The teas more sugary than 2 Mars bars

FANCY teas in high street coffee shops are packed with more fat and sugar than chocolate bars and fizzy drinks.

Health campaigners are calling on large chains to change their recipes and drop ‘supersize’ servings after the astonishing calorific values of the drinks was revealed.

There are barely any calories in your average black tea brew. Adding milk and two sugars, takes it up to around 50.

However, the cuppa is being reinvented by the likes of Starbucks and Costa with trendy exotic blends that can contain more than ten times that number.

Just this week, Starbucks launched a Citrus Mint Green Tea Latte with Matcha, where a ‘grande’ cup comes in at 321 calories and 39.2g of sugar – almost ten teaspoons.

That is significantly more than a Mars bar and double the number of calories in a can of regular Coke, which measures 139. Starbucks also offers a Chai Tea Latte, in a larger ‘venti’ serving, which has an even higher 51.6g of sugar – equivalent to around 13 teaspoons.

And rivals, Costa, offers a ‘massimo’ Chai Latte, which weighs in at 678 calories and 78.7g of sugar. That makes it equivalent to almost three Mars bars and almost five cans of Coke. Caffe Nero and Pret a Manger have their own calorific versions.

Over the summer, Costa was selling a Green Tea, Lime And Mint Fruit Cooler in the summer. The Massimo serving came in at 269 calories and 64.2g of sugar – 16 teaspoons.

There is plenty of evidence on the health benefits of tea. One study found those who drank it four times a day for six weeks had lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

And a team in Paris suggested tea is particularly good for heart health because of the presence of beneficial flavonoids, which are a type of antioxidant.

However, it is unlikely the same could be said of the new breed of teas, where any benefit is likely to be outweighed by the calories and sugar.

Nutritionist Kawther Hashem, of campaign group Action on Sugar, said: ‘ These hot flavoured drinks, which are laden with an unbelievable amount sugar and calories, should be an occasional drink, not an “everyday” drink.’

Starbucks said it displayed nutritional information about its drinks, adding: ‘ Semi- skimmed milk is served as standard, but our drinks can be customised to reduce calories, including choosing skimmed, soya or coconut milk.’

Costa said it had committed to reducing the added sugar of its drinks by 25 per cent by 2020.

Caffè Nero said its Chai Latte was a ‘speciality drink’, rather than a tea.