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  • Harry Kersh: From calorie count to portion sizes,

  • we wanted to find out all the differences

  • between UK and US Starbucks.

  • This is "Food Wars."

  • Now, hot coffees in the UK come in four sizes.

  • Firstly, we have a short coffee,

  • which is 8 ounces.

  • Joe Avella: The short, 8 ounces.

  • Harry: Then we have a tall coffee, which is 12 ounces.

  • Joe: Next we have the tall, 12 ounces.

  • Harry: Next is a grande coffee,

  • which comes in at 16 ounces.

  • Joe: Then we got the grande, 16 ounces.

  • Harry: A venti, or 20 ounces.

  • Joe: Sensational.

  • And the biggest one, the venti, 20 ounces.

  • And in case you're wondering, it's called the venti

  • because 20 in Italian is venti-twento.

  • Harry: Just to double-check,

  • we're gonna measure the largest hot coffee in the UK.

  • So, our venti coffee actually came to closer to 18 ounces.

  • Sort that out, Starbucks.

  • Where's my 2 ounces?

  • Joe: Now I'm going to measure the venti coffee,

  • which should be 20 ounces minus a few sips.

  • Wait.

  • Came prepared.

  • Whoa, come on! I did not drink that much.

  • Oh, Starbucks.

  • That's not...no, that's not even two.

  • That's, like, an ounce.

  • Harry: Cold coffees in the UK come in three sizes.

  • A tall.

  • Joe: The tall, 12 ounces.

  • Harry: Grande.

  • Joe: We got the grande.

  • Harry: And venti.

  • Joe: Here's where things get kind of weird.

  • Our venti iced is 24 ounces.

  • And we have another size up, trenti, right?

  • Trenta, and that is 30 ounces.

  • Harry: So, a UK cold venti is exactly 20 ounces.

  • Joe: Yeah, 21.

  • I thought this was supposed to be 24.

  • "How many fluid ounces

  • venti iced"?

  • 24.

  • How much is it, 21?

  • Starbucks, with the ice, you still don't have enough.

  • Aah. I'm taking a sip of every single drink.

  • I'm taking a sip of every single drink!

  • Let's do this!

  • Harry: Let's compare some seemingly identical drinks

  • to see how much they match up under the hood.

  • So, a venti latte in the UK

  • contains 235 calories,

  • 7.9 grams of fat,

  • 21.1 grams of sugar,

  • and 225 milligrams of caffeine.

  • Joe: And in the US,

  • the same venti latte has 250 calories,

  • and that's 9 grams of fat

  • and 150 milligrams of caffeine.

  • And you know I'm taking a sip.

  • Mm!

  • Kind of cold. It's been sitting out for hours.

  • So our latte's got more sugar, more calories, and more fat.

  • "The trinity of deliciousness" is what I call it.

  • Harry: Let's try something a little heavier.

  • If you were to order a venti caramel Frappuccino

  • from a UK Starbucks,

  • it would contain 426 calories,

  • 61.1 grams of sugar,

  • and 117 milligrams of caffeine.

  • Joe: Harry, your Frappuccino's

  • looking a little sad there, buddy.

  • It looks like all your whipped cream melted,

  • so here's a pro tip from the USA.

  • Mm.

  • 470 calories,

  • 74 carbs, 73 of which are sugar,

  • and 120 milligrams of caffeine.

  • Mm.

  • Damn. Oh, yuck. Yuck!

  • That's what that tastes like?

  • Harry: Now, it's important to remember that

  • for cold drinks like Frappuccinos,

  • the US venti is actually 4 fluid ounces larger

  • than the UK's.

  • If you were to do the math to work out

  • the nutrition per fluid ounce,

  • the UK actually beats the US in virtually every metric.

  • Let's see if we can get any clues as to why

  • from the ingredients.

  • Now, in the UK, a cappuccino from Starbucks

  • contains just two ingredients,

  • milk and brewed espresso.

  • Joe: And in the US, our cappuccinos are made

  • from milk and brewed espresso.

  • Look at that. Same thing, finally.

  • Mm. Mm!

  • Harry: Now, for the most part,

  • the hot coffees in both countries

  • are just those two ingredients in different quantities.

  • Things get a little bit more complicated

  • once you start to add things like syrups, however.

  • For example, in the UK,

  • if you add caramel syrup to your cappuccino,

  • that adds the following ingredients:

  • sugar, water, natural flavoring,

  • concentrate of apple, carrot, hibiscus,

  • molasses, citric acid, and potassium sorbate.

