Boston Froyo Report

Fro-yo girl here. Boston is a respectable froyo town. It became achieved that status when Berryline opened at Harvard Square in Cambridge (3 Arrow St.) back in 2007. Local favorite Berryline has won Best FroYo from boston.com’s A-List in 2010-2014. The original shop offers four house flavors a day and they do come up with creative flavors like malted cinnamon cocoa, pear almond, banana chocolate, apple cinnamon, rose and lavender honey. They also have some housemade toppings like granola, mochi and brownies. Some of their flavorings are subtle. The frozen yogurt texture is smooth and light.

Coolidge Corner and the Allston/Brighton/Brookline neighborhoods seem to be the hub of frozen yogurt activity. Many froyo shops are located in this area, including the recently closed Yogurtland (which closed in September 2015), FroyoWorld (from Connecticut), 16 Handles and local shops: Mixx, Chill, JP Licks. Chill (354 Chestnut Hill Ave., Brighton, MA) is a local shop that carries ice cream and counter serve frozen yogurt (4 rotating flavors). Their Original Tart is thick, creamy and refreshing.

JP Licks is primarily an ice cream shop (with 13 locations in the Boston area) but they do offer frozen yogurt. Sweet and tart flavors are offered. Yogurt X is their plain/original tart flavor and it’s respectable (moderately tart, firm with a sweet finish, the texture was slightly gritty).

Mix in, hand churned style yogurt is a popular menu item at Angora Café (1024 Commonwealth Ave., Boston) across from Boston University. The delightful Japanese bakery, Japonaise (1020 Beacon St., Brookline), also offers mix in style froyo, including a green tea and red bean variety.

Froyo is never too far when you’re on the Freedom Trail, starting with the Walgreen’s flagship store (620 Washington St.) at Boston Common which carries UpMarket froyo. Faneuil Hall has Grasshopper Creamery with four flavors of froyo, while you can find froyo at Quincy Market’s The Berry Twist and Sprinkles Ice Cream. Pinkberry (285 Hanover St., Boston) is across the street from the Freedom Trail in the North End area.

You can find froyo at several transportation hubs. Pinkberry has locations at South Station and Logan International Airport. Pinkberry locations in Boston carry more than froyo. I also spotted cupcakes, coffee and acai bowls.

Other froyo shops in Boston include FroZen Yo, Red Mango, iYo, Orange Leaf, etc.

I was excited to try Stonyfield Frozen Yogurt Pearls at Whole Foods, but they weren’t available at the location that I visited.

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.

Fro-yo Shop Innovators

Fro-yo girl here. My last post about the new fro-yo hot spots (cities) in 2009 made me want to recognize a few special fro-yo shops that have been innovators in the field of tart fro-yo. These innovators offered something unique long before others in the area caught on. While they didn't invent fro-yo, they created something memorable and special in the field of fro-yo. In no particular order, the shops are:

