2020 wish #1: More fresh herbs and roots in froyo. There wasn’t a surge in herb and root flavored froyo, though Yogurtland did introduce a creative floral flavor with orange blossom, Orange Blossom White Peach light ice cream. Taro Frozen Yogurt in Bahrain introduced Beets froyo this year. I’m intrigued but Bahrain is so far away. I don’t think I’ll be traveling for quite some time.
2020 wish #2: More thoughtful toppings and froyo pairings. I didn’t see that much of this, but it was a strange year with fewer new froyo flavors and fewer new toppings as well. Many froyo shops didn’t even offer samples due to COVID-19. Many didn’t even bring back seasonal froyo flavors.
2020 wish #3: Menchie’s flavor finder. They finally launched the feature that I’ve been hoping for, only most Menchie’s locations in my area don’t report their daily flavors, so the feature is of limited usefulness. Sigh. I have to travel to the San Fernando Valley to reach the better Menchie’s locations (e.g., Valley Village, Burbank, Northridge, Encino, Sherman Oaks).
As people are eating more at home now and doing takeout, I’m hoping for some better supermarket froyo and it will probably be plant-based. I liked Yasso’s chocolate dipped bars (new this year) but they’re hard to find and I never found the peanut butter chocolate dipped Yasso bars. Jeni’s has wonderful froyo but it’s no longer called yogurt on the packaging.
My 2021 froyo wishes are:
Erewhon starts stocking Yoga-urt: I just started shopping at Erewhon this year. It isn’t too close, so I’m not a regular, but I noticed that they will carry local artisanal brands. Yoga-urt pints would be a perfect addition. Yoga-urt is local and their hand-crafted, small batch froyo is vegan, organic, gluten-free, soy-free, and all natural. It’s kosher too. I’m heading there for my first froyo of 2021 – to start the new year off right.
More no sugar added froyo offerings: I know I’ve been saying this for years, but a lot of froyo out there has too much sugar. I’d rather have more fat than more sugar. All that sugar masks the flavor of the other ingredients. And I don’t want monkfruit or Stevia sweetened offerings. Both taste awful. Dates are much better for natural sweetness.
More tea flavors: Love tea, love froyo. I’ve had matcha green tea, Thai tea, and milk tea froyo. But there’s so many other kinds of teas that would taste great in froyo form, such as oolong tea, jasmine tea, hojicha, and puerh.
One day I’d love to try Anita Gelato’s froyo (they opened in NYC this year), Australian purple rice yogurt drinks and Australian froyo, and Pick Kuwait’s froyo.
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.
