Fresh knotted pandan leaves on pale cream linen with a halved coconut and a small glass of pale green pandan drink.

Pandan: Asia's Vanilla (And Why Your Sweet Tooth Deserves It)

If vanilla and fresh coconut had a more interesting child, it would be pandan. This long green leaf — screwpine, botanically — perfumes half the desserts of Southeast Asia: green cakes in Singapore, sticky rice across Thailand, and the drinks and sweets in our Thai Collection.

What does it taste like?

Pandan is gentle where most flavours shout. There's coconut in there, a hint of jasmine rice steam, something grassy-fresh, and a natural sweetness that never turns sugary. Food writers call it "Asia's vanilla" because it plays the same role — the quiet background note that makes everything around it taste more complete.

An old friend for Indian palates

Here's the thing: if you've ever loved kewra water in biryani, you already know pandan's cousin — both come from the screwpine (Pandanus) family. Thai pandan is greener and creamier than kewra's floral sharpness, but the family resemblance means Indian palates take to it instantly.

Meet pandan

The easiest introduction is the IF Jasmine Pandan Drink — light, aromatic, and unlike anything in an Indian fridge right now. For the snackable version, Kaew's Pandan Crispy Coconut Rolls wrap the flavour in shatteringly thin coconut pastry.

Both feature in the Chai-Time Thailand combo — our zero-chilli box, built for the evening chai slot.

Both live in the sweet collection — zero heat, all comfort.

Back to blog

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What is pandan?

    Pandan is a tropical screwpine leaf used across Southeast Asia as a flavouring and a natural green colouring. It is often called Asia's vanilla. The flavour sits between coconut, jasmine rice and vanilla — grassy and sweet without being perfumed. In Thailand it appears in coconut rolls, cakes, drinks and desserts.

  • What does pandan taste like?

    Sweet, grassy and faintly floral, with a coconut-and-cooked-rice quality underneath. If you have eaten fresh jasmine rice and noticed its aroma, pandan occupies a similar register with more sweetness. It is gentle rather than assertive, and it tends to land immediately with Indian palates because the coconut note is already familiar.

  • Is pandan spicy or sweet?

    Sweet, and completely without heat — level 0 on PLB's 0-3 chilli scale. Pandan products are the safest possible starting point in the Thai range for anyone cautious about spice, and they work well as a palate cooler alongside mala or chilli snacks.

  • Which PLB products contain pandan?

    Kaew Pandan Flavoured Crispy Coconut Rolls and the IF Jasmine Pandan Drink. Both are vegetarian. The Chai-Time Thailand combo brings the sweeter side of the Thai range together, pandan included.

Check out the products

View all