Yogurtland, Bring Back the Best Peanut Butter Froyo

 

Fro-yo girl here. Did you know that March is National Peanut Month? I would have loved to celebrate by eating a lot of peanut butter froyo, but alas, it hasn’t been that easy. Menchie’s has a new froyo flavor, Peanut Butter Banana, but I loathe bananas. Yogurtland brought back Peanut Butter Chocolate (formerly known as Peanut Butter Cup) but it’s just okay.

I’ve many peanut butter froyo flavors from Yogurtland, Menchie’s, Pinkberry, Tutti Frutti, Red Mango, Golden Spoon, Orange Leaf, etc.

The best peanut butter froyo found at a chain is…Yogurtland’s Peanut Butter froyo. I didn’t get to have it last year and it was hard to find in 2020….not happy about that at all. Why Yogurtland, why…

I know I’m not the only one who feels this way. Peanut butter froyo lovers are loyal. Several of my friends think that Peanut Butter is Yogurtland’s best flavor. Yogurtland describes Peanut Butter froyo as: "Our special dark-roasted peanuts blend deliciously for a sweet treat that will make you swear you're eating it right from the jar."

When Peanut Butter isn’t available, we have to choose Madagascar Vanilla and drown it in peanut butter sauce. It’s not as good but it’s still yummy. I also love adding peanut butter chips, Nutter Butter, and Butterfinger.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.

Sherman Oaks, CA Froyo Guide & Froyo History

Fro-yo girl here. Sherman Oaks is a neighborhood of Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley. It’s a nice, affluent neighborhood with a population of nearly 70,000 with a median age of 38. There are four places to get froyo in Sherman Oaks today: Humphrey Yogart, Menchie's, Yogurtland and 59th & Lex Cafe inside Bloomingdale's.

Sherman Oaks is important in froyo history because it’s the home of the first Humphrey Yogart, 4574 Van Nuys Blvd. Humphrey Yogart opened in the Sherman Oaks in 1984. They had several locations (six at the peak) in the 80’s and 90’s but Sherman Oaks was the first. The owners met and fell in love at the shop. Humphrey Yogart closed the original location in March 2016 when they could not reach an agreement with the new landlord. Fortunately, they moved into Gelson’s, 4520 Van Nuys Blvd, which is in the same shopping center as their original shop. Humphrey Yogart is known for their mix-in style froyo and their former employee, Meghan Markle, the Dutchess of Sussex.

Sherman Oaks also had two celebrity-owned froyo shops and numerous celebrity froyo sightings.

Froyo Shops Currently Open in Sherman Oaks

• 59th & Lex Cafe, 14060 Riverside Dr, is Bloomingdale’s café. They serve salads, sandwiches, wraps, burgers, pasta, and their famous Forty Carrots frozen yogurt.
• Humphrey Yogart, 4520 Van Nuys Blvd. inside Gelson's
• Menchie’s, 13369 Ventura Blvd, opened in 2009 and is in its 13th year. It’s not too far from the original Menchie’s in Valley Village, which opened in 2007. Humphrey Yogart is super close to the Menchie’s in Valley Village but it must be near the border of Valley Village and Sherman Oaks.
• Yogurtland, 4954 Van Nuys Blvd, opened in 2008. It was 30 cents an ounce when it first opened. Those were the days!

Closed Froyo Shops

• Blizz Frozen Yogurt, 14439 Burbank Blvd, is listed as being in Sherman Oaks on some sites and Van Nuys on others. This self-serve froyo shop was opened by Dr. Paul Nassif, the famous plastic surgeon and TV personality, in 2010 and it seems to have closed in 2020.
• C&M Café, 12924 Riverside Dr, was a cute brunch spot that had an adjoining room with self-serve froyo and seating. It opened and closed in 2016.
• Frootsi, 14318 Ventura Blvd, was a cupcake, boba, and mix-in style froyo shop that opened in 2010 and closed in 2015.
• Hollyberry, 14425 Ventura Blvd had gelato and counter-serve tart froyo and was in business from 2008 – 2009.
• Limelite, 15030 Ventura Blvd, was a counter-serve shop similar to Pinkberry that was open in 2007.
• Red Mango, 15301 Ventura Blvd, Ste 470 was in Sherman Oaks around 2007.
• Sweetharts, 13704 Ventura Blvd, was founded by Melissa Joan Hart in 2012. The shop sold froyo, gelato, cupcakes, candy, and more. It closed in 2014.
• Swirlz, 14006 Riverside Drive, at Westfield Fashion Square was a self-serve froyo shop that opened in 2010. It’s unclear when they closed.
• Tutti Frutti, 14006 Riverside Drive, was at the Sherman Oaks Westfield Mall in 2010.

