It’s that time of year again. The lights are twinkling, the shops are blaring the same six Christmas songs, and every coffee chain in the country is falling over itself to serve you something brown, warm, and aggressively sprinkled.
To help you navigate 2025’s sugar-dusted festive menu (which seems to be dominated by the Gingerbread Latte), we went out and ordered the biggest Christmas coffee from six big hitters: Costa, Greggs, Caffè Nero, Pret, Starbucks and Tim Hortons.
What follows is a deeply scientific examination of what they promised vs. what we actually got. Spoiler: only one of these drinks fully understood the assignment.
Caffè Nero — Gingerbread Latte
Expectation: “Sweet, lightly spiced, topped with whipped cream and mini gingerbread people.”
Reality: They absolutely deliver on the topping — until physics gets involved.
Caffè Nero wins the presentation war hands down. It arrives with a towering swirl of whipped cream covered in mini gingerbread men — a whole crowd of tiny festive lads. It’s adorable.
But the cream mountain melts fast. And when it does, it cools the coffee down and creates a thick, gloopy situation at the bottom of the mug. Those gingerbread men? They merge into one unholy festive lava formation.
Still, the experience is fun. It looks the most Christmassy, it tastes rich, and it definitely feels like a treat — even if you need a spoon and a warning label by the end.
Verdict: Festive, fun, structurally unsound.
Festive Froth Score: ★★★★☆
Costa — Butter Pecan Cookie Latte
Expectation: “A delicious seasonal twist… transforms every coffee break into a little celebration.”
Reality: A latte that genuinely seems to be trying its best.
Costa’s marketing talks about butter pecan cookie magic, but what you actually get is a gentle biscuity sweetness that’s more “digestive dipped in coffee” than “pecan pie in a cup”. But honestly, it works.
The crispy cookie bits on top start strong, but sink faster than your willpower in a December office buffet. Within minutes, they’re a soggy mush, like tiny biscuits questioning their life choices.
Presentation-wise, though, Costa managed to produce something that looks at least something like its menu photo — tall glass, decent whip, festive sprinkle action. It feels like Christmas. Just Christmas on a budget airline.
Verdict: Surprisingly good, even if the pecan part never truly arrives.
Festive Froth Score: ★★★★☆
Greggs — Gingerbread Latte
Expectation: “The most drool-worthy drink to hit our menu.”
Reality: A perfectly acceptable drink served in the least festive cup in Britain.
Greggs promises spice, sprinkles and a swirl of festive joy. What we got: a flat-topped latte wearing a cream hat so defeated it looked like it had been told it was on the naughty list.
There’s no gingerbread dusting (the board promises it), no cinnamon sparkle, and crucially, no Christmas coffee cup. You can buy a Festive Bake shaped like a tiny pastry igloo, but our latte came in plain Greggs white, looking like it’s just clocked in for a shift.
The taste? Fine. Not bold, not bad. Just Greggs. It’s gingerbread-themed, not gingerbread-powered.
Verdict: Pleasant enough, but the least Christmassy of the lot.
Festive Froth Score: ★★☆☆☆
Pret — Gingerbread Latte
Expectation: “Perfectly spiced… a swirl of whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.”
Reality: Greggs energy at Selfridges prices.
Pret charges proper money for its Christmas coffee, so the disappointment hits harder.
The gingerbread flavour is mild, the cream is standard, and the whole thing feels… fine. Not £4.50 fine. More “you stopped here because the queue at Starbucks was too long” fine.
Yes, the cinnamon sprinkle is present, but that’s doing a lot of heavy lifting.
Verdict: A perfectly okay latte that costs more than a perfectly okay latte should.
Festive Froth Score: ★★☆☆☆
Starbucks — Toffee Nut Latte
Expectation: “Signature espresso with toffee nut sprinkles.”
Reality: The closest thing to the marketing photo — and pretty tasty too.
Starbucks is the only brand that really understood the brief: “make it festive, make it Instagrammable, make it sweet enough to power a small city”.
It tastes good, too. You actually get proper toffee notes and a hint of nuttiness, rather than a vague “brown sugar” vibe. The cream stays upright. The sprinkles sparkle. The espresso isn’t lost under a tsunami of syrup.
Is it life-changing? No. But it’s exactly what Starbucks promised, and that puts it above most of the competition.
Verdict: Well-balanced, well-presented, well within expectations.
Festive Froth Score: ★★★★★
Tim Hortons — Gingerbread Latte
Expectation: A colossal whipped-cream swirl soaring majestically into the sky.
Reality: A sad little swirl that didn’t even reach the rim.
Tim Hortons’ menu photo shows a whipped-cream Everest. What arrived looked more like a polite apology from the barista.
The cream was dense — not unpleasant, just surprisingly heavy — and once it melted, it gave the drink a nice texture. But presentation-wise, this was the biggest gap between promise and reality.
Flavour-wise? Decent. Warm gingerbread notes, smooth coffee. Christmassy enough, but ultimately forgettable. Visually, it’s the festive latte equivalent of Christmas decorations still hanging up in February.
Verdict: Tastes fine, looks tired.
Festive Froth Score: ★☆☆☆☆
Final Festive Froth Scoreboard
| 1 | Starbucks | ★★★★★ | Looks like the photo! Tastes good! A Christmas miracle! |
| 2 | Costa | ★★★★ | Solid effort, solid execution, mushy cookie bits. |
| 3 | Caffè Nero | ★★★★ | 5/5 presentation, 2/5 stability. |
| 4 | Greggs | ★★ | Where’s the Christmas cup, Greggs? |
| 5 | Pret | ★★ | Price-to-excitement ratio: bleak. |
| 6 | Tim Hortons | ★ | Feels like it’s already in the January sales. |
He is the founder of Huff Media, publisher of Professional Pickup, Professional Van, Average Janes, Average Joes, and CALIBRE. His work focuses primarily on light commercial vehicles, pickups, and real-world vehicle use, with much of his time spent on manufacturer launches, industry events, and long-term vehicle testing.
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