Starbucks Turmeric Shot 100ml

The Starbucks Turmeric Shot 100ml costs £2.70 and carries 42 calories with 8.9g of sugar. It is a fiery blend of apple and turmeric with cayenne and citrus, and a source of vitamin C at 12mg per serving.

Cayenne is what separates this from the ginger shot, and it is a different kind of heat entirely. Ginger burns at the back of the throat and fades within seconds; capsaicin from cayenne spreads across the whole mouth and stays for a minute or more. People who find the ginger version manageable are sometimes caught out by this one.

It carries slightly more sugar than the ginger shot at 8.9g against 7.7g, and slightly more calories at 42. Both figures come from the apple base, which is the first ingredient in each. The turmeric itself contributes colour and earthiness rather than anything nutritional at this quantity.

Turmeric is worth being straight about. Curcumin, its active compound, is poorly absorbed on its own, which is why black pepper is traditionally paired with it. The label does not say if this bottle contains pepper, and the only claim Starbucks makes for the shot is the vitamin C one at 15 percent of the daily reference intake. Anything beyond that is not something the product claims.

Earthiness is the flavour note that decides this one for most people. Turmeric tastes of soil in a way ginger does not, and the apple and orange are there to cover it rather than to complement it. Anyone who has cooked with the fresh root will recognise it immediately; anyone expecting a straightforward fruit shot will not enjoy the first mouthful.

The colour stains, which is a practical rather than a nutritional point: turmeric marks clothing, worktops and light coloured cups, and it does not wash out easily. No dietary labels are published. Prices reach £3.65 on delivery. The Ginger Shot is the same price without the cayenne.