Still Open but No Longer Serves Froyo

• Farm Boy, 14107 Riverside Dr, is a small family run produce market known for sushi that used to sell froyo.
• Happy Days Café, 14552 Ventura Blvd, is a churro café that added froyo back in 2019 but they stopped serving froyo at some point.

I remember another self-serve froyo shop in Sherman Oaks but I can’t remember what it was called. Mr. Froyo remembers it too.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.

History of Menchie’s Spoons

 

Fro-yo girl here. Since Yogurtland and Menchie’s are responsible for most of my froyo spoon collection, I couldn’t cover the history of Yogurtland spoons without also covering the history of Menchie’s spoons. Menchie’s first introduced their Menchie’s green and berry colored spoons in 2011. The very first limited edition Menchie’s spoon was the brown Chip spoon back in 2012.

Menchie’s has yet to introduce a giant froyo spoon but they’ve had many spoon designs over the years: 76 designs, even more than Yogurtland. Back in 2013, they had color changing spoons for all 8 Sweet Friends and each design was available in 5 colors. They’ve had spoons for movies, Halloween, Christmas, etc. 

And here's the list of Menchie's spoons, with the year of introduction.

Limited Edition Menchie's Spoons

• Chip, 2012
• Merry Mixing, 2013
• Mookie Sweet Moosic, 2013
• Sweet Friends Color Changing (40 designs), 2013
• Kiwi Mix It Up, 2014
• Pan, 2015
• Alvin & The Chipmunks, 2015
• Color Changing Halloween (3 designs), 2015
• Ice Age (2 designs), 2016
• Angry Birds (5 designs), 2016
• Plants vs. Zombies (2 designs), 2016
• Spooky Halloween (2 designs), 2016
• Oh What Fun Christmas, 2016
• Skylanders, 2017
• Emoji Movie, 2017
• Mookie Born in the Moo-S-A, 2017
• Color Changing Halloween (4 designs), 2018
• Snow One Like You, 2019
• Spooktacular Blue, 2019
• Surfing Chip, 2019
• Best Friends (2 designs), 2020
• Hello Sunshine, 2020
• Cake My Day, 2021
• Spooktacular Orange, 2021
• Chip Skateboard, 2022

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.

New Pinkberry Flavor: Strawberry Shortcake Froyo

Fro-yo girl here. Pinkberry teamed up with Strawberry Shortcake! For a new flavor! Strawberry Shortcake frozen yogurt should be in Pinkberry stores now through May 26, 2022. It’s the new spring flavor. Pinkberry even launched a new topping, crumbole – a buttery, cookie crumble. Pinkberry recommends pairing Strawberry Shortcake froyo with fresh strawberries, strawberry puree, crumbole, and whipped cream. At first I thought it was a typo but they did mean crumbole. Crumbole is vanilla flavored and gluten-free.

Strawberry Shortcake froyo: Wow, one bite reminded me why I love froyo and that’s saying a lot. It was quite tangy! I could see bits of strawberry and taste strawberries and yogurt. It was dense, smooth, and creamy without being heavy. And it was so good with the buttery crumble. It tasted natural - no weird flavors or weird sweeteners. I'm definitely going to get it again. 

Recommended toppings: Crumbole, dark chocolate crisps, Almond Roca

I haven’t had Pinkberry’s Strawberry froyo in so long that I can’t remember it too well. And I haven’t seen Pinkberry Strawberry Vanilla froyo in a long time.

