Students Elliot Burrow, 18, and James McMinn, 16, sample Costa’s brand-new winter refreshments to find out if they are all the rage

Costa has introduced a new range of drinks into their already vast menu to complement the winter season. These include several new flavoured hot chocolates and a few classic coffees with a new winter themed twist.

We decided to check these out and find out for ourselves if they were up to the standard of Costa’s previous seasonal specials.

Located next to Carlisle train station, it is a perfect place for people to go to whether you are waiting for a train, or just casually wandering through the city.

The Costa itself is hidden away from the main street traffic but as always, easy to spot with the glaring Costa sign above the door.

As expected from such a prominent worldwide chain the service was extremely hasty, which meant we had our food and drinks on the table ready to eat within around two minutes of ordering.

Perhaps one would assume due to such a minimal waiting time there would be a compromise of the quality of the refreshments. This was not the case.

Elliot’s order could be what some could consider to be plain. But sometimes it is best to just stick to what you like, and a cappuccino and a ham and cheese toastie proved exactly that.

The chocolate on top of the cappuccino is always a must as it just takes the coffee away from being something which could be considered bland, to something slightly more interesting. The toastie on the other hand, well, you can’t really add much to something like that to make it more interesting so, that had to stay plain.

As somebody who suffers from an allergy and a gluten intolerance, James often struggles for options in large chain restaurants and cafes as they do not provide many gluten free options due to the increased risk of cross-contamination due to mass production.

However, he was pleasantly surprised to find that Costa had an abundance of Gluten Free options including, Mexican style salads, soup and fruit pots.

James decided, in the end, to order the second option which was a red pepper tomato and lentil soup. Admittedly not your plain variation of the nation’s favourite soup but none the less it was a great selection.

As a lover of spice, the peppers in the soup complemented the warmth of the tomatoes and crunch of the lentils perfectly. He would undoubtedly recommend this option to others who have similar dietary requirements.

As well as the soup James decided to sample one of Costa’s new flavoured hot chocolates, which was a bold move as often these can be very hit and miss.

Unlike those the White Chocolate hot chocolate (yes, it’s a mouthful to say out loud) did not disappoint and he would even go as far to say this the best hot chocolate I have ever drank. His only complaint would be that it seems the marshmallows decrease in size every time he goes to Costa but so does everything these days!

So, Costa managed to show that it does show the qualities for a great place to go for a quick yet quality lunch. And with the bill only coming to just short of £13 for two people, it also showed its value for money.

So, is this an ideal place for people to go to? The answer is absolutely and at a time of the year where a warming drink and lunch is most needed, Costa didn’t disappoint!