India's Drink Curiosity Shifts to Matcha, Ube and Hojicha
Google Trends data shows Indians increasingly searching for matcha, ube and hojicha, with interest spanning home preparation, health queries and cafe culture.
India's beverage curiosity is widening beyond its familiar favourites, with Google search data pointing to growing interest in matcha, purple yam ube and roasted Japanese green tea hojicha.
Matcha, a powdered green tea with roots in 12th-century Japanese Zen Buddhist ceremonies, has become a particular focus. Searches for "how to make matcha" rose 1,300% over the year, while queries about matcha whisk and matcha bowl emerged as breakout terms in August 2026, suggesting more people are looking to prepare the drink at home.
Seasonal flavour combinations are also drawing attention. Summer searches for mango matcha climbed 200%, and strawberry matcha rose 400%. During the monsoon, dirty matcha and coconut matcha attracted breakout interest.
Health-related queries form another strand of the trend. Searches for matcha health increased 1,000%, matcha protein rose 2,500%, and questions about whether matcha contains caffeine grew 70%. Matcha versus coffee became a breakout search. These figures reflect curiosity about possible benefits rather than evidence supporting health claims.
The interest extends beyond the kitchen. Matcha shoes and matcha enzyme scrub emerged as breakout searches, while August 2026 saw surges in matcha candles, face washes and perfumes.
Ube, a sweet purple yam, recorded its highest search interest in August 2026 after steady growth over the previous year. Combinations such as ube matcha and ube coconut became breakout searches, and queries for ube latte and ube cafe also grew. Telangana led the country's search interest in ube.
Hojicha reached peak search interest in March 2026, with hojicha versus matcha recording breakout growth as people compared the two drinks. A second burst of curiosity followed in August 2026, when users searched for what is hojicha and hojicha latte. Delhi led interest in hojicha, while Delhi, Goa and Chandigarh topped searches for matcha near me.
Together, the patterns suggest Indians are exploring unfamiliar drinks through both cafes and home kitchens. Whether the curiosity becomes a lasting habit remains to be seen.