Froyo Shops vs. Acai Shops: The One Thing That’s Better About Acai Shops

 

Go Greek Yogurt

Fro-yo girl here. It’s no secret that I love froyo, but I’ve been hearing about acai since I first started this blog in 2008. The first time I mentioned acai on this blog was in 2008, because Cefiore had a delicious froyo flavor called acai berry.

I avoided acai bowls for many years because most acai bases are made with bananas (I loathe bananas). However, most acai places also have other bases, some of which do not contain bananas (e.g., pitaya, matcha, coconut). I usually get the pitaya base, which is icy and not as flavorful as a good froyo.

There is one thing I like about acai shops: the toppings. The fruit is fresher. For example, the cut fruit at froyo shops sits in the toppings bar for I don’t know how long. When I want strawberries in my pitaya bowl, the strawberries are sliced after I place my order. Also, acai shops have rich nut butter sauces that most froyo shops do not offer. And acai shops have healthy toppings that I actually like, such as hemp seeds, chia seeds, flax seeds, goji berries, cacao nibs, etc.

If you like your froyo, want a wider variety of healthy toppings, and are in Los Angeles, check out Go Greek Yogurt and Yoga-urt (both have multiple locations). They both offer healthier toppings and excellent frozen yogurt. Yoga-urt’s frozen yogurt is also vegan, organic, kosher, and soy-free. I love the pistachios and housemade chocolate shell! Pressed Juicery also offers healthier toppings for its plant-based Freeze (Freeze isn’t froyo though) and acai bowls. The almond butter is the best topping.

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.

Costco Drops Frozen Yogurt!

Fro-yo girl here. Costco no longer serves frozen yogurt? Say it isn’t so! Given the volume of frozen yogurt sold by Costco at its food court, this was major news. They’ve been serving YoCream froyo for many years. For many years, they offered two froyo flavors, nonfat vanilla and chocolate. You could also get froyo with strawberries. Many people loved the froyo. If you search Costco froyo on Twitter, there are many mentions. For some, the froyo was the main reason they went to Costco. The froyo was just $1.35 or $1.65 for the very berry sundae. 

In mid-2018, Costco dropped chocolate frozen yogurt, replacing it with soft serve acai, in an effort to provide healthier options. The acai was also much more expensive than the chocolate froyo ($4.99 bowl, $2.99 for a froyo/acai swirl). I never tried the acai (I don’t like acai bowls because the acai usually has banana) but the reviews were mixed.

Costco replaced frozen yogurt with soft serve ice cream in June/July 2020. The ice cream is $1.99 for a cone or $2.49 for a sundae, still plenty cheap.

One thing that I don’t understand is why they don’t still offer froyo when the soft serve machines have a dual hopper and they could easily offer two flavors. There was no announcement or official word from Costco. 

IKEA, don't fail me now...

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.

Pressed Juicery New Acai Bowls & Price Increase

Fro-yo girl here. Pressed Juicery is now offering new Acai Pressed Bowls at select locations. I spotted the bowls at the Americana at Brand in Glendale, CA. There were three types of acai bowls: Original, Power, and Superfood. You can also design a custom bowl. The acai bowls are $9.75 or $8.75 for members. The acai is dispensed from their soft serve machines.

The acai base is made with oat milk, coconut cream, pea protein, and banana puree. Since I detest bananas, I didn’t get one. Samples are not allowed at this time, due to the coronavirus.

I also noticed a slight price increase for Pressed Freeze. Toppings (up to 3) used to be $1 and now they’re $1.50. One sign said the size 1 Freeze is $5.50 but another sign said $5. I guess one sign is old but both were up at the same time.

Meanwhile, I spotted Pressed Frozen at Gelson’s in La Canada Flintridge, CA.

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.

Menchie’s is Testing Froyo + Acai Superbowls

Fro-yo girl here. Remember back in 2015 when Menchie’s released Power Pomegranate Acai and encouraged guests to make their own acai bowls? Menchie’s is testing acai bowls again, only this time they’re combining froyo with acai and calling the creation a Superbowl. They’re using Sambazon Amazon acai. Several Superbowl recipes were provided, including the Super Berry, Tropicalicious, and PB Power Boost.

I spotted the Froyo + Acai Superbowls at Menchie’s University in Encino, CA. I also spotted new three new organic granolas from Nature’s Path: Love Crunch, Pumpin Seed + Flax, and Summer Berries.

I didn’t try a Superbowl because I just don’t like acai bowls. Someone must be eating acai bowls. At this point, many froyo chains have carried acai bowls, including 16 Handles, Orange Leaf, Pinkberry, Red Mango, and Yogurtland.

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

* MENCHIE’S UNIVERSITY: 17245 Ventura Blvd., Encino, CA 91316

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.

The Death of the Croiffle

Fro-yo girl here. Last May, I shared my Yogurtland breakfast/expanded menu experience with you, after trying several of their new menu items at two locations that were testing breakfast items. They were clearly still testing because I encountered different versions of the Cinnaffle (cinnamon roll waffle) and they were still adding new menu items. Because the test locations weren’t close to me, I wasn’t able to visit on a regular basis. 

The testing of the new menu items began at the Lakewood, CA location in February 2015. It was then expanded to include the Irvine location on Jeffrey and later the Fullerton, CA location. I sampled the breakfast items in April/May 2015. I liked the juices and the Cinnaffle was really good too.

New items include freshly squeezed juice, Fresh-Yo fresh yogurt, yogurt parfaits, Illy coffee, build your own acai bowls and pastries. The pastries are the Croiffle (croissant and waffle combo) and the Cinnaffle (cinnamon roll and waffle combo). Other pastries included butter croissants, strawberry croissants (croissants with pastry cream and fresh strawberries), Danish, and Danish bites.

