Review: Chobani's Ube Sweet Cream Coffee Creamer Hits All The Right Notes

There's nothing like a good coffee creamer to brighten up your morning cup. Not all creamers are quite up to the task, though, and given all the coffee creamer brands out there, it's not so clear-cut which ones to reach for. Moreover, when a brand rolls out a new or seasonal flavor, it can be hard to tell whether or not it's worth it to diverge from your go-to creamer to give the new guy a try.

As someone who is quite familiar with all things creamy coffee infusions (having pinpointed the best vanilla coffee creamers, ranked Walmart Great Value creamers, and even reviewed Harry Potter butterbeer-flavored creamers), I'm always up to the task of trying out those new or limited release flavors to see if they're worth the fridge space. I did exactly that with Chobani's new Ube Sweet Cream flavor, a purple concoction that supposedly boasts those subtly sweet, earthy, and nutty flavors that one would expect from the beloved purple yam (or, at least, in a product inspired by the yam). Chobani sent me a carton of the seasonal creamer to try and review, so I gave it an honest and straightforward taste test to see if I liked it on a personal level and if I think it's worth trying for yourself.

Some recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

Determining whether or not Chobani's Ube Sweet Cream flavor is any good, and whether I think it's worth purchasing or trying for yourself, largely came down to how much it actually tasted like ube. Obviously, no given product can taste exactly like the yam itself, but some products manage to capture its essence much better than others. To me, a good ube-flavored food or drink has that distinct level of earthiness and nuttiness with a slight vanilla-leaning essence and just the right amount of sweetness. Sometimes, ube products can even taste a bit like marshmallow or even white chocolate, so any level of ube-inspired complexity that this creamer managed to muster up would work strongly to its advantage. Of course, I also considered how generally tasty the creamer was and how well it paired with coffee. 

Speaking of pairing well with coffee, I decided to sample the creamer with both hot and iced coffee to get a broader scope of its potential. I also added a little more creamer than I typically would to the cups of coffee, about 2 tablespoons per 8 ounces of coffee, to get the clearest possible idea of how the creamer tastes and what flavor notes it has to offer.

For anyone curious, this creamer does have that distinct ube purple hue to it, though the color doesn't really come through once you add it to brown coffee (not super surprising). What did come through, however, was quite an impressive and very ube-forward flavor profile, and one that shined in slightly different ways between the hot and iced coffees.

Let's start with the hot coffee, as I'd imagine that's what most people would pair this creamer with. The creamer added such a nice nutty depth to my hot cup, and it balanced really nicely with the bright, slightly acidic notes from the light roast coffee. There was also a decent amount of sweetness at play, but it wasn't anything that took away from the ube flavor itself. With the hot coffee, I'd say the nutty and sweet notes were the most prominent, and it made for a truly delicious cup.

While I enjoyed this creamer in hot coffee, pairing it with iced coffee really showcased its potential. Maybe I just have a natural preference for iced coffee, or maybe its coldness allowed for the creamer's flavor notes to shine, but I was genuinely impressed by how flavorful this cup of coffee ended up being. There was more of a creamy depth to this cup, and those nutty notes shone through strongly, with more of an earthy undertone and in a way that felt unmistakably ube. Of course, there was plenty of sweetness going on here, and the milky-sweet flavor almost reminded me of white chocolate, too.

After trying Ube Sweet Cream in both hot and iced coffee, I can confidently say that this is one creamer worth seeking out, especially if you already know you're an ube fan. Of all the ube-flavored products out there that I've tried, I'd argue that this creamer is very high up there in terms of generally tasting good and nailing that purple yam flavor profile. Obviously, if you aren't the biggest fan of ube or aren't sure about yam-flavored coffee, then this may not be the creamer for you. But if you love nutty and subtly earthy notes with vanilla-warm sweetness and possibly even hints of white chocolate, then this purple creamer is one worth reaching for.

It's also worth noting that this creamer is quite sweet, at least in my opinion, which may be a hindrance for those who prefer their creamers on the milder side. If this were strictly an ube-flavored creamer, then I may have had more issues with the sweetness. But since the official flavor is Ube Sweet Cream, I can more easily understand where that extra sugary profile is coming into play. I didn't mind the sweetness and felt that it enhanced the ube flavor overall, but it is worth considering if you aren't typically a huge fan of very sweet creamers.

Chobani's new Ube Sweet Cream flavor is set to drop nationwide in September, though the exact day that you might first see it at your local grocery store will vary. Also, Chobani's suggested retail price for the product (which is 24 ounces) is $7.49, but again, this will vary based on where you live and which store you buy it from. Upon searching online, I noticed that the product is available at my nearest Target in Chicago, retailing for $6.19.