Reviewing Montezuma’s New Eco Dark Chocolate Easter Eggs

Montezuma's describes themselves as an "ethical British chocolate brand", and this year they've had their Easter Egg packaging firmly in their sights for an environmentally friendly makeover.

They've created a range of Eco Easter eggs that do away with the usual plastic inserts and protective foil wrappers. Instead, they've opted solely for card packaging, banishing the single-use plastics and foil.

Montezuma's kindly sent me a couple of their vegan Eco Easter eggs to put them through their paces.

Packaging

A key aspect of the Eco Egg range - and perhaps the main reason you'd buy them - is the fully recyclable packaging. It even helped the company recently secure the accolade of 'Most Eco-Conscious Chocolate Brand' in the 2023's Leaders in Luxury Awards by Lux Lifestyle Magazine.

The packaging has been carefully thought out to ensure it can be fully recycled, right down to the paper tape used to seal the carton closed.

It uses a card outer, in craft brown for the most part, with pops of brighter colours printed directly onto the carton, making the packaging more visually appealing. Inside, where you'd normally find plastic caps, these are made from white card, securing the eggs in place whilst in transit. There's also no foil shielding the egg, for added jeopardy.

But the proof is in the pudding, and my pair of eggs survived the cross-country Royal Mail journey unscathed, looking just as good as they did when they popped out of the factory.

The plastic-free packaging is fully recyclable at the kerbside, so it's nice and easy to do your bit for the planet.

What I like most about the packaging is that it has been designed with a "less is more" mindset. Why stick an large Easter egg in an even larger box just for the sake of shelf appeal? What's the point of housing an egg in plastic in a box, when the box can do an equally good job on its own? Why wrap the egg in foil when the first thing we do when we unbox our Easter eggs is tear the foil off?

So, the packaging checks out, but what about the chocolate itself?

The text on the box refers to the use of organic cocoa, but there's no other mention of ethical sourcing. Thankfully, their website expands on their 'Business Done Properly' mantra, explaining that all the company's cocoa is certified, either through Rainforest Alliance, UTZ, and Cocoa Horizons. To meet growing demand, Montezuma's sources its cocoa from a variety of sources (refusing to commit itself to just a single source or certification scheme), but states it is all responsibly sourced, regardless of growing region or certification.

Their policy on sourcing states they "are committed to the long term sustainability of cocoa plantations and the wider industry," and that "provenance is critical," meaning the company is picky about where it sources its cocoa. It seeks it from "sources free from deforestation" where there is no "slavery or forced labour" involved in its production. Montezuma's claims it "pay[s] a premium for all [its] cocoa for all the reasons outlined above."

The packaging holds up, and the chocolate is certified and responsibly sourced, but does it tastes any good? There's only one way to find out.

Montezuma's Organic 74% Dark Chocolate Eco Easter Egg Review

Montezuma's Organic 74% Dark Chocolate Eco Easter Egg ingredients:
Organic cocoa mass, organic cane sugar, organic cocoa butter, organic vanilla extract. Cocoa solids: 74% minimum.

At just 25% sugar content, I expected to find quite a dark and intense chocolate, with a reasonable degree of bitterness.

The aroma inside the box is rich and forcefully smokey, with a touch of leathery notes in the background. It's not got as many nuances as you'd typically find in a single-origin chocolate, but it's more characterful than your typical dark chocolate.

Crushing the egg in an act of brute strength reveals a generously thick shell, which partly explains how these eggs survived their postal network journey in tact.

The chocolate has quite a sweet initial flavour, with a mellow smokiness that develops throughout the melt. There's a touch of tart red and golden fruit notes that develop in the middle, alongside a creaminess that softens the intensity (fear not, this Easter egg is actually vegan). It all leads towards a rich cocoa finish, that's intense but not overpowering.

I picked up just a hint of bitterness, but this sits at the sidelines, and doesn't hijack the overall flavour. The measured amount of sugar in this chocolate feels about right, striking that fine balance between sweetness and bitterness. It helps keep everything in check.

While the 74% label might scare off the dark chocolate haters, it exhibits the same sort of characteristics as a dark milk chocolate. There's not a drop of dairy in the recipe but the inherent creaminess and sweetness helps to mellow the high cocoa content.

Montezuma's has done a grand job with this one, and it will be wolfed down rather swiftly.

Montezuma's 100% Absolute Black Dark Chocolate Eco Easter Egg Review

Montezuma's 100% Dark Chocolate Eco Easter Egg ingredients:
Cocoa mass. Cocoa solids: 100% minimum.

How dark is too dark? Could you stomach 100% dark chocolate? Montezuma's is betting on it, adding a 100% dark chocolate Easter egg to this year's range.

It's not as crazy as it first sounds. The Absolute Black range has fast become a strong seller in recent years, so said Montezuma's co-founder, Helen Pattinson, when I met her in London, so this egg already has a niche market carved out for it.

The range has become popular amongst vegans, those counting calories, and those looking for satisfying chocolate treats without refined sugars. This single-ingredient dark chocolate egg contains just 3% natural sugars, so brace yourself for an intense hit.

Curiously, this egg doesn't carry the same organic status of its 74% brother,according to the packaging.

The fragrance of this Easter egg is markedly different to that of it's 74% sibling. Notes of coconut and tobacco shine through at the top level, with a strand of vegetal notes sitting beneath. There's a distant hint of smoke and leather right at the very back, too.

The first thing to notice when tasting this chocolate is how it absorbs all trace of moisture in your mouth. It's also quite bitter, although this seems to hit in waves.

Flavour-wise, it tastes like an intense cocoa powder, but lacks the detailed nuances of its brother. This is perhaps not surprising as its only ingredient is cocoa solids, the primary ingredient for a good quality cocoa powder.

For its mere 3% sugar content, this chocolate is curiously sweet. Perhaps the sweetness is more noticeable as it acts as an antidote to the strands of bitterness? Don't get me wrong, the sweetness is miniscule compared to the big bold cocoa flavours, but it's impressive nevertheless that Montezuma's has tickled this much sweet stuff out of this cocoa.

Hands down, this chocolate will test your limits, for sure. For me, it's right up there at the extremes of what I enjoy. It's more palatable than some other 100% chocolates I have tasted, but I can only enjoy tiny bites, little and often (which is perhaps why it's a hit with dieters?).

Out of the pair, the Organic 74% Dark Chocolate Eco Easter Egg is my winner. However, when my doctor inevitably tells me I've scoffed too many chocolates, and I need something that delivers an intense chocolate hit with minimal sugars, the Absolute Black range delivers in droves.

Where to Buy Online

You'll find both the Absolute Black 100% Dark Chocolate Easter Egg and the less intense 74% Dark Chocolate Easter Egg on the Montezuma's website here. At the time of writing, the Eco eggs were £9.99 each or available on a multibuy of two for £16.

If you like the sound of the Absolute Black egg, you'll find more items from the range available here.

Are you brave enough to take on the 100% Absolute Black egg? Let me know in a comment below.

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