You might assume that Britain is a nation of tea addicts - but in fact, it's a lovely hot cup of coffee that we can't get enough of. Nearly two thirds of us drink coffee every day, compared to 59 per cent who have a daily tea, and its estimated that the UK drinks 95 million cups of coffee a day.
To serve this appetite for coffee, there's been a proliferation of coffee chains on the high street, from long-standing stores such as Costa and Starbucks, to relative newcomers, such as the Gen Z favourite Blank Street. Fast food brands like Greggs and McDonalds have also got in on the act, offering relatively low-priced coffees (which holds some appeal when the average price of a cup has rocketed in recent years).
But which coffee chain serves the best beverage of all? Well, one coffee expert, the self-styled Flat White Frank, has been on a mission to taste and rank them all. With a background in the coffee industry, he's now clocking up thousands of followers on TikTok and Instagram on his mission to find the best flat white available.
'I’m on the hunt to find the best flat white in the world,' he tells You magazine. 'I’m absolutely obsessed with coffee, and my search so far has led to me to some of the best specialty coffee shops in the country and abroad.'
As for the UK, he says 'There are 10 chains that absolutely dominate our coffee scene, with seemingly one on every corner. They are Starbucks, Costa, Café Nero, Pret, Wetherspoons, Blank Street, Black Sheep, McDonalds and Greggs. Whether its price, vibe, equipment, or quality of coffee, each of these chains offer something different.'
Flat White Frank has reviewed a coffee from every single one of the chains, and scored them out of 10 'so that on your next work break, walk or catch-up with a friend, you know where to go to have the best flat white'. And he promises 'a few surprises' in his discoveries.
The UK's biggest coffee chains ranked from worst to best
10 – McDonalds: £1.99
McDonalds coffee did not impress
Now this was my biggest disappointment. McDonalds coffee is cheap, consistent, easy to come across and, until this one, has a tolerable taste.
For these reasons, I usually recommend it to people who just need a flat white when there’s no good coffee shops around. However, the one I tasted for this review was dreadful.
It was boiling hot, bitter and tasted of what I would imagine tyres or a cigarette butt are like to eat. Not a flat white for the ages.
Verdict: 3.3/10
9 – Greggs: £2
The Greggs flat white is relatively cheap at £2
Things got slightly better with Greggs, or maybe I should say slightly less bad.
Again, another cheap flat white, it cost me just £2 and I’d heard from many that Greggs’ flat white was supposed to be okay.
They have their own blend of coffee beans which is supposed to give taste notes of almonds, silky cocoa and sweet liquorish – I got none of those.
Again, the milk was boiling hot which gave the whole drink a very burnt like taste. The drink tastes like a mix between tarmac and boiling water – weird, I know, but I think you get the picture.
Verdict: 4.1/10
8 – Black Sheep: £4.09
One of the hightest priced flat whites, and not the best tasting
Black Sheep was a little bit better than the previous two chains. I tried their Colombian coffee called Blue Volcano. The coffee, again was scalding hot, and despite getting some dark chocolate aromas, the coffee had a lingering burnt taste.
The main reason this flat white is ranking this low however, is the price. For £4.09, I’d expect, at least, a ‘decent’ tasting coffee – it was okay, not decent.
Verdict: 6/10
7 – Caffé Nero: £3.55
There are 625 Caffé Nero stores in the UK
My middle ranking coffee chains didn’t have a lot between them – they were all ‘not bad’ but ‘not great’.
Caffé Nero surprised me slightly. I’d had a fair few bad coffees from there in the past however, this one was, like I said, ‘not bad’.
They use a coffee blend called classico which is supposed to taste of chocolate and caramel. I slightly got some hints of caramel, but the coffee was, like a lot of these drinks, served far too hot.
It was better than McDonalds, Greggs and Black Sheep – but there are better chain flat whites out there.
Verdict: 6.1/10
6 – Starbucks: £3.95
Starbucks ranks well for coffee art, but not for flavour
Costing 40p more, and scoring 0.1 better than Nero was Starbucks. I think that 0.1 was because of the latte art, which was gorgeous.
But regarding taste, it was very similar. Their espresso roast was supposed to taste like caramel, but it was boiling hot (giving it a slightly bitter taste) and I got some slightly sweet, cereal-like taste notes.
Verdict: 6.2/10
5 – Pret A Manger: £3.60
Pret A Manger has become ubiquitous in London, and recently opened its first store in Africa
Latte art was non-existent at Pret but their coffee taste had a little bit more about it – a bit more character.
Despite the coffee not tasting particularly exciting, the milk wasn’t burnt, meaning I could taste a lot more traditional coffee aromas.
Coffee beans are also organic which is nice.
Verdict: 6.3/10
4 – Gail's: £4
Good beans and equipment, but Gail's flat white was average
I was a bit disappointed with Gail's, I must be honest. I’ve had some good coffees from Gail's in the past and, as a result, thought they’d get into the top three. But the one I tried for this review left me disappointed. They use decent coffee beans (Union Coffee Roasters) but the milk was slightly burnt and had a layer of foam on top, which gave it a bitter taste.
I could taste some nutty aromas, however for a bakery with great equipment (Victoria Arduino grinders and machine) the coffee was pretty middling.
Verdict: 6.4/10
3 – Wetherspoons: £1.56
Wetherspoons and its free refills made it high up the list, to Frank's surprise
Now, this is the biggest surprise of them all. Spoons...yes Spoons. When one thinks of Wetherspoons, they imagine cheap food, even cheaper pints and absolute chaos on a Saturday night.
But the chain actually makes a coffee that’s worth writing home about – especially because of the price.
I paid £1.56 for a refillable coffee – crazy. Now the coffee was served a little bit too hot for my liking and it certainly wasn’t amazing however, for £1.56, I was served a pleasant coffee. It was quite milky in regard to taste but I wasn’t getting any bitter taste notes at all.
Next time you’re thinking about getting a pitcher in Spoons, you might want to get a flat white instead.
Verdict: 6.9/10
2 – Costa: £3.50
The UK's biggest coffee chain, Costa, got a surprise second place
Not quite as big as our last surprise, but I did not expect Costa to be clinching second place. Before I sing its praises, I will say, the mug was too big.
A flat white should be a double shot of espresso and textured milk in a 6-8oz cup – this cup was gigantic.
However, the coffee was really nice. It was smooth, it was silky, and was served a great temperature – not too hot and not too cold (something which is very hard to do).
Verdict: 7.2/10
1 – Blank Street: £3.20
Blank Street coffee is somewhat worth the hype, according to Frank, who ranked it the best of the high street chains
Coming out on top of my coffee chain chart is Blank Street. There’s been a lot of hype around Blank Street recently; it seems to have replaced Starbucks as the drinks brand people want to be seen having in their hand.
The fact that they’ve popped up everywhere so quickly, plus their use of bean to cup (semi-automated) machines, made me think that it’d be hard to keep the quality high.
After all, automated machines are getting better, but you can’t beat a good barista doing their thing.
Despite this, my flat white was really good. They use good quality speciality coffee beans (Origin Coffee), the milk was smooth, it was at a good temperature, and its taste was very well rounded.
Was it the best flat white I’d ever had? No, but the best of the coffee chains for sure, and the price makes it even better.
Verdict: (8.1/10)
