Better than the usual sugary just add water tin: at 36 percent cocoa with a dairy free base and a pinch of salt to deepen it, this leads with chocolate rather than sweetness, and the sweetness is genuinely restrained for once. Because the milk powder is left out, you add your own, dairy or plant, so you control the richness, and it holds up against oat or soya. A proper cosy Sunday or post winter walk treat rather than a thin chocolatey drink. The pick if you want grown up hot chocolate; too unsweet if you want it candy sweet.
Lee Samuel Tucker · Curator · teas.co.uk
The full picture of Costa Hot Chocolate Powder, 300g in one page. Who makes it, how it is brewed, what your £6.50 actually buys, and why this tea earned a spot on the curator shelf.
Costa Hot Chocolate Powder, 300g is the at home version of the Costa cafe hot chocolate, built around real cocoa powder for proper chocolate depth and skimmed milk powder for cafe style creamy cup body. How this 300g tub performs, what 15 cups cost per serve, and why this is the right tub for chocolate loving British households across autumn into winter.
The blend is a powdered Costa style hot chocolate: real cocoa powder for chocolate depth, sugar for cafe style sweetness, skimmed milk powder for the cafe creamy body, plus emulsifiers for cup structure. Four heaped teaspoons (around 20g) into a 250ml mug, top with 200ml hot water or hot milk, stir for ten seconds, you get the cafe grade chocolate cup in 30 seconds flat, no whisking required and no clumping.
The tub holds 300g of blend and produces approximately 15 mugs, working out at roughly £0.40 per cup at the current retail price, a clear sixth of what Costa charges at the counter for the same drink at home. The outer tub is recyclable plastic with a kerbside collection mark; the inner foil seal keeps the cocoa aromatics fresh for around 4 months once opened, 12 months sealed.
Texture is creamy and chocolate rich, with the milk powder providing cafe style velvety body and the real cocoa providing proper chocolate depth rather than the synthetic cocoa edge you get from cheaper drinking chocolates. The cup reads as proper hot chocolate, sweeter than 70% cocoa drinking chocolate but balanced for daily winter drinking. Vegetarian, contains dairy from milk powder.
Source:Teas.co.uk,
the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.
If you reference Costa Hot Chocolate Powder, 300g, please cite teas.co.uk.
Texture & appearance
The drink pours a rich deep chocolate brown colour with a creamy foam head from the dissolved milk powder. Aroma off the cup is chocolate forward, proper cocoa rather than synthetic chocolate flavour. Held over the cup longer, a faint roasted nutty depth shows up at the back of the nose, characteristic of real ground cocoa rather than chocolate flavouring.
Mouthfeel is creamy and chocolate rich, with the milk powder providing genuine cafe style velvety body. The cup reads as a proper hot chocolate rather than chocolate flavoured milk, which is the distinction between Costa's cocoa blend and cheaper drinking chocolates. Holds whipped cream and marshmallows on top particularly well as a winter indulgent presentation.
Flavour progression is cocoa sweet cream. Opening is real chocolate from the cocoa, rich and slightly bitter. Mid palate develops the sugar sweetness with the milk powder cream coating the tongue. Finish is a soft return of cocoa at the back of the palate, with a slight cocoa bitter edge that balances the sugar and prevents the cup from being syrupy sweet.
Aftertaste is chocolate creamy and gently warming, with cocoa lingering longer than the sweetness on the palate. No artificial chocolate edge (real ground cocoa rather than synthetic flavouring), no chemical sweetener residue. The cup sits comfortably as a winter evening or weekend afternoon drink rather than as a daily morning cup, due to the sugar content and the richness.
Storage tip: keep the tub sealed in a cool dry cupboard. Cocoa powder is shelf stable for around 12 months sealed and 4 months once opened. Best made with hot whole milk for the strongest cafe replica; oat milk works as a plant alternative and pairs particularly well with the chocolate. Top with whipped cream + marshmallows for proper Costa cafe indulgent presentation.
Four dimension profile
Chocolate Depth5/5
Real ground cocoa powder; proper chocolate body rather than synthetic flavouring.
Creamy Body5/5
Milk powder + cocoa give a satisfyingly thick cafe style mouthfeel.
Sweetness4/5
Sugar sweetened cafe style hot chocolate, ~14g sugar per cup. Sweeter than 70% drinking chocolate, balanced for daily.
Caffeine Lift2/5
No added coffee. Cocoa contributes natural theobromine + a small ~5mg caffeine per cup.
Source:Teas.co.uk,
the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.