And there’s a Strawberry Shortcake™ Berry in the Big City sweepstakes with 10 Strawberry Shortcake™ prize packs. The prize packs include Strawberry Shortcake merchandise and a $50 Pinkberry gift card. Strawberry Shortcake™ Berry in the Big City is an animated TV series.

Pinkberry should bring back their Blueberry Muffin froyo next, because Blueberry Muffin was a friend of Strawberry Shortcake. Her other friends included Orange Blossom, Lemon Meringue, Lime Chiffon, and Raspberry Torte. They all sound like yummy froyo flavors!

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.

New Menchie’s Skateboarding Spring For Froyo! Chip Spoon

Fro-yo girl here. Menchie’s has introduced their first new collectible froyo spoon of 2022: Spring For Froyo! The spoon is green and features Chip holding a cup of froyo in one paw. He’s riding a skateboard that says Chip on the bottom and has a chocolate chip design on top. The spoon says Spring for Froyo! on the handle and has more chocolate chips on the handle. Very cute.

The green color makes me think of St. Paddy’s Day and spring. The Chip Spring for Froyo! spoon is available while supplies last at participating Menchie’s locations.

Menchie’s also had a raffle. The prize was a $25 Menchie’s gift card and 3 new Chip spoons.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.

Yasso Poppables Review

 

Fro-yo girl here. The folks at Yasso have been busy with new product introductions, but it takes so long for those new products to reach Los Angeles. They introduced Yasso Poppables in March 2021. I’ve been looking for them since then. Yasso describes Poppables as, “ridiculously creamy frozen Greek yogurt bites covered in a chocolatey coating and sprinkled with quinoa crunch.” They sound like Yasso Chocoate Dipped frozen yogurt bars only smaller and without the sticks.

I found Yasso Poppables at Ralph’s for $6.49. They had the Vanilla Bean and Coffee varieties. Von’s also carries Poppables.

Vanilla Bean Poppables: They are like ice cream bon bons – less than 1.5 inches in diameter. The frozen yogurt in the middle was creamy and firm. The dark chocolate coating is really good – natural tasting and not too sweet. I also like the addition of the quinoa crunch. But the Poppables are too small, so I prefer the Chocolate Dipped bars. The Poppables should come in a bigger tub with an assortment of flavors.

One box comes with 6 Poppables and a MSRP of $6.49. Yasso Poppables are made with live and active cultures and no artificial ingredients. Poppables are 60 calories each. One Vanilla Bean Poppable has 3g total fat, 7g total carbs, and 5g total sugars.

Available flavors: Vanilla Bean, Coffee, Mint, Sea Salt Caramel

There used to be a Mint flavor but they seem to have discontinued it.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.

Trader Joe’s Black Tea & Boba Coconut Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert Review

Fro-yo girl here. Last summer, Trader Joe’s introduced their first boba ice cream: Cold Brew Coffee & Boba Coconut Frozen Dessert. Their frozen dessert is vegan and available in pints. On a recent trip to Trader Joe’s (I go every week), I noticed a new boba ice cream there: Black Tea and Boba Coconut Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert. A pint was $4.49.

On the side of the pint, TJ’s describes how boba is found in Taiwanese bubble tea. They also say that “in this Black Tea & Boba coconut non-dairy frozen dessert, you’ll find the pearls throughout, intertwined with a sweet brown sugar swirl.”

Black Tea & Boba Coconut Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert: I liked the dense, creamy, smooth texture – very ice cream like. The brown sugar swirl overwhelms the other flavors, the way the coffee overwhelmed the other flavors in TJ’s Cold Brew Coffee & Boba Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert. Plus, the ice cream is far too sweet. The tapioca pearls were firm, sweet, and chewy.

One 2/3 cup serving is 240 calories, 5g total fat, 47g total carbs, and 31g of total sugars. The Cold Brew Coffee & Boba Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert had 24g total sugars per serving.

3.5 out of 5 stars.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.

