BATTLE OF THE BISCUITS
Whether you like to dunk a digestive or chomp on a choc chip cookie, a cuppa just isn’t the same without the right bickie. Our testers tried 41 biscuits in six categories to find the tastiest treats.
MILK CHOCOLATE DIGESTIVES
WINNER
M&S Milk Chocolate Digestives
80p for 300g 78/100
These have a nutty aroma and malted biscuit base. Sugar crystals add crunch.
RUNNER-UP Mcvitie’s Milk Chocolate Digestives
£1.50 for 266g 77/100
Milk chocolate with a touch of caramel. The oaty bases have a hint of saltiness.
PLAIN DIGESTIVES
WINNER Mcvitie’s Digestives
£1.19 for 400g 72/100
These have a great balance of sweet and savouriness and testers loved the crumbly texture. Ideal to partner a cheeseboard or a hot drink.
RUNNER-UP M&S Digestives
60p for 400g 71/100
Testers loved the rustic look of these golden digestives. They have a wholemeal flavour with a hint of sweetness; perfect for cheese.
RICH TEA
JOINT WINNER Belmont Rich Tea
29p for 300g; Aldi 74/100 These crunchy biscuits have a wheaty aroma with sweet notes. Testers loved the malty flavour and gentle sweetness. Perfect for dunking or as a crumbly cheesecake base.
JOINT WINNER Asda Rich Tea Biscuits
30p for 300g 74/100
These crunchy biscuits have an enticing savoury, buttery scent. Our testers enjoyed the malty taste, milky undertones and gentle sweet notes.
CUSTARD CREAMS WINNER
M&S Custard Creams
35p for 200g 86/100
This biscuit ticked all the boxes. Testers loved the silky-smooth vanilla custard centres that are sandwiched between the wheaty biscuits.
RUNNER-UP Essential Waitrose & Partners Custard Creams
35p for 150g 80/100
These biscuits have a vanilla flavour with just the right level of sweetness and a moreish custard filling.
If you thought bag-in-box wine was just for students and festivalgoers, think again! Wine in this format makes a very practical purchase – light to carry, compact and easy to fit in the fridge – plus, the airtight seal around the tap lets less oxygen into the wine, so some can last as long as six weeks once opened (though we recommend three to four). It also tends to use less energy to produce than glass and is lighter for transportation, thereby improving your carbon footprint. Best of all, our wine and spirits specialist, Alexandra Hale, has found some that are delicious and represent fantastic value for money (as little as
£4 per 750ml). Asda Soave White Boxed Wine (£12.50 for 2.25L) is a refreshing white wine with a lemon and floral aroma. It is easy drinking with a pleasant crisp, ripe citrus and juicy pear flavour. M&S La Dame en Rose 2019 pouch
(£12 for 1.5L) has a delicate, elegant red berry fruit aroma with just a touch of confected strawberry, which follows on to a light, tangy flavour of red berry fruit and jammy strawberry. This rosé is light and versatile, perfect for picnics and nibbles in the sun. The Co-op Fairtrade Argentinian Red Blend box (£19.50 for 3L) is a crowd-pleasing red wine with ripe black cherry aromas and a touch of sweet cinnamon spice. The palate is tangy with blackberry and cherry flavours and smooth, fine tannins – it’s the perfect accompaniment for a barbecue.