Ube

At Joy, also in Maryland, executive pastry chef Genesis Flores has put ube soft serve on the menu, coupled with salted peanut caramel, lemon-ginger syrup, honeycomb toffee, bee pollen and wae pieces.

You’re in luck for spring thanks to L.A. brand Tower 28, which recently released its LipSoftie Lip Treatment in five flavors: Watermelon Kiwi, Blood Orange Vanilla, Dulce de Leche, SOS Vanilla and Ube Vanilla.

Prior to the new year, California-based T. Hasegawa USA declared in its 2024 Food and Beverage Flavor Trends Report that ube will be the flavor of the year.

Much of the hype surrounding ube solely fixates on its aesthetics.

That’s why ube has been called the “new IT Food on Instagram” and most recently, on TikTok.