  • Joe: Aah.

  • Whereas our caramel syrup has sugar,

  • corn syrup, butter (cream (milk) salt),

  • uh, water, heavy cream,

  • nonfat dry milk,

  • natural flavors, salt,

  • mono diggly-psoriasis?

  • I don't know what that word is.

  • Soy lecithin and sulfites.

  • The point is, our caramel syrup has actual caramel in it.

  • How do you like that?

  • Harry: Now let's try something with a lot more ingredients.

  • This is a java chip Frappuccino from the UK,

  • and it contains the following.

  • Both: Ice.

  • Milk.

  • Coffee Frappuccino syrup,

  • Harry: Which is water -- Joe: Which is sugar, water --

  • [both reciting different ingredients]

  • [fast-forwarding]

  • Harry: Sodium bicarbonate Joe: Sodium

  • Harry: and a mocha drizzle, Joe: bi-cow-bonate,

  • Harry: which is water,

  • Harry: mocha powder, sugar, Joe: Soy lecithin,

  • Harry: cocoa processed with Joe: natural flavors,

  • Harry: alkaline, and vanillin. Joe: oh, and salt.

  • Ladies and gentlemen, it is a "Food Wars" first,

  • the first time something in the UK

  • has an ingredients list longer than something in the US.

  • Time to celebrate, baby!

  • [party horn blowing]

  • Harry: Here is everything you can only find on the menu

  • at a UK Starbucks.

  • Joe: And this is everything you can get in a US Starbucks.

  • Harry: Now, we'll start with a quick disclaimer.

  • One of the big selling points of Starbucks

  • is that you can heavily customize

  • pretty much everything on the menu.

  • To save ourselves doing a million different

  • combinations of exclusive items,

  • what we're gonna do is focus mostly

  • on things that are on the menu as they are,

  • with just a few combinations of syrups and toppings

  • that you can get in one or the other.

  • Firstly, we have this cute little cortado.

  • Secondly, we have a cold foam cappuccino,

  • which is like an iced cappuccino

  • with just some foam on top of it.

  • Then we have some temporary season exclusives.

  • So, at the moment, you can get a

  • peanut butter cup Frappuccino in the UK,

  • as well as a chocolate s'mores Frappuccino,

  • which sounds pretty damn good.

  • Joe: In the US, along with the blond roast

  • you can get in the UK, we also have a dark roast,

  • and we have something called the Pike Place roast.

  • And that roast is a tribute to the first Starbucks

  • that's near the Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington.

  • I've been to that Starbucks.

  • It's fine.

  • Exclusive to the US, we have the caramel cloud macchiato.

  • Ooh, I do not like that.

  • The mocha cookie crumble Frappuccino.

  • Woof.

  • The caramel ribbon crunch Frappuccino.

  • I mean, the regular caramel one was gross.

  • Let's see how this one is.

  • Oh, God, it's worse.

  • Oh, it's so much worse.

  • And we also have this,

  • a vanilla sweet cream cold brew.

  • The ice has melted.

  • Woof.

  • I bet that was good six hours ago when it was made.

  • Harry: And what we've done is combined

  • as many UK exclusives as we can into one drink,

  • which I'm calling the UK Only.

  • We've got some almond, some sugar-free caramel,

  • some sugar-free hazelnut, and some mango,

  • which is gonna be an interesting mix.

  • Hoo!

  • That is sweet.

  • [laughs]

  • Joe: And of course at the Starbucks in the US,

  • we have our own unique customizations.

  • For instance, pineapple ginger syrup,

  • raspberry syrup, toffee nut syrup,

  • a cascara topping, cinnamon dolce sprinkles.

  • We have chocolate, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla powders

  • and a whole range of cold foams.

  • So, of course, I went ahead

  • and had all those things put into one drink,

  • which I am calling the USA Only.

  • Mm-mm.

  • Mm-mm.

  • Oh, man, that's weird.

  • Nothing in that works together.

  • Mm.

  • [ambient music]

  • [echoes] That caffeine's starting to hit, baby.

  • It's starting to hit!

  • [party horn blowing]

  • [ambient music continues]

  • [tapping table]

  • Starbucks. [laughs]

  • Harry: Now, this series isn't called "Drink Wars,"

  • and thankfully Starbucks has lots of food items.

  • Here are some things you'll only find

  • on the menu at a UK Starbucks.

  • Let's start with the bakery section.

  • Here in the UK, on the bakery menu,

  • you will find a chocolate chunk shortbread cookie.

