Autumnal drinks sold at Starbucks, Pret and Costa can have more sugar than FOUR doughnuts and be as calorific as TWO Mars bars

It’s become a tradition for Britain’s high street cafe chains to release autumn themed menus. 

However, popular pumpkin spiced lattes, flavoured hot chocolates and frappes can have more sugar than four Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnuts.

Other trendy drinks sold at the likes of Starbucks, Pret and Costa can contain almost a quarter of an adult’s recommended daily calories — or the equivalent to eating two Mars bars. 

Experts warned these sugary drinks are ‘well in excess’ of daily recommended in intake, which may lead to people unwittingly gaining weight if they regularly drink the sweet beverages.

MailOnline audited more than 20 drinks released on autumn menus at six chains, including Caffe Nero, McDonald’s and Greggs.

The most sugary option on the high street is the Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino, sold at Starbucks. 

A grande (medium) sized option — which is made from pumpkin flavour sauce blended with coffee, milk and ice — contains a whopping 51.3g of sugar. This is equivalent to eating about 12 sugar cubes or five Freddo chocolate bars. 

Adults are advised to have no more than 30g of free sugars per day — those added to food or drinks, rather than those naturally found. 

Eating too much sugar can cause weight gain, which over time raises the risk of heart disease, some cancers and type 2 diabetes. It can also cause tooth decay. 

The Starbucks drink — which is topped with whipped cream and a blend of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves — also contains 370 calories, which is about 70 calories more than a cheeseburger at McDonald’s. 

But the most calorific autumn-themed drink is the Amaretto Hot Chocolate sold at Caffe Nero. It is made from cocoa powder, amaretto syrup and steamed milk and is topped with whipped cream and mini almond biscotti.

The beverage contains 443 calories and 42.7g of sugar — that’s more calories than a McDonald’s Sausage and Egg McMuffin.

It’s almost a quarter of the calories an adult woman needs a day (2,000) and a fifth of the total needed by men (2,500) to maintain their weight.

This website’s analysis focused on the medium versions of the drinks. Opting for a large cup, or choosing extra cream or syrups, would only push the calories and sugar even higher. 

Pret’s Chocolate Chai — hot chocolate mixed with chai spices — contains the most sugar out of the chain’s autumnal drinks, with a huge amount 47.3g in a medium drink and 343 calories. 

For comparison, a cappuccino of the same size at Caffe Nero contains 106 calories and 8.5g of sugar. 

Costa’s Maple Hazel Hot Chocolate — packed with roasted hazelnut syrup, maple sauce, whipped cream and crunchy biscuit topping — has 343 calories and 47.3g of sugar, which is about 7g more sugar than a regular hot chocolate of the same size.

Greggs Hazelnut Mocha — made with coffee beans, steamed milk, cocoa, hazelnut syrup and whipped cream — is also high in sugar (32g) and calories (332). 

That’s more calories than a Greggs Sausage Roll and more than double the amount of sugar in a Yum Yum from the chain. 

McDonald’s seasonal drink, the Caramel Waffle Latte, is among the healthier options for autumnal drinks. It has 184 calories and 21g of sugar — half that of the Starbucks autumnal option.

Similarly, Pret’s Pumpkin Spice Latte contains 170 calories and 24.2g of sugar.

But, this is still more sugar than a triple chocolate doughnut sold at Greggs and two thirds of the daily recommended sugar intake. 

Dietitian Dr Duane Mellor, based at Aston University in Birmingham, told MailOnline many of these drinks are ‘well in excess’ of daily recommended sugar guidelines. 

He warns that consuming too much sugar increases the risk of weight gain and obesity.

‘I don’t think there is any reason to worry about consuming them as an occasional treat, but of course continuous consumption of high amounts of sugar can have adverse effects on health,’ says food scientist Professor Gunter Kuhnle. 

Professor Kuhnle, based at reading University, said weight gain is linked with sugary drinks,  people often consume more calories than they realise. 

‘Each season, “new” overly sweet drinks make an appearance and it’s disappointing to still see unnecessarily high levels of sugar in them’, says Dr Kawther Hashem, campaign lead at Action on Sugar.

Dr Hashem warns that some of these drinks contain as much as 13g of sugar. 

She said: ‘This drives home the need for measures such as a comprehensive sugar reduction programme or a reformulation tax to ensure that companies are discouraged from pouring in so much sugar in the first place. 

‘This would have a positive impact on our nation’s health and their teeth.’

A Costa Coffee spokesperson said: ‘All our limited-edition, hand-crafted drinks, such as the Maple Hazel range, are only available in small and medium sizes. 

‘They can also be customised to have fewer calories and lower sugar content; for example, removing toppings, opting for a sugar-free syrup, or switching to a Light Whip – that has 75 fewer calories per serving than Whipped Cream.

‘Nutritional information is always available in-store on our menu boards, on our app, and online to help customers make the decision that is right for them.’