The Croiffle trademark registration has expired. The breakfast pastries have been discontinued.

I have seen some of the test items at other locations, including the Awesome (acai) Bowl, Fresh-Yo Greek yogurt and the premium sauces.

Something strange is going on with the Fullerton, CA location, the original Yogurtland location (501 N State College Blvd., Fullerton, CA 92831). It’s marked as closed on Yelp but it’s still listed on the Yogurtland website, and the FB page was updated last month. The phone number still works though no one answers. Apparently it just closed? Or perhaps it's a temporary closure? I hope it's temporary. 

Update: It's temporary. The Fullerton location is being remodeled. Yay!

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: Rawberri in West Hollywood, CA

Fro-yo girl here. Rawberri is a super healthy new shop that specializes in superfruit bowls. It’s very conscious of food allergies. They carry healthy, organic, dairy free, gluten free and soy free acai bowls, superfruit bowls, Cocowhip, Stumptown coffee, kombucha on tap and energy balls.

Bowls don’t interest me but CocoWhip does. Rawberri was the first in the US to carry CocoWhip, an Australian vegan, biofermented, frozen yogurt made with coconut water, organic bio-fermented coconut powder & vegetable sourced stabilizers. It has no added sugar and is 90 calories a serving.

Flavors of the day (CocoWhip):

* Original: airy, light, creamy, lightly sweetened – the texture was nice but the product had very little flavor, it had no tang at all, the aftertaste was clean though. This was too bland.

* Matcha slim: the texture was denser and icier than the original and it had flavor – it tasted like an icier green tea ice cream – imagine green tea sorbet. I liked how it wasn’t too sweet and it tasted clean/simple. It wasn’t tangy.

Toppings are healthy: fresh fruit, granola, nuts, seeds, goji berries, cacao nibs, agave, honey, vegan caramel, vegan chocolate sauce. The toppings are gluten free and I think soy free, dairy free, etc.

Prices: $5.95 for original w/o toppings, add $1 for 3 toppings; $6.95 for matcha slim w/o toppings, add $1 for 3 toppings

I think almond milk or soy froyo has the best flavor – it’s hard to say which is better because almond and soy milk taste different and both are good in frozen yogurt. On the other hand, coconut water doesn’t have much flavor.

The shop is by several gyms and is the perfect post-gym treat.

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

Rating: 3.5/5

* RAWBERRI: 8582 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069

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.

Breakfast at Yogurtland

Fro-yo girl here. Breakfast at Yogurtland? Yogurtland is currently testing a variety of new products. The Yogurtland Lakewood, CA location started serving breakfast since February 2015. Yogurtland’s Jeffrey location (14775 Jeffrey Rd., Ste. J) in Irvine, CA started serving breakfast on May 20. Soon, the Yogurtland location in Fullerton, CA (501 N State College Blvd.) will also offer breakfast. The "breakfast" items are available all day. Yogurtland Lakewood opens at 7 AM. Yogurtland Irvine opens at 9 AM.

New items include freshly squeezed juice, Fresh-Yo fresh yogurt, yogurt parfaits, Illy coffee, build your own acai bowls and pastries. The pastries are the Croiffle (croissant and waffle combo) and the Cinnaffle (cinnamon roll and waffle combo). Other pastries included butter croissants, strawberry croissants (croissants with pastry cream and fresh strawberries), Danish, and Danish bites.

The prices varied by location. In Lakewood, the Croiffle and Cinnafle are $2.50 each but sold by weight if you want to add froyo and toppings.

Fresh-Yo comes in two varieties that are dispensed from a machine (you press a button to dispense the yogurt): Greek plain yogurt and classic vanilla yogurt. You can add toppings if you’d like. The texture of both flavors seemed similar (I was expecting the Greek yogurt to be thicker). The vanilla doesn’t have an intense vanilla flavor and it’s not too sweet. The plain Greek isn’t sweetened so it has a sour flavor.

The Acai is in a machine – pull the handle to dispense. The acai blend has pear, blueberry, banana, blackberry and strawberry. I don’t eat bananas so I couldn’t really judge it.

The Croiffle is a butter croissant that’s been made into a waffle. It was soft, buttery and good with a dipping sauce. The Cinnaffle was much more substantial – a cinnamon roll pressed in a waffle iron. It’s heavy, dense and chewy. I liked how it wasn’t iced. The Cinnaffle had a generous amount of cinnamon and I liked the hint of orange. It was difficult to eat with the fork and knife because it was so thick, dense and chewy. The Croiffles and Cinnaffles are already made. You can ask to have yours heated.

The Cinnaffle, Croiffle and strawberry croissants looked different in Irvine. The Cinnafle had a dusting of cinnamon sugar (the one in Lakewood did not) and the croissants looked flakier. Also, the Irvine location smelled like fresh baked goods, the Lakewood location did not.

You can top any of the new pastries with frozen yogurt, yogurt or acai. They had new sauces: honey, cookie butter, marshmallow, chocolate hazelnut, peanut butter and salted caramel, plus new fruit purees (e.g., cherry, blueberry, peach, strawberry) in squeeze bottles.

The new refrigerated case had bottle drinks like Zico coconut water, Illy coffee, Honest Tea, San Pellegrino and Yogurtland’s new juices. The juices are made on site and come in four varieties: Green Thumb (apple, pineapple, orange, spinach, kale banana), Carrot Patch (carrot, pineapple, orange, lime), Beet Box (apple, carrot, pineapple, beet, spinach, kale), Berry& Banana (apple, strawberry, carrot, banana, blueberry). It’s $3.50 for 12 ounces. The juices are not cold pressed so they’re chunkier/have more texture and fiber.

I loved the new blue Yogurtland forks and knives.

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.