Making purple drinks

You make a purple drink with ube: a purple yam from the Philippines. The color comes from the tuber itself; no coloring is used. Below are all the purple drinks you can make with ube powder, from hot to ice-cold, plus other purple things you can make with it.

Which purple drink do you want to make?

• Purple latte: hot, creamy, and ready in 2 minutes. The classic.
• Purple iced latte: cold milk, ice, and a purple swirl.
• Purple coffee: layered with a shot of espresso.
• Dirty ube latte: espresso over cold purple milk, the version you see in the photo.
• Purple matcha: green matcha over a purple base.
• Purple foam: ube cold foam on your iced coffee or cold brew.

Purple food: cookies, cake, and dessert

Ube doesn't just color drinks. It works just as well in dough and batter, and its vanilla-like flavor even becomes stronger when baked.

• Purple cookies: soft cookies that stay purple after baking.
• Purple panna cotta: a lilac dessert, beautiful with red fruit.
• Purple lemon tart: note, the lemon juice makes the color more pink.

Why is the drink purple?

The color comes from anthocyanins, natural pigments also found in blueberries, grapes, and red cabbage. UBE.25 ube powder contains 99.7% ube and 0.3% natural vanilla, and nothing else. No coloring and no added sugar. Read more about this in why is ube purple?

How purple does it get?

That depends on how much powder you use and on your milk. With 2 to 2.5 grams per 200 ml of milk, you get a soft lilac. If you want it a deeper purple, use a little more powder or choose a neutral milk such as oat milk. Whole cow's milk makes the color lighter.

Note: acid changes the color. A splash of lemon juice makes ube more pink. A pinch of baking soda, on the other hand, turns it blue.

Does a purple drink also have a taste?

Yes. Ube tastes mild, slightly sweet, and nutty with a vanilla-like undertone, and not like berries. Read more in what does ube taste like?

Purple without coloring—is that really possible?

Yes, and that is exactly the difference with many other purple drinks. When buying, check the label: if it lists E-numbers or coloring, the color does not come from the tuber. Read more about what else to look out for in buying ube powder: what to look out for? and in where do you buy ube powder?

Frequently asked questions

What is that purple drink you see everywhere?

Usually an ube latte: milk with ube powder, made from a purple yam from the Philippines. You also see it as an iced version or with a layer of purple foam on top.

What is purple matcha?

That is not matcha. Matcha is green. What people call purple matcha is usually ube, or ube and matcha together in a glass. In an ube matcha latte, you pour the green matcha over the purple ube so that you see two layers.

How do you make purple cookies without coloring?

With ube powder in the dough. The color stays after baking, and you can taste vanilla and nuts. See the ube cookies recipe.

What is that purple powder?

Dried and ground ube. So it is a dried vegetable, not a flavoring powder or a coloring powder.

Does a purple drink contain caffeine?

Not in ube itself. Ube is naturally caffeine-free. If you add espresso or matcha, the caffeine comes from that.

Is purple coffee the same as ube coffee?

Yes. It is espresso with ube milk, usually poured in layers. View the ube coffee recipe.

Can I also make a purple drink without ube?

You can use butterfly pea or coloring, but then you miss out on the flavor. Ube provides color and flavor at the same time.

Ready to start?

With a 100-gram bag of ube powder from UBE.25, you can make about 50 purple drinks. View all ube recipes.