First-party source audit · Reviewed 24 October 2026
Which UK coffee chains publish caffeine data?
Guide updated 2026-09-24
What changed in the September editorial review
The short answer
A source can contain useful numbers without describing the current menu. Disclosure, freshness and precision are separate checks.
24 September 2026 change note
The editorial review identified the expired April–August Costa period and newer seasonal links on Starbucks’ nutrition page. The existing recipe records retain their source dates until a recipe-by-recipe reconciliation is completed. No updated numerical guide is implied by this page’s editorial date.
How to report an improvement
A useful correction identifies the official document, market, recipe, serving and document date. A menu item name, calorie figure or unsupported third-party number can’t fill a numeric source gap. Downloaded records preserve the source fields so others can inspect those limits.
Use this guide to compare drinks, not to make medical decisions. We have marked estimates and calculations so you can tell them apart from published amounts. Check the latest label or menu if you need an exact figure.
CaffCalc reviewed the official UK menu, nutrition or corporate source used for six major chains. This page distinguishes usable caffeine figures from nutrition pages that don’t state caffeine in milligrams.
Disclosure status by chain
| UK chain | Public first-party status | Coverage recorded | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starbucks Reviewed 23 August 2026 | Public numeric data found | 61 first-party drinks · 197 servings | Starbucks UK Spring 2026 allergen and nutrition guide |
| Costa Coffee Reviewed 23 August 2026 | Public numeric data found | 10 first-party drinks · 23 servings | Costa Coffee UK store guide |
| Caffè Nero Reviewed 4 September 2026 | Not in reviewed public source | 5 flagged drinks · 5 servings | Caffè Nero UK coffee menu |
| Pret A Manger Reviewed 4 September 2026 | Not in reviewed public source | 7 flagged drinks · 7 servings | Pret A Manger UK coffee menu |
| Greggs Reviewed 4 September 2026 | Not in reviewed public source | 5 flagged drinks · 5 servings | Greggs corporate FAQs |
| McDonald’s Reviewed 24 October 2026 | Not in reviewed public source | 2 flagged drinks · 4 servings | McDonald’s UK allergen booklet landing page |
What the review found
Within this six-chain sample, Starbucks UK and Costa Coffee UK provide usable public numeric information in the first-party sources reviewed. Caffè Nero, Pret A Manger and Greggs now have separately flagged figures from Which?’s August 2026 comparison; Which? says it contacted chains and used online guides, while Greggs described its supplier figures as indicative rather than exact. McDonald’s UK has older approximate figures in a 2018 FAQ, but its current public nutrition guide still omits caffeine.
This keeps the disclosure finding separate from the availability of a useful number. The evidence label and date follow each value into its detail page and download.
Why some gaps remain
Caffeine depends on dose, beans, extraction and recipe. Nutrition figures such as calories don’t reveal caffeine content, and a drink with the same name can differ between markets. McDonald’s publishes a broad 47–189 mg frappé range across unspecified sizes and flavours; CaffCalc records that limitation on its brand page but doesn’t invent a midpoint or attach a boundary to a specific drink.
If a chain publishes current exact UK figures, the flagged record can be replaced while preserving the source history. Corrections can be reported through the project contact page.
Method and limits
- Scope: the six chains listed above and the linked first-party UK source for each.
- Review date: the date shown per chain; sources can change after review.
- Positive status: numeric caffeine values or a transparent numeric extraction table that maps to documented recipes.
- No claim is made that these are the only UK chains or that every product sold by a positive-status chain is covered.