Costa, Starbucks and Cafe Nero cut down sugar in Christmas drinks

Espresso store chains are chopping down on sugar, together with of their super-sweet Christmas drinks, following a well being backlash.

Costa's caramel fudge scorching chocolate, which contained the equal of just about 27 teaspoons of sugar, has been axed.

The drink was bought final 12 months with a belt-busting 107.2grams of sugar in a massimo (massive) serving, nevertheless it has been changed by the mint scorching chocolate, which incorporates 64.4g – a 40 per cent discount.

Caffe Nero, Costa and Starbucks are all chopping the sugar ranges of their festive drinks by fairly drastic quantities

And the chain will slash the sugar in its super-sweet chai latte by 44 per cent after the extent was highlighted by the Day by day Mail.

The drink presently has 79.7g – virtually 20 teaspoons – in a massimo serving, however subsequent spring this can come right down to 45g, which is a discount of eight.7 teaspoons, with the introduction of decreased sugar chai powder and sweetener. Costa has additionally switched to reduced-sugar scorching chocolate powder.

The strikes are a part of a drive to scale back the quantity of added sugar in fashionable scorching drinks by 25 per cent earlier than 2020.

On the similar time, the federal government watchdog Public Well being England is pushing for sugar to be taken out of lots of of different fashionable merchandise, corresponding to breakfast cereals, confectionery, ice cream and muffins.

The sugar in scorching drinks served by chains corresponding to Costa, Starbucks, Caffe Nero and Pret a Manger is made up of two parts.

A small quantity of pure sugar – lactose – is present in milk, whereas different sugar is added for style.

Starbucks has minimize the added sugar in its fudge scorching chocolate this 12 months by 19 per cent

Each Costa, which is the most important UK chain, and Starbucks are making vital sugar reductions of their festive drinks and in others bought all year long.

Regardless of these modifications, a lot of their merchandise stay excessive in sugar, and well being watchdogs are more likely to demand they do extra.

Starbucks has minimize the added sugar in its fudge scorching chocolate this 12 months by 19 per cent. This reduces the determine in a grande serving from 48.5g to 39.4g – a minimize of round two teaspoons.

There may be four per cent much less sugar in its gingerbread latte and a small discount in sugar in its toffee nut latte.

Starbucks has eliminated the biggest venti dimension from its menu boards for some sugary scorching drinks and added the quick (small) dimension. It has additionally minimize sugar in numerous syrup flavourings.

Caffe Nero mentioned the quantity of sugar in its common festive latte with out cream has come down from 30.4g to 22.4g this 12 months – a 26 per cent discount.

Pret a Manger didn't reply to requests for info on its plans for sugar discount.