Unlimited Cup Lessons, Part Three

Fro-yo girl here. I’ve earned the Yogurtland Unlimited Cup reward for the third time. While I’ve been going regularly (i.e., at least once a week) to Yogurtland for years, earning the unlimited cup is no easy feat, even for me.

Consider this: To earn the Unlimited Cup reward, you need to (1) be a Real Rewards member and (2) collect 520 points within a year of the day you first joined Real Rewards (your anniversary day). One (paid) ounce is equal to one point. The free froyo you earn along the way doesn’t earn you any reward points. If you buy gift cards, the points go to the person using the gift card at the time he/she is paying for the yogurt.

With the free froyo rewards every 36 points, you will consume more than 520 ounces to get to your Unlimited Cup. Assuming you are a Platinum Real Rewards member, you’ll have earned 14 four-ounce rewards along the way, or 56 oz. and an additional reward, a free 16 oz birthday cup. This translates to a minimum of 592 ounces of froyo (unless you didn’t redeem your rewards) or 11.38 oz/week to consume. That’s a lot of froyo if you’re only buying froyo for yourself.

Since you’re only paying for 520 ounces, if the froyo was 50 cents an ounce, that’s $260 of froyo or $21.67/month. On a monthly basis it doesn’t sound so bad, like 5 lattes or 5 cups of froyo, plus a free 6 ounces in rewards (another cup).

Once you earn the Unlimited Cup, you have a month to redeem it. You can redeem it at any Yogurtland store in the US whenever you want. And whatever fits in the 16-ounce cup is yours.

I’ve seen a few articles about getting your money’s worth when it comes to toppings at self-serve froyo shops.

Light toppings:

• Oreos 
• Sprinkles 
• Whipped cream 
• Cap’n Crunch 
• Cinnamon Toast Crunch 
• Mini peanut butter cups 
• Reese’s Pieces 
• M&Ms 
• Chocolate sauce 
• Coconut 
• Nuts 
• Marshmallows 

Heavy toppings:

• Cheesecake bites 
• Maraschino cherries 
• Strawberries 
• Blueberries 
• Brownies 
• Wet walnuts 
• Popping boba 

Cookie dough and gummy bears appeared on light and heavy toppings lists. Usually, I pick the toppings that I think complement the yogurt and also freeze well.

You shouldn’t just go in unprepared though. At a minimum, make sure your shop has at least one froyo flavor that you like, go when it’s not busy, and bring a cooler bag filled with ice. For more advice, see my older post http://froyogirl.blogspot.com/2017/07/unlimited-cup-lessons-part-two.html

My goal was to exceed my last unlimited cup of 70.2 ounces. I was definitely feeling the pressure. It’s a lot of work to build a giant cup of froyo. I’m happy to report that I met my goal, though I made a mess doing so. My cup was 83.4 ounces after deducting the weight of the cup. I chose Sumatra Coffee and Pumpkin Pie froyo, with chocolate wafer roll cookies, mini chocolate chip cookies, toffee chips and crushed Oreo cookies. What did I learn? Adding big cookies to froyo is easy and it seems to help hold the shape of the froyo together. Also, be careful of froyo burnout after you redeem your unlimited cup. Hopefully, you have someone to share that froyo with.

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.

Unlimited Cup Lessons, Part Two

Fro-yo girl here. For Yogurtland Real Reward members, the ultimate reward for eating froyo is the coveted “Unlimited Cup.” To earn the Unlimited Cup the standard way, you need to (1) be a Real Rewards member and (2) collect 520 points within a year of the day you first joined Real Rewards (or the anniversary of the day you first joined).

One (paid) ounce is equal to one point. The free froyo you earn along the way doesn’t earn you any points. If you buy gift cards, the points go to the person using the gift card at the time he/she is paying for the yogurt.

