Froyo Scene in Portland, Oregon

Fro-yo girl here. I recently went to Portland, Oregon, which of course means that I had froyo on my mind. 

Years ago I had froyo at Skinnidip in downtown Portland and at the YoCream Company Store. Skinnidip had four flavors and were counter serve, very much inspired by the Pinkberry model. This was before the influx of self-serve froyo shops. With Dannon YoCream’s froyo plant in Portland, YoCream supplied many of Portland’s froyo shops. Portland is also the home to the YoCream Frozen Yogurt Company Store and Showroom (10209 NE Cascades Pkwy), located close to YoCream factory in Northeast Portland.

The YoCream Frozen Yogurt Company Store at Cascade Station serves YoCream froyo and it’s a clean, bright shop that also sells YoCream merchandise and carries Joe Froyo, a blended iced coffee beverage made with Dannon YoCream frozen yogurt. This is the only YoCream company store and it opened in 2009.

The one-stop shopping retailer Fred Meyer, which started in Portland, recently added a self-serve froyo section to their Hawthorne location. They serve Dannon YoCream froyo. (see previous post).

About a year ago, Eb & Bean (1425 NE Broadway, @ebandbean) opened in Irvington/Lloyd District. Flavors, many of them creative and seasonal, are handmade with local organic milk, handmade flavors and artisanal toppings. In their first year they created 72 new seasonal flavors. 

More organic froyo is coming. The Maple Parlor (3538 SE Hawthorne Blvd., @themapleparlor) is replacing Swirl Frozen Yogurt. It will offer organic all natural soft serve, including tart froyo, made with locally sourced ingredients. While they were hoping to open on July 1st, they haven’t opened yet. The Swirl sign was still up.

Eb & Bean is not the first organic, handmade froyo shop in town. Bleuet (2007-2010) opened its doors in the Alphabet District in 2007, offering European style organic tart frozen yogurt in a boutique setting. Cool Harry's Yogurt (2010-2013) was the first froyo cart in town; they served organic, local froyo and toppings in downtown Portland. I visited Portland a few times while Cool Harry's was still in business but it wasn't open year-round so I never had a chance to try it.

Although Portland has its share of froyo spots (I counted 18 of them – and no national chains), we didn’t see many in the neighborhoods we visited. I also didn’t see any at Portland International Airport. 

Save on froyo at Skinnidip with Groupon.

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.

Innovative Froyo Shop Spotlight: Eb & Bean in Portland, OR

Fro-yo girl here. I’ve had my eye on Eb & Bean since they first opened in June 2014 – their use of local organic milk, handmade flavors and artisanal toppings definitely appealed to me. They also offer vegan and gluten free froyo and toppings. It was my #1 Portland must see.

Their organic probiotic frozen yogurt is rBST free, GMO free and 100% natural. The thin, tall spirals of froyo on Instagram always look amazing. 

They carry three everyday flavors (Vanilla, Chocolate, Tart) and special seasonal flavors. During my visit these were Ginger Caramel, Lemon Marionberry Buttermilk and Salty Pistachio (Non-dairy, made with almond milk). They’re always creating new flavors like Apricot Crème Fraiche, Grasshopper Pie, Garden Mint, Cardamom Caramel, etc. They haven’t had any seasonal flavor repeats. In their first year, they served 72 flavors.

Toppings are housemade or sourced from small batch local producers like Pinkleton’s salted vanilla caramel corn, Cary’s of Oregon almond toffee crumbles, and Honey Mama’s cacao nectar crumbles.  The toppings aren’t what you’d find at your typical froyo shop. They have Bakeshop cookies, streusel, candy, Jacobsen salt, nuts, local honey, candied ginger, marionberry compote, bourbon sauce, non-dairy magic shell, cinnamon sugar potato donuts, honeyed whipped cream and the list goes on. I wanted to buy the toppings and bring some home.

Prices: Small $3.75, Large $4.75, Tots $2.75 (for kids only), Pints $6, toppings $1 for the first topping

The tart flavor was mild, lightly sweetened, and milky – it tasted more like milk than tangy yogurt. The tang wasn’t there but it had a smooth, light, refreshing quality. I liked the lemon marionberry buttermilk flavor better – it was light, fruity and smooth. It tasted more like berries than lemon and the flavor wasn’t so intense that it overwhelmed the yogurt flavor. The texture isn’t creamy but it is smooth and on the icier side. The salty pistachio (non-dairy) was very sweet and it had so much pistachio flavor that I couldn’t taste the almond milk.

The shop is sleek, minimalist yet still cute (that polar bear, the wall of paper mache froyo cones and cups). There’s one communal wood table, kids’ tables and counter seating by the window. They sell Eb & Bean t-shirts – I want one. 

Cups and spoons are compostable, of course. Pick up a frequent buyer card.

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

Rating: 4/5

* EB & BEAN: 1425 NE Broadway, Portland, OR 97232

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.