When it comes to a caffeine hit, the strength of coffee in your cup differs hugely depending on which high street chain you buy it from, a study finds.

Cappuccino drinkers get most bang for their buck at Costa, with 325mg of caffeine – about the same amount contained in four cups of tea.

That’s five times stronger than a frothy coffee sold at Starbucks, which contains the least at 66mg, Which? found.

As for espresso, Pret a Manger is where your taste buds will get the biggest kick.

A single shot there contains 180mg of caffeine, nearly six times more than one from Starbucks which had a ‘meagre’ 33mg by comparison, the consumer watchdog reported. Pret also serves the strongest filter coffee – with 271mg of caffeine per cup and two-and-a-half times as much as the Starbucks version, which contained 102mg. Greggs was a close second, with 225mg in a filter coffee.

Caffè Nero had the second lowest levels of caffeine, after Starbucks, in both its cappuccinos – containing between 110mg and 115mg – and its espresso, with 45mg.

The variations are not only due to the number of caffeine shots used across the chains but also the type of coffee bean – either arabica or the ­double-strength robusta, said Which?

And its findings could be potentially problematic for consumers who are sensitive to caffeine, or pregnant.

The NHS says mums-to-be should consume no more than 200mg of caffeine per day, advising that a mug of instant coffee contains 100mg and a mug of filter coffee contains 140mg.

Which? nutritionist Shefalee Loth said: ‘Many of us rely on coffee to get us through the dark winter mornings, but our research shows you may be consuming significantly more, or less, caffeine than you bargained for.

‘Most of the time this shouldn’t be an issue but if you drink a lot of coffee or need to limit your caffeine intake you might want to consider what you’re ordering and where from.’

The results…

Caffeine content in milligrams and drink sizes in millilitres

Espresso

Caffè Nero 45mg (30ml)

Costa (Signature Blend) 100mg (30ml)

Greggs 75mg (28ml)

Pret 180mg (30ml)

Starbucks 33mg (25ml)

Cappuccino

Caffè Nero 110-115mg (355ml)

Costa (Signature Blend) 325mg (362ml)

Greggs 197mg (341ml)

Pret 180mg (350ml)

Starbucks 66mg (350ml)

Filter coffee

Caffè Nero N/A

Costa (Signature Blend) N/A

Greggs 225mg (341ml)

Pret 271mg (350ml)

Starbucks 102mg (350ml)

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