Future Froyo Shop Picture: Boba Milk PDX

Fro-yo girl here. The news about Boba Milk opening in Hawthorne broke last July. The new shop is the latest venture for the owner of Fish Sauce and Short Round (Vietnamese restaurants). Fish Sauce’s hard-scoop frozen yogurt is currently available at Short Round as well. Short Round had one flavor, peach green tea, for $4 a serving. The frozen yogurt made in house, rich in probiotics, and billed as authentically Vietnamese. Boba Milk will also offer waffle cones and bubble tea. They promise to get creative with flavors; some of the flavors they’ve created include durian, roasted beet, and jackfruit. They’re hiring, so they must be opening soon (Update: they opened on March 4. I took the picture on March 1). The windows and door are still papered over, so it’s difficult to judge how much progress has been made inside. I asked at Short Round and the employee I spoke to didn’t have any additional information.

I wonder what makes it Vietnamese? I’m guessing that it’s made with condensed milk, since Vietnamese yogurt typically is.

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

* BOBA MILK: 2134 SE Division St, Portland, OR 97202, IG: @bobamilkpdx

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.

Portland, Oregon Froyo Scene, 2019 Update

Fro-yo girl here. My last Portland froyo update was in 2015. I went to Eb & Bean during that trip (their first location, the other ones hadn’t opened yet) and I wanted to go to Maple Parlor, but it hadn’t opened yet. Since then, Maple Parlor opened and closed and Eb & Bean added additional two locations. Fred Meyer introduced self-serve froyo in 2015, but it's been discontinued.

The year 2018 was a tough one for Portland froyo. The YoCream showroom/shop closed, as did Twist after 7 years of swirling, TartBerry Too, and Frozone.

The YoCream shop has been replaced by EZ Freezy. EZ Freezy now has five locations in Portland; two of them are in Portland. The Cascade Station location has the same general setup as the YoCream shop, with 12 self-serve YoCream froyo flavors a day and toppings, for 54 cents an ounce. They also sell smoothies, shakes, boba drinks, and pretzels.

TartBerry, which opened their first location downtown in 2010, is still there. It’s the only froyo shop in the downtown core. They serve YoCream and other brands, along with local Cascade Glacier ice cream. It’s self-serve with lots of colorful décor and the largest toppings bar. I haven’t been to every froyo shop in Portland, but it would be difficult to imagine one with more toppings.

Eb & Bean is the high-end, artisanal froyo in town. They make their own flavors, sauces, waffle cones, and some toppings too. Their yogurt is local, organic and made in small batches with custom, often creative and interesting flavors. I highly recommend the Rosemary Caramel froyo if you can find it.

I’ve been closely tracking Boba Milk, hoping they would open when I was in town. Alas, they opened after I left, on March 4. Boba Milk, which has the same owner as Fish Sauce/Short Round, will serve Fish Sauce’s hard-scoop frozen yogurt, which is made in house. Boba Milk will also offer waffle cones and bubble tea. They promise to get creative with flavors; some of the flavors they’ve created include durian, roasted beet, and jackfruit. I had a scoop of their Peach Green Tea froyo which was disappointing both in terms of flavor (overpowering peach, not a clean aftertaste) and texture (too soft, too melted).

Remaining Portland froyo locations

· Eb & Bean (3 locations)

· EZ Freezy (2 locations)

· Green Apple Froyo

· Nectar Frozen Yogurt Lounge (2 locations)

· Sunny’s Legendary Frozen Yogurt

· TartBerry

· UU Yogurt

· YoChoice Frozen Yogurt (call, is it still open?)

· YoYumba

Soft serve ice cream has become more widely available since my 2015 visit. Salt & Straw opened Wiz Bang Bar, a soft serve kiosk, inside Pine Street Market in 2016. They never seem to offer froyo, except for that one time that they had a Souvla pop-up – and Souvla brought their froyo, so does that even count? During my visit there were five soft serve flavors ($3.95), 3 housemade cone dips ($1), sundaes, milkshakes, soft serve tacos, and concretes.

You can also get soft serve at some Tea Bar locations (dairy-free), Moberi (dairy-free) and Cheese & Crack. Moberi is opening a fourth location this spring, in the Hawthorne neighborhood (3646 SE Hawthorne Blvd.)

If you’re looking for froyo or soft serve in Portland, I highly recommend Eb & Bean. They have plenty of vegan options as well as the dairy based frozen yogurt flavors. The shops are adorable and you need to try peanut butter magic shell.

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.

