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If you've noticed purple drinks appearing on café menus, your social feed, and now your local coffee shop's specials board, you've been watching one of the most significant flavour trends to hit the UK drinks industry in years. The ingredient behind all of it is ube — a purple yam native to the Philippines with a flavour unlike anything else in the coffee shop repertoire.
We now stock two ways to bring ube into your drinks: Sweetbird Ube Syrup (1 litre, vegan, UK-made) for lattes, iced drinks and café menus, and Zuma Ube Powder (100g, ~37 servings) for authentic powder-based ube lattes and creative signature serves. This article covers everything you need to know: what ube is, where it came from, why it's everywhere right now, how it tastes, and how to use both formats at home.
Ube (pronounced oo-beh) is a purple yam — scientifically Dioscorea alata — native to the Philippines, where it has been cultivated and eaten for centuries. It is a starchy root vegetable related to the yam family, though distinct from purple sweet potato, taro, and the various other purple root ingredients that sometimes get confused with it. The name comes from the Tagalog word for "tuber".
In the Philippines, ube is a staple of traditional cooking and dessert culture. It appears in halo-halo (a shaved ice and mixed ingredients dessert), ube halaya (a thick, sweet jam), ube pandesal (purple bread rolls), ice cream, cakes, and pastries. Its colour — a vivid, natural purple-violet — is entirely its own, requiring no artificial dye, and its flavour has a unique character: sweet, gently nutty, and lightly earthy, with a vanilla-like quality that makes it especially well-suited to dairy and milk-based drinks.
Ube has been part of Filipino cuisine for as long as culinary records in the archipelago reach. Its cultivation predates Spanish colonisation in the 16th century, and it became particularly embedded in Filipino dessert culture during the centuries that followed — prized both for its natural sweetness and its striking colour, which sets festive dishes apart on a table.
Its journey to global coffee menus is more recent and tells a recognisable story: diaspora food culture meets social media reach. Ube first became widely known outside of Filipino communities around 2016, when ube doughnuts from Manila Social Club in New York City went viral online. From that moment, the combination of an unusual flavour, a naturally photogenic purple colour, and a cultural story worth sharing proved irresistible.
By 2020, ube had begun appearing on café menus in the US, and it has since reached Australia and Europe. By 2024, it had earned recognition as a formal trend: ube was named Flavour of the Year by major flavour producer T.Hasegawa, and Datassential predicted its presence on menus would grow 48% through to 2027.
The UK has followed. Costa Coffee launched Sweet Ube drinks — a Hot Chocolate and a Frappé — at UK locations in early 2026, and Pret A Manger introduced an Ube Brûlée Iced Latte across the US and Europe in May 2025. Industry analysts now list ube alongside pandan, miso, and yuzu as the global flavours defining café menus in 2026, with the instruction to introduce them respectfully as ingredients with heritage, rather than as passing novelties.
That heritage is real and worth understanding. Ube is not simply a colour or an aesthetic — it represents Filipino agricultural identity, supports Filipino farmers, and carries centuries of culinary meaning. The best versions of ube in food and drink acknowledge this, which is part of what makes it a more interesting and durable trend than most.
This is the question most people have before they try it — and the answer is more specific than "sweet purple flavour".
Ube's primary character is a creamy, vanilla-like sweetness — smooth and rounded, similar in some ways to white chocolate or sweet cream, but with a distinctive earthy quality beneath it. There's a subtle nuttiness, sometimes described as similar to taro or pistachio, but gentler and less pronounced. The earthiness is mild — present enough to add depth, not strong enough to challenge the sweetness.
The overall result is a flavour that is approachable and crowd-pleasing while being unmistakably its own thing. It pairs naturally with milk and cream, which is exactly why it has become so popular in latte and frappé formats. Unlike some more assertive trend flavours — matcha's bitterness, for instance — ube is genuinely easy to enjoy on first encounter, which is a significant part of why it has moved so quickly from niche to mainstream.
Both Sweetbird Ube Syrup and Zuma Ube Powder capture this profile — creamy vanilla-nut flavours with subtle earthy notes — with slightly different results in the cup. The syrup gives a sweeter, more liquid-soluble hit; the powder delivers a more rounded, full-bodied ube character with gentle body in the drink. Both use natural colour and contain no artificial flavours.
The ube trend is being driven by several forces converging at the same time, and understanding them helps explain why this one looks likely to last.
The aesthetics are genuinely distinctive. Purple is rare in the natural food world. It reads as premium, unusual, and photogenic in a way that brown-toned coffee drinks simply cannot replicate. According to Monin's 2024 research, 67% of consumers said they were likely to purchase an ube-flavoured beverage or dessert — a conversion rate that reflects both flavour appeal and the power of the visual.
