Costa Hot Chocolate (Medium): calories, sugar and caffeine

Costa Hot Chocolate (Medium), hot chocolate with a cocoa bean stencil on the foam in a tall glass mug, nutrition and calories

A Medium Hot Chocolate made with semi-skimmed milk contains 252 kcal, 17.2g of free sugar (4.3 teaspoons).

Size: Medium | Milk: Semi-Skimmed Milk | Diet: Vegetarian | Allergens: Milk

Nutrition by serving: calories, sugar and salt

Costa Hot Chocolate (Medium) contains 252 kcal, 6.6g of fat (4.2g saturated), 36g of carbohydrate (31g sugar), 11g of protein, 0.5g of salt.

Nutrition by serving: Costa Hot Chocolate (Medium)

Serving	Calories	Salt	Sugar	Free sugar	= teaspoons	Carbs	Protein
Per serving	252 kcal	0.5g	31g	17.2g	4.3 tsp	36g	11g

Free sugar in Costa Hot Chocolate (Medium)

Costa Hot Chocolate (Medium) contains 17.2g of free sugar per serving. High free sugar

The NHS free sugar limit is 30g a day for adults, 24g for children aged 7 to 10 and 19g for children aged 4 to 6. Sugars naturally present in milk are excluded.

Free sugar by serving: Costa Hot Chocolate (Medium)

Serving	Adult (female) 30g	Adult (male) 30g	Age 11 to 17 30g	Age 7 to 10 24g	Age 4 to 6 19g
Per serving	17.2g 57%	17.2g 57%	17.2g 57%	17.2g 72%	17.2g 91%

Boone calculates these percentages from Costa UK published nutrition data against UK Dietary Reference Values and NHS free sugar and salt limits. Free sugar, salt, calories and saturated fat are limits to stay under; fibre is a target to reach. For guidance only.

Calories in Costa Hot Chocolate (Medium)

Costa Hot Chocolate (Medium) contains 252 kcal of calories per serving. Low calories

Daily calorie needs vary by age and sex.

Calories by serving: Costa Hot Chocolate (Medium)

Serving	Adult (female) 2000 kcal	Adult (male) 2500 kcal	Age 11 to 17 1936 kcal	Age 7 to 10 1553 kcal	Age 4 to 6 1291 kcal
Per serving	252 kcal 13%	252 kcal 10%	252 kcal 13%	252 kcal 16%	252 kcal 20%

Saturated fat in Costa Hot Chocolate (Medium)

Costa Hot Chocolate (Medium) contains 4.2g of saturated fat per serving. Moderate saturated fat

The saturated fat guideline is 20g a day for women and 30g for men, and lower again for children.

Saturated fat by serving: Costa Hot Chocolate (Medium)

Serving	Adult (female) 20g	Adult (male) 30g	Age 11 to 17 20g	Age 7 to 10 18g	Age 4 to 6 16g
Per serving	4.2g 21%	4.2g 14%	4.2g 21%	4.2g 23%	4.2g 26%

Salt in Costa Hot Chocolate (Medium)

Costa Hot Chocolate (Medium) contains 0.5g of salt per serving. Low salt

Children have lower salt limits: 3g a day for ages 4 to 6 and 5g for ages 7 to 10.

Salt by serving: Costa Hot Chocolate (Medium)

Serving	Adult (female) 6g	Adult (male) 6g	Age 11 to 17 6g	Age 7 to 10 5g	Age 4 to 6 3g
Per serving	0.5g 8%	0.5g 8%	0.5g 8%	0.5g 9%	0.5g 16%

Fibre in Costa Hot Chocolate (Medium)

Costa Hot Chocolate (Medium) contains 0g of fibre per serving. Low fibre

Fibre is a target to reach rather than a limit to stay under.

Fibre by serving: Costa Hot Chocolate (Medium)

Serving	Adult (female) 30g	Adult (male) 30g	Age 11 to 17 25g	Age 7 to 10 20g	Age 4 to 6 15g
Per serving	0g 0%	0g 0%	0g 0%	0g 0%	0g 0%

Free sugar vs total sugar

Where the sugar comes from: Costa Hot Chocolate (Medium)

Serving	Total sugar	Free (added) sugar	Naturally occurring	Free sugar in teaspoons
Per serving	31g	17.2g	13.8g	4.3 tsp

Made with semi-skimmed milk, about 13.8g of the sugar in this drink is lactose, which occurs naturally in milk and does not count towards NHS free sugar limits. That leaves 17.2g of free sugar.

Boone derives the lactose figure from the milk protein in each build, at 1.25g of lactose per gram of milk protein, a ratio taken from Costa's own unsweetened milk drinks where all of the sugar is lactose.

NHS daily free sugar limits: 30g for adults and children 11+, 24g age 7 to 10, 19g age 4 to 6.

Ingredients

Ingredient transparency: Costa Hot Chocolate (Medium)

Costa does not publish full ingredient lists for drinks made in store or for unwrapped food, and UK law does not require it for food that is made to order or sold loose. Costa does publish allergen declarations for every item, shown below, and pre-packed items carry full ingredients on the pack.

Without an ingredient list, Boone cannot classify this item under the NOVA system or count its manufactured ingredients.

Allergens at a glance

Costa Hot Chocolate (Medium) contains milk as a declared ingredient.

Allergen information: Costa Hot Chocolate (Medium)

Allergen	Status
Wheat	Not present
Rye	Not present
Barley	Not present
Oats	Not present
Tree nuts	Not present
Peanuts	Not present
Sesame	Not present
Soya	Not present
Milk	Contains
Eggs	Not present
Fish	Not present
Crustaceans	Not present
Molluscs	Not present
Celery	Not present
Mustard	Not present
Lupin	Not present
Sulphur dioxide and sulphites	Not present

Contains = declared as an ingredient in the Costa UK Allergen and Nutrition Guide (Autumn 2026). May contain = the allergen is present in the manufacturing site or supply chain, so cross-contamination is possible. Costa prepares food and drinks with shared equipment, so no item can be guaranteed allergen free. Ask a barista before ordering if you have an allergy.