Buns Achieve Record Score in Choice Taste Test
In the annual Easter bun battle, Australian consumer advocacy group Choice has awarded one of its highest ever scores to a non-traditional product, with Woolworths chocolate hot cross buns earning a remarkable 95% overall rating. This result marks a significant milestone in Choice's ten-year history of conducting hot cross bun taste tests, challenging traditional expectations.
Blind Testing Reveals Chocolate Triumph
Choice tested 15 buns from major supermarkets including Coles, Woolworths, IGA, Aldi, and Bakers Delight, covering traditional fruit, chocolate, and gluten-free varieties. The Woolworths Bakery Chocolate Hot Cross Buns Made With Cadbury Milk Chocolate Chips, priced at 73 cents per bun, secured first place in the chocolate category with their 95% score.
Culinary taste tester Brigid Treloar, who also judges chocolate at the Sydney Royal Fine Food Show, praised the product for achieving a sensory trifecta. "It looked like chocolate. It tasted like chocolate. It smelled like chocolate," she said, noting the strong chocolate flavour persisted whether the bun was toasted or untoasted.
Judging Criteria and Surprising Results
Three judges blind-tested the buns, scoring them on flavour, aroma, texture, and appearance. Treloar explained that a lower dome height often indicates a denser, drier interior, but Woolworths' victory was notable despite having only 19% chocolate content. In contrast, the runner-up, Coles Bakery Choc Chip Hot Cross Buns with 25% chocolate, scored 75%. Treloar suggested Woolworths' use of cocoa powder might have enhanced the chocolate flavour.
Traditional and Gluten-Free Categories
For traditionalists, Coles Finest Luxurious Fruit Hot Cross Buns won the fruit category for the second consecutive year with an 85% score, praised for their generous fruit mix and strong spice aroma. Woolworths Bakery Traditional Fruit Hot Cross Buns placed second at 73%, costing nearly half the price at 73 cents per bun compared to Coles' $1.38.
In gluten-free categories, Woolworths dominated both subcategories. The Woolworths Free From Gluten Fruit Hot Cross Buns scored 77%, while the Woolworths Free From Gluten Choc Hot Cross Buns scored 70%, both priced at $1.38 per bun. Treloar noted that this year's gluten-free buns looked more like normal hot cross buns, a first in her experience, and believed they could compete with gluten-full versions.
Insights from the Experts
Treloar highlighted common issues in lower-scoring buns, such as overly moist fruit creating wet pockets or leaching liquid. For gluten-free products, she detected a slightly unnatural aroma across all entries, but toasting Woolworths' buns mitigated this, replacing it with a desirable hot cross bun scent. "But it was still a lovely bun to eat, even untoasted," she added.
This taste test underscores evolving consumer preferences and the quality improvements in supermarket Easter offerings, with chocolate variants now rivaling traditional favourites in expert assessments.
