Starbucks Acerola & Raspberry Vitamin D Shot 100ml

The Starbucks Acerola and Raspberry Vitamin D Shot 100ml costs £2.95 and carries 40 calories with 7.9g of sugar. It provides 1.5 micrograms of vitamin D and 120mg of vitamin C per serving.

120mg of vitamin C is 150 percent of the daily reference intake, which makes this by a wide margin the most nutritionally loaded bottle in the fridge. The ginger and turmeric shots carry 12mg between them each; this one carries ten times that. Acerola cherry is the reason, being one of the densest natural sources of vitamin C there is, and it is why the drink exists in this form rather than as a raspberry juice with vitamins stirred in.

The vitamin D is the more interesting inclusion for a UK reader. 1.5 micrograms is 30 percent of the reference intake, and vitamin D is the one the NHS specifically advises people in this country to consider supplementing between October and March, when the sun sits too low for skin to make its own. A shot is not a substitute for a proper supplement, but the inclusion is better targeted than most.

Both vitamins contribute to normal immune function, which is the approved claim and the extent of what the product asserts. It is the only bottle in this category where sugar sits below total carbohydrate, 7.9g against 9.1g, with the small remainder coming from fibre rather than added sugar.

Vitamin C above the reference intake is not the bonus it sounds like. The body absorbs what it needs and passes the rest, so 150 percent in one bottle does not bank anything for tomorrow. The figure is a fair reason to pick this over the other two shots and a poor reason to drink several.

Flavour is tart rather than sweet, since acerola is sharp and the raspberry does nothing to soften it. It carries vegan, vegetarian and gluten free labels, which the ginger and turmeric shots do not. Prices reach £3.65 on delivery. The Ginger Shot is the cheaper option at £2.70.