Fro-yo girl here. Sure, many frozen yogurt shops close every year. Some closures hurt a lot more than others and I wanted to take a moment to remember some of my favorite shops that closed in 2017.
* Blush Organic Frozen Yogurt in Walnut Creek, CA: I remember going for the grand opening back in May 2010. The location wasn’t convenient for me, but at the time, I was addicted to Blush (especially the original Dublin location).
* Fraiche Yogurt in San Francisco and on the campus of Stanford University: I’ve been to both locations multiple times. The one in SF was the one I went to regularly though, especially when the pumpkin yogurt returned. It was even a nice place to do some laptop camping. And they had the best housemade mochi topping.
* Yogurtland Berkeley locations: I went to the one on Shattuck quite a few times. The other Berkeley location was too small. I can’t believe there isn’t a Yogurtland in Berkeley now!
* Pinkberry in Koreatown (Los Angeles): This was the first Pinkberry to offer Pinkbee’s ice cream and they even had afternoon tea. The decor was different too. It always seemed innovative.
* Yogurt Oasis (Lancaster, CA): I never made it there or to Lancaster, but the shop just closed after 20 or so years in business, so it's sad.
* Nubi Yogurt (Sloat Blvd., San Francisco, CA): This was never my favorite froyo shop, but it was close to where I used to live, so I used to go fairly often. It was the first Nubi location in San Francisco.
Farewell, old friends. You are missed.
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 girl here. I swung by Pinkberry Koreatown recently and noticed they added quite a few new things.
They now serve Nespresso coffee made with coffee pods, mini sweet treats (5 flavors of mini macarons, $1.50 each), mini cake, mini cheesecake, toasted flavored marshmallows (torched to order), and afternoon tea for two. I saw pretty luster teapots.
The afternoon tea for two is $24.99 and includes fresh fruit, dip, tea sandwiches, petite pastries, soft serve and your choice of coffee or tea. No reservations are required. While some tea shops offer frozen yogurt (e.g., The Tea Shoppe in Howell, NJ, Blu Café in NYC) and a few frozen yogurt shops offer afternoon tea (e.g., Britans Yogurt Mill, Sugarkissed, Frurt in Manchester, UK), finding a place that offers afternoon tea with frozen yogurt is almost impossible.
Yoghurt Barn in the Netherlands has the best looking high tea spread, with froyo for dessert.
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
* PINKBERRY KOREATOWN: 3300 W 6th St., Los Angeles, CA 90020
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.
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Fro-yo girl here. Happy National Soft Serve Day! Guess what’s been spotted at Pinkberry Koreatown? Pinkbee’s premium lowfat milk ice cream made with organic milk. Pinkbee’s was announced on July 12, 2014: “Premium, lowfat ice cream made with organic milk. Delicious on its own or in one of our 9 tasty combinations including pure, locally harvested honey and honeycomb.” The milk is from “California’s best dairies.”
Pinkberry Koreatown is currently the only location to offer Pinkbee’s ice cream. It's available in one flavor, milk. Pinkbee’s comes in a cup (one size) or cone (they had chocolate dipped cones) with your choice of toppings. A cup with honeycomb called Honey Honey is $4.50. You can add gold flakes (Honey Gold) for an additional dollar. They also have an ice cream sandwich made with a rice cracker.
This location also has been remodeled with a honey theme. The wall looks like a giant white, gold and brown honeycomb and the water dispenser looks like a glass beehive.
Pinkbee’s is clearly inspired by the new food trend in South Korea popularized by a chain called Softree. Softree serves a rich organic milk soft serve with honey chips (honeycomb). It’s available in a cup or chocolate dipped cone. Softree started with one location last year and now operates 26 locations. Honey chip ice cream is now available in Taiwan and the US. Honeymee opened in Koreatown back in May 2014, serving true milk ice cream with honey. Café MangoSix, a Korean café in Beverly Grove, offers fresh honeycomb as a froyo topping.
Honeymee vs. Pinkbee’s: Honeymee’s organic milk ice cream is thicker and richer than Pinkbee’s (I think Honeymee has a higher fat content). It’s also milder and not that sweet; Pinkbee’s has a stronger milk flavor. The honeycomb is soft and chewy. It does have some waxy bits but not many of them.
Honeymee is available in a cup or cone. They also have a Babee Bun which is a fresh soft bun filled with ice cream. A Honeymee (cup with honeycomb chip) is $4.75.
Milk flavored soft serve ice cream is nice but it’s not as refreshing as froyo on a hot day. It does pair well with honey but so would a plain/original frozen yogurt.
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
* PINKBERRY KOREATOWN: 3300 West 6th St. #4, Los Angeles, CA 90020
* HONEYMEE: 3377 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 116, Los Angeles, CA 90017
* CAFÉ MANGOSIX: 8428 W 3rd St., Los Angeles, CA 90048
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.
