COSTA Coffee is in hot water for swapping freshly ground coffee out of its frappés and using instant instead.
Customers of the major coffee shop chain have branded the switch "shrinkflation" and complained of the new recipes tasting "vile" and "awful".
Shrinkflation is where brands reduce the size of items without reducing the price.
Costa's frappés including standard coffee, salted caramel with coffee and chocolate fudge brownie mocha have all been affected by the recipe switch.
The change has outraged customers and prompted a backlash on social media.
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Commenting on X, formerly Twitter, this month, customer Nicola Rudge asked: "Why are you putting instant coffee in your frappes? Tastes vile. Ruined them won't be buying another."
Meanwhile, Marion Woods said: "I notice your frappes are now made with instant coffee rather than espresso shots - the price however has not decreased? Seems very unfair #costa."
A third customer, Eileen, added: "The @CostaCoffee version of shrinkflation is to replace their fresh coffee with lower grade instant coffee (no Costa it is not the same) & blame 'customer feedback' for the change.
"Disappointing changes."
A fourth, called Millie, said: "Tell me why I just paid almost £5 for a coffee frappe just to be told it’s made with instant coffee?! Shocking! Tasted awful."
And a fifth added: "Can I ask why is a coffee shop now using instant coffee in their Frappés instead of an espresso shot like before and like a coffee shop should??"
Costa explained that it had made the decision to help speed up service, although it said the quality of the drinks remain the same.
A single espresso costs £2.35 from Costa, but instant coffees can not be bought on their own from branches.
A Costa Coffee spokesman said: “Our instant coffee, inspired by our Costa Signature Blend, delivers the utmost quality and great taste.
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"Based on customer feedback and research, we revised our Frappe recipes to enhance the overall product experience, achieving a more intense flavour profile with a thicker texture.
"Coffee is the heart of our brand, and is used as an ingredient in various formats across our drinks range to ensure the best flavour and texture, maintaining the exceptional quality our customers expect.”
Why are brands cutting costs?
Shops have been hit my rising supply costs and increased energy bills and have been finding ways to cut costs as a result.
Costa is just one of many brands cutting costs by opting for cheaper ingredients or by reducing the size of their products - known as shrinkflation.
Shrinkflation is the combination of reducing pack sizes and putting up prices, meaning products effectively go up in price while appearing to stay the same.
As the sizes of products are often written in small numbers on labels, consumers may be unaware that the product they’re buying is actually getting more expensive.
Some recent examples of shrinkflation include:
- Bags of Cheetos - when bought in a multi-pack they are now 25p per pack, rather than 12.5p. They used to be sold in packs of eight for £1 but now come in sixes for £1.50.
- A Penguin bar costs 5.8p more since a pack of seven is now £1.50 — 25p more than when they were in packs of eight
What is the Costa rewards scheme?
If you sign up for the Costa coffee rewards scheme you can get a free medium size drink after you buy ten coffees.
You will need to download the Costa Club app so you can scan your drinks a collect a bean for each medium purchase.
However, if you bring in a reusable cup for your coffee, you can get two beans for every drink ordered - meaning you can get a free coffee every four drinks.
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