Move over matcha: Purple ube trend takes over Hyderabad specialty coffee shops and social feeds

Hyderabad's specialty coffee scene is embracing ube, a purple yam native to the Philippines. Known for its distinct vanilla-coconut notes and striking violet color, the ingredient is rivaling matcha across city menus through lattes, desserts, and viral social media posts

Hyderabad: A few months ago, Hyderabad’s cafe-goers couldn’t get enough of matcha. The green tea powder found its way into lattes, desserts and even savoury dishes. Now, another colourful ingredient is beginning to dominate cafe menus and social media feeds, and this time, it is purple.

The ingredient in question is ube, a purple yam native to the Philippines. While it has long been a staple in Filipino cuisine, the trend has recently begun making its way into Hyderabad’s specialty coffee scene, with cafes experimenting with ube-based drinks and desserts.

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With rough grey-brown skin and a deep purple interior, ube has been used in Filipino cooking for centuries, particularly during holidays and family celebrations. Known for its mildly sweet, nutty flavour with hints of vanilla and coconut, ube is commonly used in traditional desserts and is often boiled and mashed with condensed milk. Today, however, its uses have expanded far beyond classic recipes.

“Ube is a purple yam from the Philippines, delicately sweet, subtly nutty, with notes of vanilla and coconut. It is a flavour that feels familiar and distinct at the same time,” says Rounak, a barista from the city.

Coffee shops and bakeries have started experimenting with ube lattes, iced drinks, cakes, cheesecakes, and ice creams while some have started experimenting with savoury dishes such as dumplings at home.

The ingredient’s striking purple colour and versatility helped fuel its popularity online, with many consumers discovering it through viral videos and aesthetically styled drinks shared across social media platforms. “While there are still plenty of loyal matcha drinkers, the excitement around ube feels similar to the matcha wave from a few months ago,” he said.

Apart from its appearance and flavour, ube is also said to be rich in carbohydrates, fibre, vitamins and antioxidants, adding to its appeal among consumers looking for both taste and novelty.

Where To Try Ube In Hyderabad:

Hyderabad’s specialty coffee scene is embracing the latest global cafe trend, with outlets across the city introducing ube-based drinks and desserts to their menus. Some cafes are even combining the purple yam with matcha, bringing together two of social media’s biggest food obsessions.

• Caphe Bistro, Financial District: Customers can choose from options including an ube latte, ube cloud, Vietnamese ube latte, ube matcha and ube strawberry matcha.

• 9Bar Coffee, Financial District: Introduced six drinks, including an ube latte, ube honeycomb latte, ube cookies and cream, ube cloud, ube coconut latte and ube sunrise.

• The Big Star Cafe, Financial District: Expanded the trend beyond beverages with offerings such as ube tiramisu, ube doughnuts and an ube cream coconut latte alongside ube latte.

• AltrEgo Speciality Coffee, Banjara Hills: Among the first cafes in city to experiment with ube, introducing offerings such as the ube sticky rice softie, ube matcha latte and ube coconut cloud.

Quotes with mugshots:

“It reminds me of vanilla and coconut, but it still tastes unique. People are drawn to it like matcha, it feels different and looks great in photos”

– Rakwar Rahul, a food vlogger

“I tried it at Caphe Bistro. It has a vanilla-nutty flavour, but I still prefer matcha. I don’t think it will stay long, mostly food explorers will try it”

– Mansi, a content creator on Instagram.

“It feels like every few months there’s a new trending drink, and right now ube is having its moment”

– Mehmood, a travel vlogger.