Starbucks Classic Hot Chocolate
Steamed milk swirled with mocha-flavoured syrup. Topped with whipped cream.
In Hot Drinks
Prices from Starbucks UK delivery partners. In store prices are usually lower and vary by location.
About the Classic Hot Chocolate
The Starbucks Classic Hot Chocolate costs £4.95 for a Tall and carries 311 calories in a Grande, and it is one of only a handful of drinks on the hot menu with no caffeine in it at all. Mocha syrup is swirled through steamed milk and whipped cream goes on top.
It is built on the same mocha base as the Caffè Mocha with the espresso left out, which makes it darker and less cloying than most high street hot chocolates. The bitterness in that sauce is doing the work: without it the drink would be milk and sugar. What comes through is cocoa first and sweetness second, with the whipped cream softening the top few mouthfuls as it melts down.
Zero caffeine is the fact worth knowing, and it makes this the default order for children and for anyone drinking after eight in the evening. The trade is sugar and fat: a Grande carries 34g of sugar and 12.1g of fat, 9.8g of it saturated, which is a little under half the 20g adult reference intake. Calories run 164 in a Short, 247 in a Tall, 311 in a Grande and 385 in a Venti.
It is the drink UK stores are asked to modify most. Extra hot, no cream, half the syrup, a different milk, marshmallows on the side: all of those are standard requests and none of them costs anything. Children are usually served it at a lower temperature by default, which is worth knowing rather than asking for a drink to be cooled down after it arrives. The kids size is not on the printed board but every store will pour one.
Left without whipped cream, a Grande sheds roughly 70 calories and most of its saturated fat, and a Short with no cream lands close to 95. It is the drink Starbucks sells most of in December by a wide margin. The Caffè Mocha is the same drink with two shots in it, and the Chai Latte is the other spiced option when coffee is off the table.
Starbucks Classic Hot Chocolate Nutrition
By Cup Size
| Size | Price | Calories | Caffeine | Sugar |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Short | Not sold online | 164 | 0mg | 16.8g |
| Tall | £5.05 | 247 | 0mg | 26.1g |
| Grande | £5.65 | 311 | 0mg | 34g |
| Venti | £6.25 | 385 | 0mg | 42.6g |
Prices from Starbucks UK delivery partners. In store prices are usually lower and vary by location. Short is sold in store only, so no price is shown. Values approximate. Updated 07 July 2026.
How to Make a Classic Hot Chocolate at Home
Real chocolate rather than powder, and milk that never boils. Those two things separate a good hot chocolate from a sweet one.
Ingredients
Drink
To finish
Method
0 of 4 stepsTips
- Whole milk. Semi skimmed makes it thin and the chocolate has nothing to hold onto.
- The paste stage is the whole recipe. Chocolate dropped into a full pan of hot milk never fully dissolves.
- A pinch of salt sharpens the cocoa. It will not taste salty.
Variations
- Milk chocolate instead of dark makes it much sweeter and closer to a supermarket sachet.
- Oat milk works well and is naturally sweet enough to cut the added sugar.
- A strip of orange peel warmed in the milk for two minutes and removed is worth the trouble.
Cream on top, nothing else. Marshmallows melt into a sugary skin that hides the chocolate.
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£4.60 Caffè Latte
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Find Classic Hot Chocolate Near You
1,378 Starbucks stores across the UK, with opening times for every day of the week.
Starbucks near youClassic Hot Chocolate Questions
How much is a Hot Chocolate at Starbucks UK?
A Tall is £4.95, a Grande £5.65 and a Venti £6.25.
Does Starbucks Hot Chocolate have caffeine?
No. The Classic Hot Chocolate is one of the few drinks on the hot menu with 0mg. The mocha syrup carries no measurable amount, and no espresso goes in.
How many calories are in a Starbucks Hot Chocolate?
A Grande with cream is 311 calories. A Short is 164, a Tall 247 and a Venti 385. Without cream a Grande drops to roughly 240.
How much sugar is in a Starbucks Hot Chocolate?
34g in a Grande, out of 35.4g of carbohydrate. Roughly half comes from the mocha syrup and half from the milk itself.
Can I get a Starbucks Hot Chocolate with dairy free milk?
Yes, all four dairy alternatives are stocked: oat, soya, almond and coconut. Oat is the closest match for texture, and the whipped cream is dairy, so ask for it left off to keep the drink fully plant based.
Also on the Starbucks UK Menu
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A blend of Frappuccino Roast coffee, milk, and ice, layered with brown sugar flavour cream cold foam.
£6.20 Iced Caramelised Banana Matcha Latte
Caramelised banana flavour sauce is combined with milk and ice, then topped with a vibrant blend of matcha.
£6.90 Caramel Mocha Cloud Frappuccino
A rich blend of mocha and caramel flavours, combined with mocha sauce, Frappuccino Roast coffee, milk and ice. Topped with a delicious layer of caramel flavour cream cold foam and a zigzag of caramel drizzle.
£6.90 Strawberry Matcha Cloud Frappuccino
A vibrant blend of matcha, vanilla flavour syrup, milk, and ice, layered with fruity strawberry flavour cream cold foam.
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