Christmas brings many things from glittering decorations to manic Christmas shopping to festive ranges. This includes all the high street coffee shops offering their festive menus with everything from coffee, hot chocolates and even matcha given a seasonal twist.
I set out to try and rank Costa, Starbucks, Cafe Nero, Greggs, Pret A Manager and Black Sheep Coffee’s festive drinks. While some are worth their slightly high price tag, others I would recommend saving the pennies and giving them a miss.
Here are the best to worst festive drinks from Costa, Starbucks, Cafe Nero, Greggs, Pret A Manager and Black Sheep Coffee:
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1. Café Nero
Café Nero was the clear winner -Credit:Steph Colderick
Easily the best for me is Café Nero. Ever since they brought out their millionaires hot chocolate a couple of years ago, I have been hooked. This festive hot chocolate is perfectly sweet, but not sickly, and tastes just like a millionaire’s shortbread in a cup – in my eyes, perfection.
Priced at £4.75 for the biggest size and with cream this hot chocolate is not cheap but definitely worth it, especially as a treat. I also tried the Christmas tiramisu latte, which was also £4.75.
This latte did not have as strong of a coffee flavour as other Christmas lattes I tried, which I liked. Overall it was more sweet and creamy and just the right amount of sweetness. It was super rich, and velvety and the coffee flavour was also coming through without being overpowering.
2. Costa
I ranked Costa in second place -Credit:Steph Colderick
Coming in second place was Costa, which had an impressive festive menu. I tried the caramel nutcracker hot chocolate, slightly cheaper than Café Nero for £4.65, and the festive spice latte for £4.40.
I had very high hopes for the caramel nutcracker hot chocolate, as it sounded right up my street. You could taste the caramel, which I liked, it was sweet but not overpowering and it did smell like Christmas in a cup – a win-win.
The festive spice latte was very smooth and tasted high quality. The coffee had strong Christmas spice flavours and you could easily taste cinnamon and nutmeg.
3. Pret A Manger
The Pret drinks were good -Credit:Steph Colderick
Pret A Manger also impressed with their Christmas range. I tried their festive orange hot chocolate for £3.85 and the caramelised almond latte for £3.85.
The festive orange hot chocolate was the best orange hot chocolate I tried, with another brand also offering this as a festive drink. The hot chocolate was creamy and very well-balanced with both the chocolate and orange flavours.
The caramelised almond latte also had a good but not overpowering coffee taste and you could clearly taste the almond, giving it a nice marzipan flavour and making the drink taste like Christmas.
4. Starbucks
The Starbucks drinks were disappointing -Credit:Steph Colderick
Starbucks was one of the most disappointing Christmas drinks I tried. I opted for the gingerbread latte at £4.90, the fudge brownie hot chocolate at a whopping £5.05 and the caramel waffle as a hot chocolate for £4.70.
As one of the most expensive drinks I tried, I would say these are not worth the price and at first, I was delighted when the barista told me they could make the festive coffees into a hot chocolate, which was the case for the caramel waffle hot chocolate.
This hot chocolate was very sweet and too rich, it didn’t really taste like a caramel waffle. I was also very excited to try the fudge brownie hot chocolate but it was not well flavoured, rather watery and the bits of brownie were not a great addition, instead making the hot chocolate gloopy and unpleasant to enjoy.
The gingerbread latte tasted overpoweringly of bitter coffee, however did have a good cinnamon kick. Overall Starbucks was very disappointing. For the latest restaurant reviews, sign up to our food and drink newsletter here.
5. Black Sheep Coffee
Black Sheep Coffee did not offer a festive hot chocolate -Credit:Steph Colderick
Black Sheep Coffee is firstly so low down on the list as they do not offer a festive hot chocolate, which is very disappointing. They do however offer an iced white mint choc matcha latte, for a wallet denting £5.18, and a gingerbread latte for £4.59.
Seeing iced matcha with a festive twist is unusual. The drink is very minty and has a clear Christmas theme through the mint however you can’t really taste the chocolate or the matcha. The gingerbread latte has a smooth and strong taste but is lacking in gingerbread flavour.
6. Greggs
While the cheapest festive drink, I tried the orange hot chocolate for £2.60 making it the best option for your bank account, this seasonal drink from Greggs was not amazing. The orange flavour was a bit overpowering and the hot chocolate was watery and not creamy at all.