Veganism is officially no longer a fringe lifestyle, with more people opting to cut out animal products from their diet altogether.
The high street chains have noticed, and there are more dairy-free options than ever for customers to enjoy.
This week, Starbucks added oat milk to its large range of dairy-free options, while Costa now offers coconut milk for the first time.
But for those who aren’t forced to pick a milk alternative because they’re vegan or lactose intolerant, is it really healthier to choose a dairy-free option?
FEMAIL analysed the nutritional information of vegan options across four of the biggest coffee shop chains – and found that milk is often less calorific.
STARBUCKS
Starbucks added oat milk as an option for customers to add to their drinks on Thursday, but it will add more calories to your drink compared to whole milk
Starbucks’ new oat milk option, which it introduced on Thursday, is now its most calorific.
A Tall Oat Milk Latte contains 212 calories and a whopping 17.8g of sugar, substantially more than a latte made with fatty whole milk (181 calories) or with semi-skimmed (143 calories).
Almost all the coffee shop’s vegan options, however, contain more calories than skimmed milk, with a Tall Skimmed Milk Latte containing just 103 calories and 0.3g fat.
The only option lighter than skimmed milk at Starbucks is almond milk, with a latte made with this option containing just 74 calories.
However it contains more fat than a Skimmed Milk Latte, with 3.2g fat.
COSTA COFFEE
Costa added coconut milk as a vegan option to its menus this week but it is more calorific than using skimmed milk
The most calorific latte you can drink at Costa is with whole milk, with a Primo Latte coming in at 149 calories and 8.6g of fat.
However its soya and new coconut milk options are more calorific and contain more fat than its skimmed milk variety.
A new Primo Coconut Milk Latte contains 77 calories, while a Soya Latte contains 97.
Meanwhile a Skimmed Milk Latte contains 75 calories and 0.6g of fat.
However the milk options contain more sugar than either of the vegan alternatives.
PRET A MANGER
Pret A Manger has coconut milk and oat milk on the menu but adding these to your drink will likely make your beverage more calorific than using normal milk
Pret’s dairy-free Coconut Latte is its most calorific type of the drink, with 150 calories, closely followed by its vegan Oat Latte, which contains 132 calories.
Its normal latte, made with organic milk, contains 118 calories but more fat at 4.3g than the more calorific vegan options.
Its Soya Latte is its lightest variety, but the drink contains the most fat of any type of latte the chain sells, with 5.3g fat.
CAFFE NERO
Caffe Nero’s vegan option, soya milk, is more calorific than skimmed milk but less than semi-skimmed milk
Caffe Nero’s most calorific normal latte is made with semi-skimmed milk.
The chain only has one vegan alternative to milk, soya, but this beverage contains more calories than the skimmed milk option.
A Soya Latte contains 71 calories and 2.8g fat, compared with a Latte with Skimmed Milk which contains 62 calories and 0.8g fat.
However the skimmed milk-version contains the most sugar of any normal latte at Caffe Nero, with 6.5g. The soya option meanwhile contains 3.7g sugar.
The Semi-Skimmed Latte meanwhile contains 78 calories and 2.8g of fat.