Costa Coffee Controversy: Is Costa Coffee Ripping Off Its Customers?

Looks like Starbucks might not be the only company in hot water for skimping out on customers.

Paul Hopkinson, a British construction worker, shared a video on Facebook in which he poured the contents of a large cup of Costa Coffee into a regular cup. The video has since gained nearly 12 million views.

In the video, Hopkinson is able to pour the entire contents of the large cup into the regular cup, thus 'proving' customers who are paying extra for the larger size aren't getting their money's worth. Viewers with a keen eye will see that the large cup was filled to about a centimeter short of the top, and when Hopkinson poured the coffee into the regular cup it was filled to the brim.

In response, Costa Coffee writes, "Despite what it looks like I can assure you you're not being duped in anyway. The regular cup is a 12oz and the large is a 16oz so there is 4 fluid oz in size difference. Plus you also get the extra shot of coffee, hence the price difference! Also for safety reasons there is no way we would be able to fill the cup that high as it would end up burning someone."

One commenter does the math, and the four-ounce difference between the cups in liquid form would amount to a one centimeter difference in height when filling the cup.