Move over matcha: how ube cocktails and coffees are hitting the UK’s sweet spot

Bright purple coffees and cocktails made with a root vegetable called ube have hit the high street in the UK after the yam’s striking hue caused a sensation on social media. Many are calling ube the “new matcha”, and it has a nutty, creamy, sweet taste, like a mix between coconut and vanilla.

Ube coloured and flavoured drinks became popular in the US last year, after an earlier boom in Australia. Farmers in the Philippines, where the root vegetable is often sourced, have been struggling to meet demand.

Now, the purple drinks have crossed the pond: Starbucks and Costa both launched ube drinks in their UK stores last month.

A Starbucks spokesperson said: “With its stunning technicolour, ube is gaining recognition as chefs, bakeries and cafes around the world have re-imagined the ingredient in culinary creations, particularly in drinks and desserts, and the Starbucks Ube range celebrates this growing cultural presence.”

Ube has long been used in east Asian cooking. Noa Wang, who is originally from China, owns the trendy Bar Lotus in Dalston, east London. She has been putting ube in her cocktails – including a white chocolate dessert-style drink with ube-infused double cream, white chocolate liqueur, white rum, vanilla syrup, and egg white – since the bar opened in 2024, and said they were bestsellers.

“Ube is a very good ingredient that east Asian people enjoy a lot,” she said. “We have lots of desserts using that in our childhood memories. The colour is beautiful but it also gives a special taste. It provides a subtle sweetness as well as starchy cream mouthfeel, and is always in our top three most popular drinks at the bar.”

While ube is nostalgic for those who grew up with it, it is an exciting new trend for many who haven’t previously encountered it. This has caused a boom on social media, including TikTok, where ube drinks are often featured.

An ube mocktail and cocktail at Serai bar in Melbourne, Australia. Photograph: Ellen Smith/The Guardian

Regina Maisevičiūtė-Haydon, food and drink associate principal at the market research firm Mintel, said: “Ube’s vivid purple colour is ‘highly photogenic’ and well suited to social media platforms, where visually appealing foods can go viral. In the UK, social media can directly trigger people to try things: 49% say they have bought a drink after seeing it featured in a social media post.

“Ube is positioned as an ‘approachable yet exciting’ innovation because it’s mildly sweet, nutty and creamy, often with vanilla/coconut-like notes – meaning it can feel both new and comforting. Brands have been pairing it with familiar flavours like vanilla to broaden its attraction.”

Bettina Campolucci Bordi, a chef who runs wellness retreats and creates recipes, said she had been using ube for many years, as she travels the world for her work and had encountered it across Asia.

She said she had noticed it being asked for more, and that it had become a craze “like matcha was a few years ago”. She uses it in a tiramisu, and said it was “excellent in pancakes, especially if you are making them for kids”. Bordi added: “It’s become popular from social media – it’s the colour, it looks good on videos, it is all over TikTok. It’s something new because we don’t usually see purple drinks or desserts.”