Eb & Bean #3 Grand Opening in Portland, Oregon

Fro-yo girl here. Eb & Bean #3 held its grand opening party tonight (March 1) from 7 PM – 10 PM. The new shop is located at 645 NW 21st Ave. in Portland, Oregon (aka the Alphabet District). As luck would have it, I happened to be in town! Of course, this wasn’t completely by accident. I’m so happy to go to my first froyo shop grand opening in Portland.

On a cold night, the interior of Eb & Bean looked so cozy and inviting. The cute décor reminded me of the other two locations – all of which feature the big polar bear mascot with his warm hat, a wall with different paper mache popsicles and froyo cones, and sprinkles. This location also carries Little Nib’s selection of Oregon craft chocolate and confections.

There are 8 flavors a day, swirled nicely for you, and featuring local, organic, hand-crafted frozen yogurt, including dairy-free options (almond milk and coconut milk based). It looks like Madagascar Vanilla and Valrhona Chocolate froyo are always offered, while the other 6 flavors are seasonal. Many flavors are creative and ones that I haven’t seen elsewhere. I love that. I’m still thinking about the rosemary caramel froyo which was smooth, creamy and definitely had the taste of rosemary (I love rosemary!). I liked how it wasn’t too sweet either. So good. And the toppings are crazy, with many housemade sauces, magic shell flavors (e.g., raspberry magic shell, cold brew bourbon sauce, peanut butter magic shell).

In addition to free froyo and toppings, the grand opening party featured raffle prizes from Cinema 21, Good Coffee, Solabee Flowers, Green Leaf Juice, Besaws, The Solo Club, Sterling Coffee, Bhuna, The Yo Store, Fish & Rice, and of course, Eb & Bean. 

If you're in Portland and you love froyo, you must visit Eb & Bean.

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

* EB AND BEAN: 645 NW 21st Ave., Portland, Oregon

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.

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.

Frozen Yogurt at Fred Meyer

Fro-yo girl here. If you live in the Pacific Northwest, you’re likely familiar with Fred Meyer – the retailer that started in Portland, Oregon and pioneered the idea of one stop shopping. Fred Meyer stores are huge and they strive to save customers time and money with service, selection, quality and prices. A typical Fred Meyer store has groceries, clothes, home products, electronics, health and beauty care and more under one roof.

Last month the Fred Meyer in the Hawthorne neighborhood of Portland, OR unveiled its self-serve frozen yogurt station. The station is called Fred’s Frost-O-Matic and it features three Electro Freeze machines that offer six flavors at a time, plus a toppings bar. The froyo and toppings are sold by weight at the price of 43 cents per ounce.

The frozen yogurt is from Dannon YoCream. Toppings include candy, cookies, fresh fruit, chocolate chips, granola and sprinkles (fewer toppings than your typical self-serve froyo shop).

Fred Meyer and Ralph’s have the same parent company, Kroger. The Fred Meyer and Ralph’s with self-serve frozen yogurt have a similar look – with sushi bars and a Murray’s Cheese area – but the Ralph’s is nicer. Both use the same froyo machines and use the same frozen yogurt mix. Ralph’s dessert bar had more toppings and was clearly staffed. The Fred Meyer froyo station didn’t appear to be staffed and no one offered sample cups.

During my visit the flavors were Original Tart, Salted Caramel Corn, White Vanilla, Dutch Chocolate, Very Strawberry and Mango Tango sorbet.

The original tart was a bit soft but had a pleasant flavor and refreshing finish. I would have tried more flavors if I’d been offered or spotted sample cups.

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

* FRED MEYER: 3805 SE Hawthorne Blvd., Portland, OR 97214

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 Pictures From Portland, OR

Fro-yo girl here. I have some fro-yo related pictures to share from Portland, OR. The 2011 Portland Visitor’s Map has a fro-yo shop, Tartberry self-serve yogurt, on the cover. Tartberry is on the map too. View the map online at http://portlandmap.com/

I spotted Vanilla Jill’s fro-yo (local, handmade fro-yo from Eugene, OR) at a local food cooperative, Food Front, but didn’t get a chance to try it. They carried quite a few flavors, including strawberry, peanut butter, dark chocolate, vanilla bean, carrot-cinnamon, lemon, tart. Some were vegan. A pint was $6.49. Unfortunately, our hotel didn’t have a in room fridge/freezer and we were too full to eat a pint of fro-yo. I’d hate to buy a pint and waste most of it. 

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

* FOOD FRONT COOPERATIVE GROCERY: 2375 NW Thurman St., Northwest Portland, OR

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