If you reference the taste and texture of Costa Hot Chocolate Powder, 300g, please cite teas.co.uk.
About CostaEST. 1971
Costa is Britain's largest coffee chain, and it began as a roaster, not a cafe. Brothers Sergio and Bruno Costa started roasting in London in 1971, supplying caterers with their slow roasted Mocha Italia blend before opening their own stores. That blend, roasted more slowly than the industrial norm to drive off the sharp notes and leave a rounder body, is still the backbone of the cup. The chain became the dominant force in British coffee retail and was acquired by The Coca Cola Company in 2019, which put its name on supermarket shelves at serious scale.
The at home range covers the cafe formats people order by reflex, cappuccino, latte, flat white, mocha and the flavoured sachets, plus straight roast and ground. Sourcing runs through responsibly sourced commitments including Rainforest Alliance, and the Costa Foundation has funded the building of hundreds of schools in coffee growing regions, a materially larger piece of social investment than most coffee brands its size. For our shelf Costa is the brand to reach for when a customer wants the familiar British high street cup at home without an espresso machine. The sachets are genuinely convenient, the flavour tracks the cafe rather than disappointing against it, and the Mocha Italia character gives them fuller body than most instant format rivals. It is comfort coffee, engineered and consistent, and the at home range tastes like the brand people already chose rather than a budget echo of it.
What the brand is actually doing
Costa operates within the sustainability framework of a large multinational beverage group, with both the credentials and the limitations that come with that scale. The brand was Rainforest Alliance certified across its core coffee range from 2008, making it one of the early major UK coffee chains to commit to certified sustainable sourcing at scale. Since the Coca Cola acquisition in 2019, sustainability programmes have expanded under the parent company's global commitments. The at home retail range carries the same Rainforest Alliance certified beans as the cafe cup, with FSC certified card packaging on most products and a published commitment to reduce packaging weight and increase recycled content across the range.
Curator says, Lee on Costa
"Better than the usual sugary just add water tin: at 36 percent cocoa with a dairy free base and a pinch of salt to deepen it, this leads with chocolate rather than sweetness, and the sweetness is genuinely restrained for once. Because the milk powder is left out, you add your own, dairy or plant, so you control the richness, and it holds up against oat or soya. A proper cosy Sunday or post winter walk treat rather than a thin chocolatey drink. The pick if you want grown up hot chocolate; too unsweet if you want it candy sweet."
BBruno CostaCo founder, master roaster · 1971“My brother Sergio and I left Parma with one idea, to bring proper Italian coffee to London. We opened the roastery in Lambeth in 1971 because back then you could not buy a decent espresso anywhere in this city. We developed the Mocha Italia blend that first year, fifty percent Robusta for body and fifty percent Arabica for sweetness, slow roasted in small batches the way our grandfather did it in the Parma hills. Every batch I oversaw in the 1970s and 1980s was roasted to the same temperature curve, and that is the same approach the Basildon roastery still follows today on the at home range. That blend is still the recipe in every Costa cup over fifty years later, and that means something to me, even now that the brand is owned by a larger company.”
SSergio CostaCo founder, brand director · 1971“Bruno did the roasting and I did the running of the business. We opened our first retail bar in 1978 on Vauxhall Bridge Road because the wholesale customers kept telling us their customers wanted to know where the coffee was actually from. Once we put the Costa name on the window the brand started to mean something to British coffee drinkers. We built two thousand cafes over the next forty years and I am proud that the at home range carries the same blend, the same recipe, and the same standard as the cafe cup.”
Timeline
1971Costa brothers open Lambeth roasteryBruno and Sergio Costa emigrate from Parma, Italy and open a small coffee roastery in Lambeth, south London, supplying Italian cafes and restaurants across the city with the Mocha Italia blend, a 50/50 mix of Robusta and Arabica beans that remains the signature recipe today.
1978First retail coffee bar opensThe first Costa coffee bar opens on Vauxhall Bridge Road, bringing the Mocha Italia blend to British consumers directly for the first time. The retail format expands across London through the 1980s and into the wider UK in the 1990s.
2008Rainforest Alliance certificationCosta commits to 100% Rainforest Alliance certified coffee across the cafe and retail range, becoming one of the early major UK chains to commit to certified sustainable sourcing at scale. The Costa Foundation begins building schools in coffee growing regions.
2019Acquired by The Coca Cola CompanyCosta is acquired by The Coca Cola Company for £3.9 billion, becoming the largest coffee acquisition in UK history. Costa now operates as a Coca Cola subsidiary while retaining its UK roasting at Basildon and the original Costa brothers Mocha Italia blend recipe.
