The tree is up. The decorations are out. And the gifts are wrapped. It’s a rainy December afternoon and all I want is a mince pie with a cup of tea.

I won’t lie. I start eating mince pies in October – it’s never too early, right? And every year, there’s the ‘who does the best mince pie’ debate. So this year, with the help of my friend Hannah, I decided to put high street brands to the test.

Asda

Natasha’s rating: 5 out of 5

These are my go-to every year. Hands down my favourite. They’re really sweet, super moreish – whenever I have one, I always want a second…

Tesco

Natasha’s rating: 4 out of 5

Really lovely mincemeat, nice and juicy, quite smooth. Pastry is a tiny bit hard and crunchy for my liking. Not so sweet, so good for someone with less of a sweet tooth than me.

Hannah’s rating: 3 out of 5

The pastry wasn’t very buttery and sort of fell apart. The filling was nice though!

M&S

Hannah’s rating: 4 out of 5

Super yummy and perfect pastry! Pretty close to being a 5 out of 5 actually.

Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Frangipane

Hannah’s rating: 3 out of 5

Nice taste but very crumbly and not very much mincemeat.

Mr Kipling Mini Mince Pie Selection

Mini mince pies are just not worth it – they’re way too small! So I marked them all down a point…

Frangipane top

Natasha’s rating: 3 out of 5

Taste a little bland cause there’s not much mincemeat in them. Frangipane is interesting, I’ve never had it before.

Deep filled

Natasha’s rating: 3 out of 5

Pastry was super crumbly and the mincemeat wasn’t my favourite – there’s too much of something in them, apricot maybe?

Iced top

Natasha’s rating: 3 out of 5

Pastry was super crumbly and pretty much fell apart but was also melt in the mouth. I’m a fan!

Caffe Nero

Natasha’s review: 2 out of 5

The lowest so far. The pastry was nice but I really didn’t like the flavour of the mincemeat.

Tesco’s Finest Spiced Rum

Natasha’s review: 3 out of 5

Pretty nice, can definitely taste the difference with the spiced rum but I quite liked it. Only downside: there was just so much pastry and a little on the hard side.

Lidl’s Deluxe

Natasha’s review: 4 out of 5

Nice, soft pastry and good mincemeat too.

Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference with Brandy Infused Mincemeat

Hannah’s review: 3 out of 5

Didn’t think the pastry was that great and they skimped a bit on the filling.