Edible colors: the creators’ secret palette.

Times have changed. Today, we taste with our eyes.

Color shapes our perception before the very first sip, suggesting sweetness, intensity, a promise.

In the age of Instagram and TikTok, a drink is no longer just something to savor: it is something to share. Unexpected hues catch the eye and become a visual language all their own. Natural colors like ube purple and butterfly pea blue turn a simple recipe into irresistible content.

The real thing has never needed artifice

The anthocyanins found in red cabbage and hibiscus blaze red in acidic environments and shift toward blue in alkaline ones. Butterfly pea turns from blue to purple with nothing more than a squeeze of lemon.

Nature has never needed any artifice to put on a show.

Expectations are moving in the same direction. With tighter regulations, the bans on E171 in Europe and Red 3 in the United States, and a growing demand for transparency, professionals are increasingly turning to ingredients that naturally deliver both color and flavor.

Color is no longer merely decoration. It is a deliberate choice built into a recipe.

At 1883, we’ve been creating this way from the very beginning. Our colors come from flowers, fruits and roots. This month, we spotlight two creations that perfectly embody this authentic palette.

1883 Ube Syrup: a purple with a story to tell

Ube, the purple yam native to the Philippines, became the color of the season long before taking over our screens.

Less sweet than taro, more understated than matcha, ube works its magic on two levels: its spectacular purple hue catches the eye, making you want to taste it, while its subtle nuances—a warm toasted note, a hint of vanilla and a touch of coconut—keep you coming back for more.

From Manila to Paris, ube has made its way from family kitchens to café counters the world over: purple lattes poured in slow motion, violet cheesecakes, cookies cracking open to reveal a deep purple center.

With 1883 Ube Syrup, this striking hue is within reach for every menu: from lattes and milkshakes to drinkable desserts and zero-proof cocktails.

A color that makes no apologies for looking this good—because it’s real.

Création Fruits 1883 Dragon Fruit: a pink that doesn’t lie.

Different shade, same conviction.

Dragon fruit perfectly embodies this “authentic” palette: a vibrant pink delivering fresh botanical notes and delicate sweetness, without ever feeling artificial.

Its color works exactly according to the principles described by sensory perception researchers: the more vivid the hue, the more intense the flavor is perceived to be.

Here, the visual promise delivers from the first glance to the final sip: an exotic, textured fruit that is at once pigment and flavor.

With Création Fruits® 1883 Dragon Fruit, our fruit expertise goes beyond syrup. The Création Fruits® range brings the same chromatic playground to mixology, coffee and drinkable desserts, with a texture that captures the fruit in all its richness.

Deep purple or vibrant pink, ube and dragon fruit tell the same story: at 1883, color is never simply added on the surface. It comes from the ingredient itself.

The signature of a palette bursting with fruit, recognizable from the very first glass.