With the free froyo rewards every 36 points, you will consume more than 520 ounces to get to your Unlimited Cup. Assuming you are a Platinum Real Rewards member, you’ll have earned 14 four ounce rewards along the way, or 56 oz. and a free 16 oz birthday cup. This translates to a minimum of 592 ounces of froyo (unless you didn’t redeem your rewards) or 11.38 oz/week. That’s a lot of froyo if you’re only buying froyo for yourself. 

Once you earn the Unlimited Cup, you have a month to redeem it. You can redeem it at any Yogurtland store whenever you want. Whatever fits in the 16 ounce cup is yours, free.

You shouldn’t just go in unprepared though. Here are some tips.

Tips for Building Your Unlimited Cup

1. Check the available flavors to make sure that the location you plan to visit has a flavor (or flavors) that you like. Use the Real Rewards Flavor Finder app to determine the available froyo flavors or call the location.

2. Choose a day/time that isn’t busy (generally going when Yogurtland first opens should work), so people don’t get in your way. Bring a tray to make it easier to carry your froyo and catch toppings overflow. I can’t imagine eating that much froyo (60 oz or more) at once, so you should be prepared to take some home. If you don’t live close to a Yogurtland or it’s a hot day, bring a cooler filled with ice. Don’t carry a big purse because you’ll need both hands. Bring a friend or loved one, if you can. He/she can help with piling on the toppings.

3. Once you’re at the shop, check the available flavors and toppings and decide what you want before you start. Pick froyo flavors that will complement each other. Forget using a cup divider. Keep in mind that some toppings freeze better than others (e.g., fresh fruit, gummy bears, popping boba and mochi don’t freeze well). Candy bars, cookies, and nuts still taste good when frozen. Nuts are probably the best because they don’t get soggy but they aren’t heavy. Big cookies are a good choice if you want to have a heavier cup. The chocolate wafer rolls taste amazing frozen (better than at room temperature) because the chocolate center hardens. Frozen cookies all seem to taste great. The wafer rolls stayed crispy. The yogurt pretzels stay the same when frozen.

4. Be sure to start with the 16 oz cup (if you start with the larger cup, you may have to transfer what’s in it to the 16 oz cup) that the reward specifies.

5. You’re ready to start building your cup. Build a base of about 1 inch on the bottom – pack it solid with smaller toppings – cookies and nuts. Use a spoon to mash together and make a smooth, even surface. It will be difficult to add smaller toppings on top. If you don't care about small toppings, you can skip this step.

6. Add froyo. Try swirling to fill the cup (usually I start from the edges and then fill in the center). Once you’ve gotten close to the rim, stop and tap the bottom of the cup hard against the table. This will fill in any air pockets. Add more froyo till you reach the rim. Stop.

7. Add a ring of wafer roll cookies. Make sure the cookies are firmly placed in the froyo. Place them in right next to each other at a slight outward angle (not straight up and down). This will form a wider base for your froyo. I forgot my own advice and my cookies were straight up and down. I definitely think this made it difficult to make wider swirls.

8. Swirl around the outside edges…then start building your froyo towers. Don’t move the cup too much, a gentle back and forth motion will work. Do this till you reach the maximum height. Towards the end you can place the cup on the shelf below and move it a little that way. The multiple towers add stability to the overall structure and allow you to avoid the hole in the middle that can’t be avoided with a single swirl.

9. Add additional toppings if desired. Cookies will be faster and easier to add to your swirls. Try building cookie walls as your creation gets taller. Work quickly of course.

10. Redeem your reward.

11. Take plenty of pictures.

12. Grab a few cups to transfer your froyo to so that you can take it home if you didn’t bring your own container or your container isn’t large enough. Ask for lids.

The goal is to get to at least 50 ounces. In this video, a man builds a 6 lb cup (96 oz) of froyo, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1v5ejCr6OKw

A few people have built cups that over over 200 ounces. I’ve seen photographic evidence. My creation was 70.2 ounces after deducting the weight of the cup. The cup would have cost $33.70 without the reward. I was able to build a bigger cup than my first unlimited cup creation, which was over 60 ounces.

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.