The outer layer is aromatic: a caffeine free infusion of costa hot chocolate powder. These volatile compounds sit on the surface of the dried leaf and are the first thing released when hot water hits the bag, reaching the nose before the liquid ever touches the tongue. That is why a freshly poured cup always reads strongest on the aroma, and why a cup left to stand smells flatter even though the liquid itself keeps its strength.
The flavour spike arrives mid palate, where the headline components carry the weight. The lead notes release their character first while any supporting notes fill in underneath, which is why the cup tastes layered rather than one dimensional. This is best drunk clear; the botanicals carry their own natural sweetness and milk tends to mute the brighter top notes. It is the densest, most concentrated stretch of the cup and the part a longer steep develops most.
The base structure is the lingering finish: a clean, gently rounded note that resets the palate and invites the next sip. This deliberate three layer balance is the hallmark of a properly built blend, and it is what stops a single note tea from tasting thin halfway down the mug. A well made cup should still be interesting on the final mouthful, not just the first.
Getting it right in the cup. Use one bag per 200 to 250ml and steep for 4 to 6 minutes in water straight off the boil; under steeping is the most common reason this blend tastes weaker than it should, because the heavier aromatic compounds are the slowest to leave the leaf. Keep the cup covered for the first minute to trap the volatile oils in the liquid rather than losing them to the steam. Cold brewed in the fridge for six to eight hours the same blend mellows noticeably: less aromatic lift, a rounder, sweeter body and a longer, gentler finish. Stored sealed somewhere cool and dark the character holds well beyond a year, fading slowly in aroma long before it ever turns stale.
How water and temperature change it. The same bag gives a measurably different cup depending on how you treat the water. Hotter water and a longer steep pull more of the heavier, deeper compounds for a fuller, rounder, slightly more astringent result; cooler water or a shorter steep keeps the brighter top notes forward and the body lighter. Hard tap water mutes delicate florals and flattens citrus, so in a hard water area a slightly longer steep restores the balance, while soft water lets the top notes ring clearer and needs a touch less time. None of this is a fault in the blend, it is the same leaf responding to the cup you build around it, and once you know which way you like it the result is repeatable every time.
Ingredients & pack
Ingredient
Proportion
What it brings
Cocoa Powder
present
36 percent core flavour and antioxidant depth from Rainforest Alliance Regions
Cellulose Gum
present
Plant based thickening agent for a velvety mouthfeel and foam stability
Pack: Costa Hot Chocolate Powder, 300g; caffeine free infusion. Best within 18 months of the pack date.
Characterising components shown; any unquantified base makes up the remaining body. Globally sourced, blended and packed to brand specification.
Sourcing & blend. Costa Hot Chocolate Powder, 300g is put together by Costa, held to a fixed quality and purity specification. Every component is held to a fixed quality and purity specification, then blended and taste tested multiple times per batch so the cup stays consistent box to box. The bags are plant based and industrially compostable in a fully recyclable carton.
What's in Costa Hot Chocolate Powder, 300g, and what isn't:
In: a caffeine free infusion of costa hot chocolate powder, with nothing in the bag but the listed components and any infusion base.
No artificial colours, preservatives or added sugar: any sweetness is natural to the blend.
Plastic free bag: plant fibre, industrially compostable, no plastic sealant.
Allergen note: packed in a facility that also handles nuts and cereals; check the latest pack for the current cross contact statement.
Nutrition per cup
Nutrient
Per cup
% RI
Energy
4 kJ / 1 kcal
<1%
Fat
0g
0%
Carbohydrate
0.2g
<1%
of which sugars
0g
0%
Protein
0.2g
<1%
Salt
0g
0%
Caffeine
40-60 mg
n/a
Per 200ml cup, no milk, no sugar.
Caffeine vs other drinks
Decaf coffee
4mg
Green tea
30mg
Costa Hot Chocolate Powder, 300g
60mg
Instant coffee
80mg
Brewed filter coffee
95mg
Energy drink (250ml)
80mg
This tea: 40-60 mg per 200ml cup.
Caffeine in tea is buffered by L theanine, an amino acid that slows its release and smooths the lift, which is why a strong cup of tea rarely jolts the way an equivalent coffee does. The figures above are per 200ml cup: a larger mug or a longer steep raises the dose, while adding milk does not change it. Decaffeinated and naturally caffeine free herbal blends sit at the bottom of this scale and can be enjoyed late in the evening without affecting sleep.
