Ube Latte Recipe: Iced, Hot & Coffee-Free Options

Iced Ube Espresso Latte Recipe

Makes one iced latte in about 5 minutes with espresso equipment ready. Use a 400 ml glass with space to stir. Its capacity is not the finished liquid yield, which changes as the ice melts.

Ingredients

• 18 g coffee, ground for espresso
• 160 g cold whole milk
• 15 ml Monin US Ube Syrup
• 100 g ice

Use a coffee scale, ml measure, spoon, small heatproof vessel and espresso equipment. The espresso brewing guide explains the coffee preparation: 18 g is dry grounds in; 36 g is brewed espresso out. Milk is weighed in grams, while syrup is measured in milliliters.

Method

1. Brew 18 g ground coffee to 36 g espresso in a heatproof vessel. Let it cool briefly.
2. Stir 15 ml ube syrup into 160 g cold whole milk in a 400 ml glass.
3. Add 100 g ice, then slowly pour in the prepared espresso.
4. Stir thoroughly before drinking and serve without toppings.

Pouring slowly lets you see the coffee move through the purple milk, but stir before drinking for even sweetness. A permanent, perfectly separated layer is not the goal. For the unflavored coffee-and-milk base, see iced latte.

Open full size

Does an Ube Latte Contain Coffee?

Sometimes. Ask whether the recipe includes espresso, rather than relying on the word latte. This page's main recipe does. Milk with an ube preparation alone is a different, coffee-free version.

Manufacturer recipes illustrate the distinction: Monin US's spiced iced version includes espresso and another syrup, while Monin Switzerland's ube latte uses an ube concentrate and milk without espresso. Their products and portions differ from our home formula.

To make this recipe without coffee, omit the 36 g espresso and keep the milk, syrup and ice. You will have a smaller, milk-forward drink, about 155 kcal and 19.1 g sugar from the same references. Confirm the actual flavoring's ingredients before describing a café version as caffeine-free: added matcha, tea or coffee changes the answer.

What Does Ube Coffee Taste Like?

The coffee contributes roasted flavor; the ube preparation determines the rest. Actual cooked yam, a sweet jam and a flavored syrup do not taste or feel identical. Monin describes the specific US syrup used here with earthy, fig and vanilla notes. That is the manufacturer's description of its syrup, not a universal flavor profile for fresh ube or a claim from our tasting.

Ube Syrup, Jam, Powder or Extract?

Check the ingredient form before using a recipe. The syrup here pours and disperses easily. It is a sweetened beverage flavoring with natural ube flavor and added coloring ingredients; its label does not make it a serving of cooked yam.

The Philippine Consulate's ube guide describes halaya as a cooked yam preparation and notes that recipes can include milk, coconut milk and butter. A plant-based syrup drink and a milk-containing jam drink therefore need different allergen checks.

Ube vs. Taro vs. Purple Sweet Potato

• Ube is a yam, Dioscorea alata, associated with Filipino cooking and desserts.
• Taro is Colocasia esculenta, a different plant. A taro latte is not simply another name for an ube latte.
• Purple sweet potato is a purple-fleshed cultivar of Ipomoea batatas, as described by UF/IFAS Extension.

Purple color alone cannot identify the ingredient. On a café menu or packaged mix, look for the actual plant or flavoring in the ingredient description.

How to Make a Hot Ube Latte

Keep 36 g espresso, 160 g whole milk and 15 ml syrup, leaving out the ice. Mix syrup into the espresso in a warmed 300 ml cup. Warm and lightly froth the milk using equipment suited to the portion, then add all the measured milk and stir.

The ingredient-based calories and sugar stay the same because water in the ice contributes neither. A plant drink can replace the milk, but use its own nutrition label. This dairy version contains milk; syrup substitutions and jam-based versions need a fresh allergen check.

Without an espresso machine, use concentrated coffee prepared by a suitable method, such as moka pot. It is an alternative coffee base, not a reason to reuse the espresso caffeine estimate.

Adjust Flavor Without Chasing the Color

Change the syrup in measured steps. A paler latte does not necessarily need more sweetener, and coffee naturally changes purple milk toward a browner shade.

The syrup calculation provides a useful tradeoff: each extra 5 ml of this product adds about 18 kcal and 3.7 g sugar. It does not tell us how much more yam flavor you will perceive. That distinction helps avoid treating color intensity as a recipe measurement.

Ube Latte Calories, Sugar and Caffeine

The defined iced serving is about 155 kcal, 19.1 g total sugar and 75 mg reference caffeine. The coffee contributes the caffeine reference; the syrup and milk contribute almost all the calories and sugar. Café sizes, jam-based recipes and toppings can be substantially different.

Common Questions

Editor's Take

Sources and Further Reading