Pandan, a spiky tropical plant native to Southeast Asian cuisine, is emerging across North American beverage menus as cafés and cocktail bars incorporate its sweet, nutty, grassy flavor profile into lattes and mixed drinks.
Café Owners Bring Childhood Flavors to Modern Menus
Beverage directors across North America are drawing on nostalgic childhood memories to build new drink menus around pandan. Gloria Ariesandi of Gula, an Indonesian café in Atlanta, uses pandan in nearly half of her menu items, describing it as the vanilla of Southeast Asia that elevates coffee and tea with aroma and depth. Gula serves a Pandan Spice Latte featuring espresso, coconut milk, housemade pandan syrup, and warming spices such as cinnamon, ginger, clove, and nutmeg, alongside traditional options like Es Cendol and Es Kelapa Komplit.
In New York City, Alan Nguyen of FifthSip developed a pandan latte combining strong Vietnamese coffee, condensed milk, and sweet pandan syrup that provides both flavor and a natural green hue without artificial coloring. Nguyen recalls the ingredient from his mother’s coconut, coffee, and pandan Jell-O desserts. Similarly, Jakie Kim of Little Ox Coffee in Orange County, California, developed a house-special pandan syrup after experimenting with frozen pandan leaves found in specialty Asian food stores. What started as a seasonal special at Little Ox is now a top-selling menu item as customers grow more familiar with the plant.
Bartenders Pair Pandan With Gin, Rum, and Coconut
Beyond coffee shops, cocktail bars are integrating pandan into spirits programs. Death & Co in Los Angeles serves a drink called Afterimage featuring Suntory yuzu liqueur, heavy cream, shochu, lemon, and pandan. In New Orleans, Beachbum Berry’s Latitude 29 tiki bar reinterprets the classic Painkiller using rum, coconut, pineapple, and pandan extract. Meanwhile, the Vietnamese restaurant Lunch Lady, which operates locations in Toronto and Vancouver, offers pandan-infused coffee alongside cocktails featuring gin, white vermouth, rum, Campari, and pineapple-coconut foam. Vancouver restaurant Elem also uses pandan across both kitchen and bar operations.
Frequently Asked Questions About Pandan Beverages
What does pandan taste like?
Pandan delivers a sweet, nutty, and grassy flavor profile with aromatic notes comparable to vanilla, paired with a natural bright green color.
Where can customers buy pandan drinks?
Pandan beverages are available at specialty spots across North America, including Gula in Atlanta, FifthSip in New York City, Little Ox Coffee in Orange County, and Death & Co in Los Angeles.
How do cafés make pandan syrup?
Café owners typically boil down frozen pandan leaves—sourced from specialty Asian food stores—with simple syrup to extract the flavor and green hue for use in lattes and specialty drinks.