Yogurtland Online Ordering Experience

 

Fro-yo girl here. Yogurtland sent a $5 coupon to Real Rewards members for online ordering this week. The offer expires on March 14, 2022 and applies only to orders placed on the Yogurtland website or Yogurtland app (and not for third party delivery orders or gift card purchase). I wasn’t sure of what to expect but I decided to place an online order.

First, you choose the location you want to pick the froyo up from or have it delivered from. Choose the flavor, quantity (number of cups), cup size (regular or large), and topping(s). The prices vary by location. For example, Yogurtland Eagle Rock charges $7.25 for a regular size cup and $9.25 for a large. Yogurtland Pasadena charges $7 for a regular cup and $9.50 for a large. A regular cup is the 16 oz cup while the large is the 24 oz cup. Each topping costs extra (e.g., Yogurtland Pasadena charges $0.50 per topping. Delivery is $4.99.

You can specify when you’d like your order: ASAP or choose a time. You can also apply rewards and redeem coupons.

My froyo was ready on time and placed in a bag with a spoon, napkin, and seal. They were generous with the amount of froyo and toppings. The froyo and toppings was $10 before the $5 discount. I weighed the froyo and toppings and I received 18 oz. (large cup). At the $0.64/oz, that’s $11.52 if you went to the shop and got your own froyo and toppings. Picking up is cheaper than getting it at Yogurtland – but you can’t choose exactly how much you want or opt for more than one flavor per cup. Also, the toppings can add up if you want a lot of toppings. However, if you mostly want froyo and don’t mind a big cup of one flavor, online ordering is great!

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.

Yogurtland Featured Flavors for March: Lucky Irish Mint Cream and Peanut Butter Chocolate

 

Fro-yo girl here. Anyone in the St. Patrick’s Day spirit yet? Yogurtland brought back Lucky Irish Mint Cream. It used to be called Lucky Mint Crème but they changed the name this year. I’m not really in the mood for mint froyo yet but I might have some for St. Patrick’s Day. I typically have mint froyo once a year.

Lucky Irish Mint Cream frozen yogurt is made with real mint. Also, Yogurtland is featuring chopped Andes® Mint* toppings for a limited time.

Since it’s National Peanut Month, Yogurtland brought back Peanut Butter Chocolate froyo. I think this is the flavor they used to call Peanut Butter Cup. The flavor sign at Yogurtland said Peanut Butter Cup. Peanut Butter Chocolate (or Peanut Butter Cup?) was thick, smooth, and creamy. The chocolate flavor was mild but the peanut butter flavor was mild too. On the plus side, neither flavor overpowered the other. However, as a peanut lover, I want a stronger peanut flavor.

These are limited time flavors, available while supplies last.

I’m super disappointed that they didn’t bring back their best peanut butter froyo flavor, Peanut Butter. These flavor name changes can get confusing!

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.

New Featured Flavors at Menchie’s: Vegan Oatmeal Cookie and Peanut Butter Banana

Fro-yo girl here. New month, new Menchie’s flavors! March’s featured flavors are Peanut Butter Banana froyo made with Reese’s peanut butter and Plant-Based Vegan Oatmeal Cookie made with Oat Milk.

Vegan Oatmeal Cookie made with oat milk: Menchie’s describes follows: “Can a cookie be better for you? Yes, it’s possible and we’ve done it with our new decadent flavor, Vegan Oatmeal Cookie made with Oat milk! With all the sweetness of a classic oatmeal cookie, we’ve updated our recipe to be gluten free and dairy free by using oat milk instead.” Vegan Oatmeal Cookie was thick, dense, and smooth but icier than their typical froyo. It was sweet and tasted like cinnamon, brown sugar, and oats. It didn’t really taste like a cookie to me but reminded me more of a bowl of oatmeal. Yogurtland’s Brown Sugar Vanilla soft serve made with oat milk had a better, creamier texture. But it might have been a machine issue at the Menchie’s that I visited. Menchie’s Vegan Oatmeal Cookie is a gluten-free, nonfat flavor and contains no artificial colors, artificial flavors, or high fructose corn syrup. It’s made with real oats. Recommended toppings: Golden Oreos, almonds, and Heath.

