Last year, everyone was mad for matcha.
The Japanese green tea powder was the must-have ingredient, being added to everything from drinks to doughnuts.
And while it’s still going strong in 2026 (M&S even just launched a new matcha item), it seems it’s no longer the flavour of the month – that title now belongs to ube.
For those unfamiliar with it, ube is a vibrant purple yam native to the Philippines, which has long been a signature ingredient in Filipino cooking, used in everything from jam to cakes.
Its flavour is described as subtle, nutty and earthy, with a sweetness that comes through with vanilla notes.
In recent years, ube has boomed in popularity across the US, with more than half of yams exported globally from the Philippines now being sent to the States. To put that into context, more than 300 metric tons of yams were sent there in the first nine months of 2025.
But now it’s garnering more attention in the UK, with ube recently being dubbed ‘this year’s taste (and colour) of spring’, by Starbucks.
It’s worth noting, though, that it isn’t completely new to the UK, as the root vegetable has been a staple ingredient at many independent businesses, including aRVhee, a Filipino bakery on Jutland Road in London that sells ube pandesal (a type of bread roll) and Mamasons, a Filipino ice cream parlour with several locations across the capital.
Mamasons has been serving up ube bilogs (an ice cream sandwich made with milk bread) and ube brownies since 2017.
And the team behind the dessert spot also opened Panadera, a Filipino bakery, in 2021, where creations such as ube toast and ube matcha are also available.
Both have racked up thousands of Instagram followers and thousands of five-star reviews on Google, and it seems high street chains have taken note and are jumping on the bandwagon.
Pret kicked things off last year, adding a limited-edition Ube Brûlée Latte to its menu.
Now, Costa has introduced a Sweet Ube Hot Chocolate and a Sweet Ube Frappe for Spring, and Starbucks has an entire range of ube drinks in the UK.
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The selection includes a Ube Vanilla Velvet Latte, as well as an ube Matcha, Macchiato and Frappuccino.
According to a Starbucks spokesperson, the Filipino-inspired drinks have been received well with customers since launching earlier this month. They told Metro: ‘We’ve already seen a really positive response to ube’s gently nutty, sweet flavour.
‘With its stunning technicolour, ube is gaining recognition as chefs, bakeries and cafés around the world have re-imagined the ingredient in culinary creations, and the Starbucks Ube range celebrates this growing cultural presence.’
A post on the Starbucks USA page digs a little deeper into why ube and why now, claiming the decision to launch the drinks was partly inspired by global travel trends, as well as social media and the way it’s making new flavours ‘more accessible’.
They claim For You Pages are ‘keeping us curious’ about new tastes and what the next big thing will be, and right now, it’s ube.
But some have warned that its rising popularity isn’t without cost.
As the appetite for ube continues to grow and spread further afield, farmers in the Philippines are struggling to keep up with demand.
The yams are often grown on small plots of land, with most being produced in the Visayas region.
Annual production has slipped in the past two years, impacted by climate change, dwindling stock and a lack of large-scale plantations.
These issues have sparked concerns that other countries might soon start producing ube in a bid to capitalise on the popularity, taking business away from Filipino farmers who have been cultivating the crops for centuries.
Seeing ube reduced to a ‘trend’ has also offended many people from the Philippines, who think of the yams as so much more than this.
Self-proclaimed Ube Queen, Joules Palanca, a digital creator who lives in New York, took to Instagram to urge people to look beyond the viral hype and acknowledge the vegetable’s cultural significance.
‘Ube is a crop that has been used as a source of livelihood for Filipinos,’ she said.
‘It’s a crop that has survived through different seasons, harsh weather conditions, a crop that fed families and later was used to create ube halaya.
‘It could never be just a flavour to us.’
Joules went on to point out that not all of the big chains using ube will be offering customers the real deal. Instead, she claimed some will resort to incorporating artificial syrups and flavourings instead of actual ube, which won’t help support traditional ube farmers.
She adds: ‘If you see a business using ube, you should ask them where they source their ube from and how they plan to respect its roots by acknowledging where it’s from.
‘Educate others on how harmful it is to use artificial ube flavourings from big companies. These brands don’t benefit ube farmers nor do they push the culture forward.’
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Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.