Bargain Hunters Reveal Their Top 4 Summer Drinks - Plus 80p DIY Hack
- Bargain hunters are raving about summer drinks from Costa, Caffe Nero and Starbucks
- They reveal their top 4 drinks across the collections
- Consumer Expert Tom Church shares how to make DIY dupes for just 80p
- Reveals which drink it ISN’T cheaper to make at home
With the heat wave hitting us across the UK, all we want to do is sit outside with a cold drink. Fortunately, plenty of coffee shops have us covered, with brand new summer menus offering tantalizing treats such as mango bubble frappes and banana split blended drinks.
Tom Church, Co-Founder of money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk, said: ‘We’re spoilt for choice this summer with a delicious range of iced drinks available in the major coffee chains. My fellow bargain hunters have shared which ones top their list as best value for money - and I reveal which ones you can make at home from just 80p.’
Caffe Nero - Salted Caramel Pistachio Iced Latte - £4.05
Caffe Nero is offering a selection of summer drinks, but by far the most popular is the salted caramel pistachio iced latte. Deb L said: ‘Oooh the pistachio one is delicious,’ with Colette M agreeing: ‘I really liked the pistachio one.’ Nicki B chipped in: ‘The chocolate and hazelnut frappe and the pistachio and caramel ones are both amazing.’
However, there have been issues for many people with getting hold of them - Susan B said: ‘The pistachio/ salted caramel frappe is amazing but apparently, there is a shortage as they didn't expect it to do so well...gutted.’ Sinatta R had heard similar: ‘The pistachio is out company-wide - there is a shortage apparently but it is one of the most popular drinks.’
Rebekah S added: ‘I've been in my local Nero the last 2 days trying to get a pistachio one but they don't have it,’ while Samantha M didn’t seem like she’d be trying one: ‘My daughter had the pistachio last week and it was awful.’
Tom said: ‘I was one of the unlucky ones who couldn’t get hold of this drink - I had to make do with a strawberry milkshake!
‘There are various ways to make a salted caramel pistachio iced latte. Typically, you’ll need pistachio cream for the distinctive nutty flavour and caramel syrup. Plus, some recipes call for a salted brown butter topping, but that’s easy enough to make.
‘The hardest part is the pistachio cream - it’s quite expensive to buy in supermarkets, and the cheapest option I found was in Costco where it’s £1.25 per 100g. That said, you can make it yourself from scratch if you blend pistachios and add in butter, milk, sugar and chocolate. It sounds like a lot of hassle, though, so unless you’re dedicated to this particular drink and plan on buying it every day, maybe it’d be better to just buy this one whenever it’s back in stock!’
Costa - Chocolate Fudge Brownie Frappé & Light Dairy Swirl - £3.80
Costa is offering a trio of frappes which are proving popular with customers. One of them is the Chocolate Fudge Brownie Frappe - Julia H said: ‘The fudge one with coffee is the best.’ Others have customised the drink further, with Lavinia L adding: ‘The chocolate brownie one with a shot of coffee and made with coconut milk is amazing.’
Katrina L particularly enjoyed this drink, saying: ‘I have had a chocolate fudge brownie frappe made with skimmed milk with two extra shots of coffee and a light dairy swirl and I can just say it was sheer nectar. Utter perfection. Best frappe I have ever tasted! I have tried others there but now have this down to a fine art!’
Tom said: ‘You could make a version of this drink at home by making a pitcher of cold brewed coffee, then picking up some ice, creamer and whipped cream. For the fudge brownie flavour, you can experiment with crushed Oreos, vanilla ice cream and chocolate chips, and so on. I got some Loaded Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream from ASDA for £2 and some squirty cream for £1.20 - as the other ingredients were already in my kitchen and it made 4 drinks, it turned out to be excellent value for money at just 80p per drink!’
Costa - Tropical Mango Bubble Frappé & Light Dairy Swirl - £3.95
Another drink which is out of stock in some branches is the mango bubble frappe. Clara J said: ‘The Costa mango and bubble frappe is lovely - I tried that this morning.’ Kirsty T agreed: ‘The mango one is definitely the best - I've not tried the fudge yet, not keen on the caramel one.’ Jen D wasn’t having any luck getting hers: ‘Mango’s been out of stock by me for at least two weeks.’
Tom said: ‘If you love mango then this drink is perfect for you - but is it cheaper to make at home? I couldn’t get this drink in-store, so I decided to look into it. The hardest part is getting hold of mango boba pearls. I found some on Amazon for a tenner and it looks like they’d last you for a while. You can also pick up frozen mango chunks instead of fresh to save money - such as this 500g pack from Tesco for £2. Then, apart from standard ingredients such as lemon juice and ice cubes, you just need a blender and some whipped cream to taste.
‘If you put around 30g of boba pearls in per drink, the pack from Amazon would make 16 drinks, or 60p per serving of pearls. Plus, the mango bag from Tesco would make two servings - so that’s £1 per drink. Those who pick up the boba pearls and mango, but have everything else at home, would be spending around £1.60 per serving - not bad!’
Starbucks - Banana Split Cream Frappuccino Blended Beverage - £4.80
If you’re in the mood for a refreshing treat, Starbucks has recently released a banana split cream frappucino. Andre B said: ‘Oooh, the banana one is my favourite.’ Katy R agreed: ‘Just having the banana split one now and it's quite nice.’
Tom said: ‘This drink can be quite moreish, but it’s a bit pricey at just under a fiver. The good news is you can make a similar drink at home. You can keep it simple by blending bananas with ice, whole milk and vanilla extract, or you can go the whole hog by making homemade banana sauce on the hob with pureed banana, water, sugar, vanilla and heavy cream. Either way, these ingredients are largely the kind you’d find around the house. I tried it myself by picking up a small container of whipped cream and some bananas - I had everything else at home so the drink only cost me just over £2 to make!’
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