EXCLUSIVE: The Daily Star’s resident ‘if it’s from Costa Coffee, I’ll drink it’ expert Adam Cailler tried the new Costa Coffee ube range and had some interesting feelings on it . . .
Finally, the matcha bandwagon has been halted – with a new flavour taking its place. Costa Coffee has unleashed the relatively unknown Ube flavour onto the UK’s coffee-loving market, and the Daily Star got to try it out.
For those who don’t know, Ube (pronounced oo-beh) is a purple yam native to the Philippines. It is famous for its striking, naturally vibrant violet flesh and a mild, sweet, and earthy flavour often compared to a blend of vanilla and pistachio.
Often confused with taro or purple sweet potatoes, ube is distinctly a yam. It is a beloved staple in Filipino desserts, most commonly cooked down into a sweet jam called ube halaya. Thanks to its unique taste and highly photogenic color, ube has become globally popular as a star ingredient in ice creams, cakes, pastries, and sweet beverages.
And it’s the unique flavour and colour that’s clearly made Costa bosses focus on it for it’s new range, including Sweet Ube Frappe, a Cherry Vanilla Iced Matcha Latte, and a Strawberry and Matcha Cookie Sandwich, alongside savoury items like a bacon and chilli jam hot cross bun and classic Easter treats.
To test the new range, I tried the frappe and the matcha cookie – and one was a very surprising winner.
The Sweet Ube Frappe took me to a flavour place I’m not accustomed to with my Costa drinks (I usually go for a salted caramel coconut latter . . . or a coconut flat white).
There’s a strange saltiness in this drink that balances out the normal sweetness that comes with Costa frappes, and the ube also provides a bit of earthiness. The drink straddles the line between spring and summer, and wouldn’t have looked out of place on the brand’s summer drinks menu.
The sandwich cookie was also decent, but relies heavily on the strawberry flavour which I think some might find overly sweet.
I have to admit, I can’t quite taste the matcha in the cookie, although it was quite green in colour . . .
The sandwich cookie has become a bit of a staple of Costa in recent months, with various different flavour iterations added to the seasonal menus, and the idea does work – I’m just not sure this one is a total hit.
However, back to what I was originally saying, the new Ube Frappe is a winner and should hang around longer than the spring menu (please, Costa bosses).
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