Costa Cherry Vanilla Iced Whipped Latte (UK Price & Calories 2026)
The Cherry Vanilla Iced Whipped Latte is the sort of Costa order where the decision is less “do I need a coffee?” and more “do I want a sweet cold drink with a whipped topping?” The Medium is £5.20 and 186 kcal, so it sits in that dessert-style drink space rather than feeling like a plain iced latte.
If you’re weighing it up at the counter, the main question is simple: does the cherry-vanilla flavour and whipped topping feel worth the sugar, calories and price? For me, yes — but only if you actually want something sweet.
Source: Official Costa Database
| Nutrient | Per 100g (In) | Eat In (280ml) | Takeaway (315ml) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy (kcal) | 61 | 171 | 186 |
| Energy (kJ) | 258 | 723 | 783 |
| Carbs (g) | 11 | 30 | 33 |
| Sugars (g) | 6.8 | 19 | 22 |
| Fat (g) | 1.2 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| Saturates (g) | 0.8 | 2.2 | 2.3 |
| Protein (g) | 2.1 | 5.7 | 6.5 |
| Salt (g) | 0.08 | 0.22 | 0.25 |
Customize Your Signature Drink
Tailor the size, milk, and flavors to your preference and check the nutritional information
expand_more
Quick answer before you order
- Small costs £4.95 and has 147 kcal.
- Medium costs £5.20 and has 186 kcal.
- The Medium adds 85 ml for 25p more.
- The Medium has 22 g sugar, compared with 17 g in Small.
- The default setup is Medium, semi-skimmed milk and takeaway.
- Milk swaps cost +£0.00 and change the default Medium nutrition.
My short answer: order it when you actively want a dessert-style iced drink, not when you’re after a plain, lighter coffee. The cherry-vanilla angle and whipped topping make it feel more like a sweet break than a regular latte choice.
Is it worth the price?
On price alone, the Medium makes a strong case. Small is £4.95, while Medium is £5.20, so you pay 25p more for an extra 85 ml. That’s a small price step for a bigger drink.
The catch is that the Medium also moves from 147 kcal to 186 kcal, and from 17 g sugar to 22 g sugar. That’s not a huge calorie jump, but the sugar increase matters if you’re choosing this because it sounds like a light iced coffee. It’s better to think of it as a sweet drink with coffee-style roots, not a plain cold coffee.
So is it worth it? If the cherry-vanilla flavour and whipped topping are the reason you’re ordering, the Medium feels better value. If you only want a quick cold drink, the Small keeps the cost and sugar lower.
Which size makes the most sense?
The Small is the sensible pick if you want the flavour without making it too much of a sweet stop. It’s £4.95, 230 ml and 147 kcal, with 17 g sugar. That’s the one I’d point to if you’re pairing it with food or just want a shorter drink.
The Medium is the better value pick if you’re buying this as the main event. It’s £5.20, 315 ml and 186 kcal. For 25p more than Small, the extra 85 ml is easy to justify, but only if you want that extra portion.
On a slow afternoon at a Costa on a high street with my son, when I wasn’t in the mood for a plain drink, this is exactly the kind of thing I’d consider. I’d still think twice about the bigger size unless I really wanted the extra portion, because it’s clearly more of a sweet order than a background drink.
Calories and sugar — the numbers to check
Cherry Vanilla Iced Whipped Latte has 147 kcal in Small and 186 kcal in Medium. The Medium also has 22 g sugar, 3.5 g fat, 2.3 g saturates, 33 g carbs, 6.5 g protein and 0.25 g salt.
The sugar is the number I’d check first. A Medium has 22 g sugar, which is a clear sign that this sits in sweet drink territory. The Small is lower at 17 g sugar, but it’s still not a plain iced coffee choice.
For a simple calorie comparison, the Small at 147 kcal is just above a can of Coke at around 139 kcal. The Medium at 186 kcal is higher again, so it’s worth choosing the size you actually want rather than automatically going bigger.
| Size | Portion (ml) | Energy (kcal) | Energy (kJ) | Sugar (g) | Fat (g) | Saturates (g) | Carbs (g) | Protein (g) | Salt (g) |
| Small | 230 | 163 | 684 | 17 | 4.5 | 2.9 | 26 | 5.2 | 0.2 |
| Medium | 315 | 206 | 862 | 21 | 5.7 | 3.7 | 33 | 6.3 | 0.24 |
Source: Official Costa Database
Milk swaps: what actually changes?
The default Medium is made with semi-skimmed milk. Costa lists oat, coconut and soya as milk options at +£0.00, and each one changes the nutrition from the default Medium figures.
If you want the lowest calorie version from the milk swaps listed, coconut is the one that lowers calories most. Compared with the default Medium, coconut changes the drink by -14 kcal, -59 kJ, -2 g sugar, -0.3 g fat, -0.4 g saturates, -1 g carbs, -2 g protein and -0.01 g salt. That takes the Medium from 186 kcal to 172 kcal by simple arithmetic.
Soya also reduces the calories, but by less: -4 kcal, -18 kJ, -3 g sugar, +0.2 g fat, -0.8 g saturates, -2 g carbs, -0.2 g protein and -0.01 g salt compared with the default Medium.
Oat goes the other way on calories. It changes the default Medium by +13 kcal, +53 kJ, -2 g sugar, +1.3 g fat, -0.8 g saturates, +2 g carbs, -2.7 g protein and +0.02 g salt. That means oat isn’t the lighter calorie choice here, even though it reduces sugar by 2 g compared with the default.
Allergens to know
The allergen information provided for both sizes is:
- Small: Milk contains; Soya contains.
- Medium: Milk contains; Soya contains.
Allergen information can change — always check in-store before ordering if you have a food allergy.
What I’d actually choose
I’d order the Small if I wanted a sweet cold drink but didn’t want it to take over the afternoon. It still gives you the cherry-vanilla idea and whipped topping, but at 147 kcal and 17 g sugar it’s the more restrained option.
I’d choose the Medium only if I was treating it like my main sweet Costa order. The value is better because it’s only 25p more than the Small, but the larger portion also brings 186 kcal and 22 g sugar. That trade-off is fine if that’s what you want, but I wouldn’t call it the automatic choice for everyone.
For customising, coconut is the milk swap I’d look at first if the aim is to lower calories, because it reduces the default Medium by 14 kcal. If you prefer oat or soya, the numbers move differently, so it’s worth checking the changes rather than assuming every swap makes the drink lighter.
Frequently Asked Questions
Disclaimer
Prices shown are typical UK menu estimates for 2026 and may vary by store location, promotions, delivery services, or eat-in vs takeaway pricing. Nutritional values are based on standard drink configurations and may change depending on size, milk choice, extras, or recipe updates made by the brand.