Peanut Butter Banana froyo: I usually try every new flavor even if it doesn’t sound appealing. Well, I loathe bananas and I’m done with trying banana froyo flavors. Also, the Menchie’s I went to wasn’t offering samples due to COVID-19. Peanut Butter Banana froyo is gluten free and contains no artificial colors, artificial flavors, or high fructose corn syrup.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.

History of Yogurtland Spoons

 

Fro-yo girl here. I’ve written lots of posts about my Yogurtland spoon collection but never one about the entire Yogurtland spoon collection. Since I’ve been collecting Yogurtland spoons since 2008, it feels like time for a comprehensive list of Yogurtland spoons.

Yogurtland started out with generic froyo spoons in 2006. The first Yogurtland spoons that had their name on the handle came out in 2007 in pink and green. The logo has changed since the early days and they’ve had many versions of their signature pink and green spoons. Notably, during their 10th anniversary year, the spoon handles had interesting facts about Yogurtland.

There have been many limited edition Yogurtland spoons over the years. The designs were inspired by their partnerships with video games, movies, National Frozen Yogurt Day, National Spoon Day, National Ice Cream Day, Valentine’s Day, and Yogurtland’s own anniversaries (5th, 10th), new products, etc. If you had one spoon each of the limited edition designs they’ve come out with, your froyo spoon collection would include over 60 different froyo spoons.

The first Yogurtland character spoons were introduced in 2009 when Yogurtland partnered with Tokidoki. Tokidoki Loves Yogurtland featured four spoon designs with Tokidoki characters.

Regular Sized, Limited Edition Spoons

• Tokidoki (4 designs), 2009
• Sanrio/Hello Kitty (4 designs), 2011
• Purple 5th anniversary spoon, 2011
• Sanrio/Hello Kitty (4 designs), 2012
• National Frozen Yogurt Day, teal spoon, 2012
• Looney Tunes (6 designs), 2013
• National Frozen Yogurt Day orange spoon, 2013
• National Frozen Yogurt Day Color Changing spoons (2 designs), 2014
• Ultimate Summer spoons (5 designs), 2014
• National Frozen Yogurt Day Hershey’s spoon, 2015
• Candy Crush (5 designs), 2015
• Kung Fu Panda 3 (5 designs), 2016
• Nintendo (5 designs), 2016
• Trolls (2 designs), 2016
• 10th Anniversary, 2016
• Joy (2 designs), 2017
• Hope (2 designs), 2017
• I Love Ghirardelli, 2017
• National Ice Cream Day, flip flop spoon, 2018
• Waffle Cone, 2019
• Abominable (2 designs), 2019

Giant Yogurtland Spoons

• Green
• Orange
• Pink
• Platinum
• Purple
• Raspberry
• Red

“Y” Logo Spoons

• Berry
• Green
• Orange
• Pink
• Teal

While the heyday of froyo spoons is over, I’m still hopeful that I'll continueto add to my froyo spoon collection.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.

Golden Cups Closes, Waffie & Yogie Opens in Long Beach

 

Source: Signarama, Long Beach

Fro-yo girl here. I had Golden Cups in Long Beach bookmarked but I didn’t make it there before they closed. They were only open for a few months in 2021. Prior to being renamed, it was Golden Spoon. Golden Spoon Long Beach opened in 2007. The reviews were favorable till 2012 – 2013 when they stopped accepting GS stamp cards, raised prices and possibly changed management.

In 2017, the shop was remodeled and became self-serve. Some customers were upset by the change.

There was a grand opening celebration in January 2020 when it was still called Golden Spoon. They added acai bowls and boba drinks. Ownership probably changed again.

This month, the location was taken over by Waffie & Yogie, which serves boba drinks, smoothies, waffles, and self-serve froyo.

* GOLDEN CUPS: 5523 E Stearns St, Long Beach, CA 90803

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.