Beet in your latte which is also not a real latte

I was there not entirely by choice: the hippest juice bar in Paris. Wild & The Moon is called that, because since no right-thinking Frenchman goes to a juice bar, almost all of them in Paris have English names. Anyway, I was with a friend from New York and then you know. Long story short: suddenly I had a pink latte in front of me.

There was no coffee in it, of course, because coffee seems to be the new smoking. There was no cow's milk either, because in juice bar circles that is something from the last century. So what was in my pink latte? Rose water, almond milk, coconut milk and, as a finishing touch, a layer of beet powder. You understand: I was eager to open my drawer of cynical slurs.

But that was before I had taken a sip. Because my rose latte may have had as much to do with coffee as a lobster has to do with a steak, but it was delicious. Sweet, floral, creamy and with a perfectly dosed rose perfume. A drink to fall in love with.

It didn't stop with that cup of pink coffee-that-wasn't-coffee. A whole new generation of lattes has emerged in recent years in every imaginable color of the rainbow. Whereas initially we had to make do with green matcha lattes, today there are also plenty of golden lattes (with turmeric) or ginger lattes (with ginger). Moreover, they are no longer exclusively available in health food stores. Marqt sells jars you can get started with at home and at Soho House Amsterdam they are simply on the menu.

Coincidence or not, back in Amsterdam there was a box of the brand new invention I am caps on my doorstep. These are capsules that fit into your Nespresso machine and do not make coffee, but something very healthy. A gap in the market, I thought, although I suddenly had my doubts when I spotted beet among the various flavors including chai and turmeric. I mean: beet in your latte which is also not a real latte, act normal. And so I tasted that one first.

As I frothed the milk, pink-red liquid dripped into my cup. "The coffeemaker is menstruating," my friend said. But the coffeemaker was overjoyed. Because you wouldn't expect it, but even with the beet latte, my drawer full of cynical rotten remarks remained closed.

Mara Grimm (b. 1979) is a culinary journalist and food trendwatcher.