Over the past 10 years, American-style coffee houses have popped up on every single high street in Britain. Skinny lattes, frappucinos, chai lattes - they have become a common part of British life, whether you prefer Starbucks, Nero or Costa.
In the summer, iced coffees are some of the biggest sellers for the coffee chains. However a charity has warned that the seemingly harmless cold drinks can contain as many calories as a full meal. The World Cancer Research Fund conducted a survey into the iced coffees sold by the most popular chains and discovered that the majority of iced drinks contained over 200 calories.
The worst offender was the new venti dark berry mocha frappuncino, which Starbucks started selling this summer. It has 561 calories in it, over a quarter of a woman’s recommended daily calorie intake and over a third of what dieters should be aiming for.
Dr Rachel Thompson, the science program manager at the WCRF, called the calorie content of the drink “alarming”. The WTCF launched the survey in response to the growing evidence that obesity is a leading cause of cancer in the Western world. They have estimated that 19,000 cases of cancer each year could be avoided if people shed their excess weight.
Dr. Thompson said that while the occasional iced coffee was fine as a treat, drinkers should opt for unsweetened coffee, ask for skimmed milk and avoid the creams and syrups that the coffee houses offer.
In 2007 Starbucks changed the milk it uses by default from full-fat to 2% fat and has begun tests into a low-calorie frappucino recipe. Both Costa and Nero offer the full calorie content of their products on their websites.