The flavour is broadly approachable. Ube is arguably more palatable to a wider range of customers than matcha, which carries bitterness that some find off-putting. Ube's sweet, creamy, vanilla-forward profile works for people who don't usually engage with adventurous drink flavours — which significantly extends its audience.
Gen Z is driving experimentation. According to Keurig Dr Pepper's State of Beverages report, 72% of Gen Z consumers try new beverages monthly, and 75% customise their drinks. Ube sits perfectly in this context: a flavour you can discover, photograph, share, and make your own.
The cultural moment is right. Global flavours are influencing Western café menus in 2026, with a growing interest in cultural authenticity. Ube isn't appropriated from nowhere — it has a clear, proud origin and a story that coffee-shop culture has become genuinely interested in telling.
Coffee King now stocks ube in two formats, and they're not simply interchangeable — each has a distinct use case and delivers a slightly different result in the cup.
Sweetbird Ube Syrup (1 litre, £7.40) is a liquid syrup designed for fast, consistent drink preparation. It dissolves instantly into hot or cold liquid, layers visually in iced drinks, and is ideal for high-volume café use or anyone who wants a reliable, repeatable result with minimal fuss. The colour — vivid purple from sweet potato extract — is especially striking when poured over milk in an iced latte. Best for: iced lattes, hot lattes, frappés, bubble tea, hot chocolate riffs.
Zuma Ube Powder (100g, £8.99, ~37 servings) is 100% pure ube powder — nothing added, nothing taken away. It delivers a slightly more restrained, rounded flavour with gentle body in the drink and a naturally smooth texture when whisked correctly. At 1.5g per serving, it's economical and produces a more "from scratch" result that suits the current trend for powder-based specialty lattes (matcha, butterfly pea, turmeric). The flavour is intentionally composed and clean — hazelnut, vanilla, and caramel notes that sit quietly in the background rather than demanding attention. Best for: ube lattes, iced ube drinks, creative signature serves, baking and culinary use.
Which to choose? For straightforward café-style ube lattes and drinks where speed and visual drama matter, start with the syrup. For a more considered, from-scratch ube latte experience — or if you want to bake with ube — the powder is the right tool. Many home baristas and cafés use both: syrup for volume drinks, powder for a dedicated signature serve that tells a more authentic product story.
General rule for syrup: add to the cup before the espresso or hot liquid in hot drinks, so it dissolves cleanly. For iced drinks, stir into hot espresso first, then cool with ice. Start with 1–2 pumps (7.5–15ml) and adjust to taste. A Sweetbird pump dispenser (7.5ml per press) makes measuring consistent.
General rule for powder: whisk 1.5g (one scoop) with a small amount of hot water or hot milk first to form a smooth paste before adding the rest of your liquid. This prevents clumping and gives a fully smooth result.
The drink that put ube on the café map — and the easiest place to start.
Stir ube syrup into hot espresso until dissolved. Fill a tall glass with ice, add cold milk, pour the ube espresso over the top. The purple seeps through the milk in layers before mixing — serve immediately and stir at the table if you want the full visual effect.
The from-scratch powder version — a composed, subtly flavoured ube latte with a more rounded finish than the syrup method.
Whisk the ube powder with 30ml of hot water until fully dissolved and paste-like. Add steamed milk and stir gently. For an ube latte, pull your espresso shot and add to the ube milk. The powder produces a naturally muted purple-grey tone rather than the vivid purple of the syrup — a more understated visual that suits the quieter, more considered flavour profile. Finish with a light dusting of ube powder on the foam.
The warming syrup version — quick and reliable for a weekday morning.
Add ube syrup to your cup. Pull two shots of espresso on top and stir. Steam milk to a smooth, pourable microfoam and pour over. The ube colour blends into the milk foam to create a lavender-tinted surface — dust with a tiny pinch of ground vanilla if you have it.
Blended, cold, and built for summer — or any time you want a dessert-adjacent coffee drink.
Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a glass. Top with whipped cream if using — the purple beneath the cream is the visual payoff. The flavour is sweet, creamy, and lightly earthy in a way that reads like a dessert more than a coffee.
For when the occasion calls for something cold, sweet, and without espresso.
Combine ube syrup and cold milk in a jar and stir well. Add ice and tapioca pearls. Serve with a wide straw. Coconut milk amplifies the earthy, tropical character of ube; oat milk gives a creamier, sweeter result.
A different angle — ube and chocolate together, inspired by Costa's UK launch.