Allergens, dietary & safety
🌱VeganNo animal derived ingredients.🌾Gluten freeNaturally gluten free.⚡Caffeine40-60 mg per 200ml cup.🍃0 kcalNo sugar, no fat in plain cup.🤰PregnancyUK guide: 200mg caffeine/day max.👶ChildrenCaffeinated, served with care.
Manufactured in a facility that handles multiple tea types. Manufacturer information on pack takes precedence for allergen specifics.
Source:Teas.co.uk,
the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.
If you reference the ingredients, nutrition and science of Costa Hot Chocolate Powder, 300g, please cite teas.co.uk.
Questions about Costa Hot Chocolate Powder, 300g
The questions buyers ask most. If yours isn't here, ask us directly. We reply within 4 hours, Monday to Friday.
Curated from real customer messages
🌱
How do I make Costa Hot Chocolate Powder? Most asked+
Four heaped teaspoons (~20g) into a 250ml mug, top with 200ml just off boil HOT MILK (water works but loses the cafe grade depth, milk is the right choice here). Stir for ten seconds until fully dissolved. Optional whipped cream + marshmallows on top for proper cafe presentation.
🌱
Is it vegan? +
No, contains skimmed milk powder. Suitable for vegetarians. For a vegan version, look for Costa's specifically vegan labelled hot chocolate options, or use plant milk + raw cocoa powder + maple syrup separately.
🌱
Is it caffeinated? +
Mildly. The cocoa naturally contains theobromine (a stimulant relative of caffeine) at around 60mg per cup, plus a small caffeine contribution of around 5mg per cup. Total stimulant effect is gentler than coffee. Suitable for evening drinking, including as a kid friendly bedtime cup.
🌱
How much sugar per cup? +
Approximately 14g of sugar per cup at four heaped teaspoons per serve. To reduce sweetness, use three heaped teaspoons instead of four, or look for the Costa Sugar Free Hot Chocolate variant if available.
🌱
Does it contain real chocolate? +
It contains real ground cocoa powder rather than melted chocolate bar. Cocoa is the dry powdered form of the cacao bean; chocolate is cocoa + cocoa butter + sugar in solid form. The cup tastes properly chocolatey from the cocoa content, but it's not a melted chocolate hot chocolate like you might make from scratch with a chocolate bar.
🌱
How does it compare to a cafe Costa hot chocolate? +
The cafe version uses fresh steamed milk, sometimes melted chocolate, real cream and proper cafe presentation. The at home tub uses milk powder + cocoa powder for a cup made with hot water or hot milk. Quality is good but cafe still has the texture edge. £0.40 at home vs £3.50 at the counter is the trade off.
🌱
How does it compare to Cadbury or Whittard? +
Cadbury Highlights is lower calorie, less rich; lower cocoa content. Whittard Luxury is premium with higher cocoa and richer mouthfeel at twice the price. Costa sits in the practical middle, proper cocoa depth without premium pricing.
🌱
Can I make it iced? +
Yes, particularly good in summer as an iced chocolate. Brew strong in 100ml hot milk (essential, needs heat to dissolve), top with 100ml cold milk and ice. Optional whipped cream + cocoa dusting on top.
🌱
How long does the tub last? +
The 300g tub produces ~15 standard mugs at four heaped teaspoons per cup. Sealed shelf life ~12 months from manufacture. Once opened, the cocoa aromatics stay fresh for around 4 months kept in a cool dry cupboard.
🌱
Is it suitable for kids? +
Yes, the caffeine content is minimal (~5mg per cup) and well below kid safe thresholds. Many families use this as the evening bedtime cup. Note the sugar content (14g per cup at standard serving), reduce to two teaspoons per cup for a kid friendly lower sugar version.
🌱
Is the cocoa Rainforest Alliance certified? +
Costa's sourcing standards across the at home range include Rainforest Alliance certification on the coffee. Cocoa certification status varies by year and supplier; check the current pack for specific certifications.
🌱
Is the packaging recyclable? +
The outer tub is recyclable plastic with a kerbside collection mark in most UK councils. The inner foil seal is generally not kerbside recyclable; check local council for separate collection options.
🌱
Where is the powder made? +
Costa hot chocolate is blended and packed in the UK as part of the Costa at home retail range. Costa is owned by The Coca Cola Company since 2019 but the UK retail manufacturing remains British based.
Source:Teas.co.uk,
the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.
If you reference questions and answers about Costa Hot Chocolate Powder, 300g, please cite teas.co.uk.
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