* BERRYLINE (BOSTON, MA): Now with three locations in the Boston area, BerryLine creates unique flavors like Nutella, Banana, Oreo and Apple Cinnamon. They originally opened in September 2007 and brought tart fro-yo to Boston. You can even send your friend a cup of BerryLine via your cell phone at http://www.kangogift.com/SendGift.aspx?id=133
* STARFRUIT (CHICAGO, IL): They introduced frozen kefir to the US market. Currently Starfruit has three locations in the Chicago area. Frozen kefir looks just like soft serve fro-yo and Starfruit offers similar toppings. The concept was created by Lifeway, the country's leading manufacturer of kefir.
* SNO:LA (BEVERLY HILLS, CA): Sno:la's fro-yo tastes like no one else's - it's intense, sour and barely sweetened. It's made without any refined sugars, with organic dairy and seasonal fruits. The mochi can't be missed. Sno:la is eco-friendly and 1% of their gross proceeds go to the Slow Food movement.
* CULTURE ORGANIC FROZEN YOGURT (PALO ALTO, CA): Culture stays busy inventing new fro-yo flavors, fro-yo creations (Yo'wiches) and fro-yo toppings. They even had frozen kefir for awhile. Mary, the brilliant toppings-in-chief bakes up a storm including crumbles, mini meringue cookies, brownies, etc. She made marshmallow creme and flaxseed cones. Everything is organic and eco-friendly. No one else offers all organic toppings.
* FRAICHE FROZEN YOGURT (PALO ALTO, CA): They make their own yogurt with organic milk. And they make their own fro-yo. Though it took them awhile to offer mochi, their mochi was worth the wait. The new SF location is gorgeous and both locations also offer delicious baked goods. They're also famous for offering fresh chocolate shavings (shaved to order).
* MOCHII YOGURT (SACRAMENTO, CA): Mochii Yogurt brought delicious, handcrafted mochi and tart fro-yo to Sacramento back in 2007. The array of mochi flavors is awe-inspiring. Past mochi flavors included blackberry, mandarin orange, cherry, kiwi, peach, ume, and the list goes on.
* YOGIZMO (SANTA CRUZ, CA): YoGizmo brought mix-in style fro-yo and tart soft-serve fro-yo to Scotts Valley in 2007 and added a Santa Cruz location in 2009. The owner was inspired by the tart mix-in fro-yo she enjoyed in Canada. You can get also get soy ice cream, ice cream, and acai sorbet as the base for the mix-in. Choose up to three fruits and enjoy a custom blended creation.

Thank you, fro-yo shop innovators. You have my love and deep appreciation.

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

Happy Fro-yo Thanksgiving

Fro-yo girl here. I had planned on being grateful for the new batch (wave 2) of Tokidoki Loves Yogurtland spoons but I haven't been able to get my hands on the spoons yet (the Bay Area stores are waiting for their shipments to arrive). Sigh. Despite the frustration that I feel, I'm sure I'll have the spoons soon and I know that there are other things to be thankful for on Thanksgiving.

I'm thankful for the following:

1. Some fro-yo shops are open on Thanksgiving Day (Tuttimelon was last year, so I expect they'll be open again. Yogurtland San Ramon will be open and pumpkin fro-yo will be 10% off.)

2. Pumpkin fro-yo is everywhere (along with crushed graham crackers), this year was truly the year of pumpkin fro-yo.

3. Some fro-yo shops offer pre-ordered fro-yo pies. BerryLine in Boston recently announced that anyone who pre-ordered their fro-yo pie for Thanksgiving would receive them free (wow).

4. Though they aren't the newest Yogurtland loves Tokidoki spoons, I do have many Latte and Mozzarella spoons.

5. My ever expanding collection of fro-yo t-shirts

6. The fro-yo friendships I've made and the fro-yo people that I've met (people in the fro-yo business and fans)

Happy Thanksgiving!

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

Fro-yo in Boston: Part 1

Fro-yo girl here. I missed the grand opening of Red Mango Boston unfortunately (the opening should occur any day now). On my first day in Beantown, we wandered around downtown for hours without seeing any fro-yo. The horror! But I got lost and walked by Café Podima after lunch in Beacon Hill. I think they just have sweet fro-yo. I was too full to get fro-yo.

In the evening I went to the place I’ve been following and dreaming about for years, BerryLine. Locally owned BerryLine currently has three locations. I went to the Harvard Square location which looks like a tiny house. It was quite busy though JP Licks had a larger crowd (JP Licks’ ice cream is very popular even on cold, rainy days).


I like how BerryLine makes its own fro-yo flavors and their store design is ultra cute (vaguely Japanese looking). I enjoyed all the flavors that I tried (original, apple cinnamon, pumpkin). I found them to be smooth, full of flavor and natural tasting. The mochi seemed homemade. I suspect that BerryLine carries the best tart fro-yo in Boston.

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

* CAFÉ PODIMA: 156 Cambridge St., Boston, MA
* BERRYLINE HARVARD SQUARE: 3 Arrow St., Cambridge, MA