  • You will find this delightful

  • little gingerbread barista man.

  • You will find this pain aux raisins.

  • We also have some luxury fruit toast,

  • which comes with these little cute pots of jam.

  • And then finally we've got a cinnamon swirl,

  • which is kind of just a cinnamon roll.

  • Our breakfast options are slightly limited.

  • Most of what we have is a range of breakfast rolls,

  • which is just kind of like a breakfast sandwich in the UK,

  • but served on crusty white bread.

  • Some options include a bacon sandwich.

  • Bacon sandwiches are a pretty big deal over here.

  • [slo-mo] I like mine with ketchup.

  • And then also, if you want something a little bit more,

  • you can go for an all-day breakfast sandwich,

  • which is bacon, sausage, and egg all in one roll.

  • Joe: Here are all the US-exclusive food items.

  • So, a lot of different breakfast sandwiches for Starbucks.

  • This one right here is

  • the Impossible meat sandwich.

  • Spinach, egg, and feta cheese wrap.

  • This is my go-to one. Love it.

  • These egg bites, these little, um,

  • gonna definitely pronounce this wrong,

  • these little sood-vee egg wraps. Sood vee?

  • I'll be straight up, I've never had one of these.

  • Holy s---, these are so good.

  • Oh, my God!

  • A lot of baked goods, like this little friendly guy,

  • just in time for the holiday season,

  • a little snowman cake pop.

  • Bunch of different varieties of sugar cookies.

  • I got this one 'cause I think it looks the nicest,

  • but I don't want this at all.

  • Oh, but you know what I do love?

  • Dude. Danishes, especially cheese danishes.

  • We also got scones.

  • So I'm going with the blueberry scone.

  • Can we get Harry's face on there?

  • Scone Harry?

  • Harry: Sorry to break it to you, Joe,

  • but that is not a scone.

  • Few things to point out.

  • Firstly, it's pronounced skahn, not skohn.

  • Secondly, they should all --

  • Joe: The marshmallow dream bar,

  • aka a rice crispy treat.

  • What are we doing?

  • We're going to Starbucks in the morning,

  • and we're getting cookies

  • and rice crispy treats for breakfast?

  • No, no.

  • They got bagels.

  • I asked for cream cheese, and they forgot.

  • Pumpkin cream cheese muffin.

  • It's got pumpkin,

  • a little glob of cream cheese in it right there.

  • Muffins are OK in the morning.

  • I'm pro morning muffin.

  • Last and probably least because I've never had one,

  • nor have I ever wanted one,

  • Starbucks in the US have a lot

  • of what they call protein boxes.

  • Chicken and quinoa.

  • Looks like a salad.

  • Harry: You guys have pretty much all the lunch options

  • that we have, in terms of, like,

  • paninis, sandwiches, and wraps.

  • One thing I did wanna highlight was this,

  • which is a cheese and Marmite mini ciabatta.

  • So, Marmite, as some of you will know,

  • is a spread that's quite popular in the UK.

  • It's like the byproduct of making beer.

  • When the yeast ferments, it kind of leaves, like,

  • a sludge on the bottom of the tank.

  • And that is Marmite.

  • But it somehow tastes really good.

  • Joe: Harry, no to Marmite.

  • It's bad, stop it.

  • Harry: So, on top of classic English breakfast tea,

  • we also have some exclusive teas to the UK.

  • So, we'll start with the jasmine pearl green tea,

  • which is just our exclusive version of the green tea.

  • Here we've got something called a youthberry tea,

  • which apparently helps keep you young.

  • Here is some chamomile tea,

  • which is great if you just want something

  • to relax before bed.

  • Then we've got some frozen teas as well.

  • So, this is a frozen iced tea made with apple and kiwi.

  • This is a frozen iced tea with tropical mango.

  • And then this is a frozen strawberry and lime tea.

  • Joe: Here in the US, we have a lot of exclusive teas too.

  • These are those exclusive teas.

  • For hot ones, we have a jade citrus mint,

  • a peach tranquility tea.

  • Think they missed a trick there,

  • not calling it the peach tranquili-tea.

  • [audience cheering]

  • Conner Blake came up with that, not me.

  • The revved up tea right there.

  • And then for the cold ones,

  • we got the royal English breakfast tea.

  • Why don't you guys have the

  • iced royal English breakfast tea?

  • A matcha lemonade tea,

  • a iced guava black tea,

  • and the passion tango iced tea.

  • Mm, mm, mm!

Harry Kersh: From calorie count to portion sizes,

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