Whisk hot chocolate powder into a small amount of hot milk to form a smooth paste. Add ube syrup and stir. Pour over remaining steamed milk. The ube vanilla-nut quality blends into the chocolate in a way that makes the drink taste more complex than either ingredient alone — and the colour, depending on which chocolate you use, shifts somewhere between plum and dusty mauve.
If you're running a café, coffee shop, or hospitality venue, ube is one of the most commercially effective menu additions of 2026. Viral drink creations and global flavours are leading menu development in Q1 2026, and ube specifically ticks every box: visual differentiation, social shareability, a flavour profile that converts first-time orderers, and a cultural story that gives front-of-house staff something to say.
Both Sweetbird Ube Syrup and Zuma Ube Powder are professional-grade, foodservice-ready products — free from artificial colours, allergen-conscious, and registered with The Vegan Society, meaning they sit comfortably on any inclusive menu. The syrup works for high-volume applications where consistency and speed matter; the powder suits signature serve menus where the preparation process is part of the customer experience.
For trade enquiries, Coffee King's wholesale team can help with volume ordering.
Ube is a purple yam (Dioscorea alata) native to the Philippines, where it has been used in traditional cooking and desserts for centuries. It is distinct from taro and purple sweet potato, though all three are sometimes confused. Its name means "tuber" in Tagalog.
Ube has a creamy, sweet flavour with vanilla-like qualities, a subtle nuttiness, and mild earthy undertones. It's approachable and rounds naturally with milk and cream, making it well-suited to latte, frappé, and hot chocolate formats.
Ube syrup (like Sweetbird Ube Syrup) is a liquid sweetener that dissolves quickly into drinks, delivers vivid colour, and is ideal for fast-prep café use. Ube powder (like Zuma Ube Powder) is 100% pure ube with no added sugar or liquid — it gives a more rounded, body-forward result and is better suited to dedicated powder lattes, baking, and signature serves where the preparation is part of the experience. The syrup is sweeter and more liquid-forward; the powder is subtler, more composed, and more versatile beyond drinks.
No — they are different plants with different flavour profiles. Taro (Colocasia esculenta) is starchy and mildly nutty with less sweetness and a more neutral colour. Ube is sweeter, more vanilla-forward, and naturally vivid purple. They are sometimes used interchangeably in bubble tea menus, but they taste quite different.
Yes. Both Sweetbird Ube Syrup and Zuma Ube Powder are registered with The Vegan Society, free from GMOs, and contain no artificial colours or preservatives. Zuma Ube Powder contains 100% ube — no added ingredients at all.
Despite the "vanilla-nut" flavour descriptor, both Sweetbird Ube Syrup and Zuma Ube Powder are nut-free. The nutty character is a natural quality of the ube flavour profile, not the result of added nut ingredients.
Ube's vanilla-sweet profile pairs best with medium-roast, milk chocolate-forward coffees — our Italian Gourmet is an excellent match. The caramel and praline notes in Italian Gourmet complement ube's vanilla-nut character without either competing. For stronger, more assertive espresso pairings, Barista Premium also works well — the cocoa finish plays against ube's sweetness in an interesting way.
Absolutely. Both work just as well in non-coffee drinks — hot chocolate, bubble tea, milkshakes, frappés, and cold milk drinks. Zuma Ube Powder is also suitable for baking and culinary use. They are two of the most versatile ube ingredients available for non-coffee applications.
Start with 2 pumps (15ml) for a standard latte or iced drink. One pump for a more subtle flavour, three for a more pronounced ube character in a blended frappé or bubble tea. A Sweetbird pump dispenser makes this consistent and mess-free.
Zuma Ube Powder is measured at 1.5g per serving (roughly one level scoop or teaspoon). Always pre-mix with a small amount of hot liquid first to avoid clumping before adding to your drink.
Sweetbird Ube Syrup is available at Coffee King for £7.40 per 1-litre bottle. Zuma Ube Powder is available for £8.99 per 100g pouch (~37 servings). Both are in stock now, with free shipping on orders over £60.
The evidence suggests it will last. Ube has a genuine flavour identity — not just a colour — and a cultural heritage that gives it staying power beyond novelty. Its trajectory follows matcha more closely than seasonal trend flavours: it started in niche communities, moved to specialty cafés, and is now entering mainstream UK chains. That pattern tends to indicate a flavour that becomes a permanent menu fixture rather than a one-season special.
Coffee King stocks both ube formats — pick the one that suits your setup, or try both:
Browse the full Sweetbird syrup range or the Zuma range if you want to explore further — or pair your ube with a bag of Italian Gourmet beans for the complete home ube latte setup.