Rarest Froyo Spoons From My Collection

Fro-yo girl here. I recently organized my frozen yogurt spoon collection and in the process, saw some rare froyo spoons that I hadn’t seen for years. I know there are other froyo spoon admirers and collectors out there. This post is dedicated to them.

My rarest froyo spoons:

(1) Fru:yo elephant spoon

Fru:yo Factory had several locations in Hong Kong. At the shop entrance, a giant elephant holding a cup of froyo with his trunk greeted guests. The same elephant is shown on their froyo spoons. I believe all the locations have closed and that the elephant found a new home.

(2) Berry Chill color changing spoon

Long before Pinkberry and Yogurtland opened in the Windy City, Berry Chill was the place to get tart froyo. They even had a cute white bear mascot. They had color changing cups and spoons. Berry Chill gave me my first color changing spoon. The spoon features the Berry Chill logo. Berry Chill opened several locations in Chicago, filed for bankruptcy in 2010, and closed their shops.

(3) Snog spoon 

This rare spoon is my only metal froyo spoon. The limited edition Snog spoons were designed by Tomas Alonso of the Royal College of Art. Snog spoons came in one color, hot pink, and they were made out of shiny anodized aluminum. My friend from the UK gave me the spoon.

(4) Menchie’s test spoon

This orange Menchie’s spoon that features Chip was a test spoon for a run of spoons. The test spoons aren’t available in stores. It looks like a test spoon for the brown Chip spoons.

(5) 7 Eleven froyo spoon

In Norway, 7-Eleven locations have self-serve froyo and there’s even a 7-Eleven froyo truck. The 7-Eleven froyo spoons have extra long handles and they’re imprinted with the words, 7-Eleven’s Frozen Yogurt.

(6) Sno:la spoons

These are compostable wooden spoons. The larger one is from their Beverly Hills shop that closed. The smaller one is from their Tokyo shop. Everything is smaller in Japan, or bigger in America.

(7) Tutti Frutti light up spoon 

These unusual spoons have a built in light. To activate the light, you have to twist the top of the spoon sideways. These are the only light up spoons in my collection. 

(8) Yogurtland original logo spoons 

The first Yogurtland logo spoons were clear pink and green. They still had the old logo. Later, they decided to switch to compostable spoons. 

(9) Yogurtland 5th anniversary spoon

When Yogurtland turned five in 2011, they handed out the limited edition purple spoon – for one day only!

If you missed my earlier post, I am selling some of my froyo spoons. See

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.

Beverly Hills Froyo History & Roundup

Fro-yo girl here. There are frozen yogurt shops all over Southern California but there’s something special about froyo in Beverly Hills. It has something to do with the Beverly Hills mystique. People on the streets of Beverly Hills look different. They wear expensive clothes, drive expensive cars and they’re willing to pay more for quality froyo. 

There are currently four frozen yogurt shops in Beverly Hills: FroyoLife, Go Greek Yogurt, and Pinkberry are in the main downtown area while Toppings Yogurt (349 S. Robertson Blvd.) is closer to Pico-Robertson. Toppings, which opened in 2008, is kosher and self-serve. 

Old school Penguin’s Frozen Yogurt had a Beverly Hills location which closed in 2012. I never made it to that location because I was busy going to my favorite froyo shop, Sno:la, next to the Montage Hotel. Sno:la was different – organic, less sweet (with no white sugar), house flavors like sour cherry (my favorite), fresh mochi, healthy toppings and eco-friendly. It opened in 2007 and closed in 2009. They still have a shop in Kyoto, Japan and also a pop-up in Tokyo.

Pinkberry opened its Beverly Hills location (240 S. Beverly Dr.) in 2007 and it’s still open today, nine years later. The Beverly Hills location is their Innovation Kitchen where they test new products (currently these include organic acai and salted caramel coconut milk).

Blanc Haute (9465 Charleville Blvd) was the next upscale froyo shop to open; it opened in 2009 and closed in 2010. Blanc Haute had fancy toppings like figs and truffles. It was a stylish place and I was sad to see that it didn’t last. The space is now occupied by a juice shop (not surprising).

Self-serve froyo finally arrived in downtown Beverly Hills when mini-chain FroyoLife (241 S. Beverly Dr.) opened in 2010. It opened directly across the street from Pinkberry. It was a lower cost option with more flavors. They’re still open today. 

Go Greek (452 N Bedford Dr.) was the first Greek froyo/yogurt shop in Beverly Hills; it opened in 2013 and has expanded to Newport Beach (2 locations) and Canoga Park with a Santa Monica location slated to open this year. It’s higher in quality than your typical self-serve froyo place. The yogurt is flown from Greece and is available non-frozen or as frozen yogurt. Authentic Greek yogurt does taste different and it has a smooth, rich texture. Most people only have access to Greek style yogurt. People in Beverly Hills can enjoy real Greek yogurt – seems fitting.

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 Shop Innovators

Fro-yo girl here. My last post about the new fro-yo hot spots (cities) in 2009 made me want to recognize a few special fro-yo shops that have been innovators in the field of tart fro-yo. These innovators offered something unique long before others in the area caught on. While they didn't invent fro-yo, they created something memorable and special in the field of fro-yo. In no particular order, the shops are:

* BERRYLINE (BOSTON, MA): Now with three locations in the Boston area, BerryLine creates unique flavors like Nutella, Banana, Oreo and Apple Cinnamon. They originally opened in September 2007 and brought tart fro-yo to Boston. You can even send your friend a cup of BerryLine via your cell phone at http://www.kangogift.com/SendGift.aspx?id=133
* STARFRUIT (CHICAGO, IL): They introduced frozen kefir to the US market. Currently Starfruit has three locations in the Chicago area. Frozen kefir looks just like soft serve fro-yo and Starfruit offers similar toppings. The concept was created by Lifeway, the country's leading manufacturer of kefir.
* SNO:LA (BEVERLY HILLS, CA): Sno:la's fro-yo tastes like no one else's - it's intense, sour and barely sweetened. It's made without any refined sugars, with organic dairy and seasonal fruits. The mochi can't be missed. Sno:la is eco-friendly and 1% of their gross proceeds go to the Slow Food movement.
* CULTURE ORGANIC FROZEN YOGURT (PALO ALTO, CA): Culture stays busy inventing new fro-yo flavors, fro-yo creations (Yo'wiches) and fro-yo toppings. They even had frozen kefir for awhile. Mary, the brilliant toppings-in-chief bakes up a storm including crumbles, mini meringue cookies, brownies, etc. She made marshmallow creme and flaxseed cones. Everything is organic and eco-friendly. No one else offers all organic toppings.
* FRAICHE FROZEN YOGURT (PALO ALTO, CA): They make their own yogurt with organic milk. And they make their own fro-yo. Though it took them awhile to offer mochi, their mochi was worth the wait. The new SF location is gorgeous and both locations also offer delicious baked goods. They're also famous for offering fresh chocolate shavings (shaved to order).
* MOCHII YOGURT (SACRAMENTO, CA): Mochii Yogurt brought delicious, handcrafted mochi and tart fro-yo to Sacramento back in 2007. The array of mochi flavors is awe-inspiring. Past mochi flavors included blackberry, mandarin orange, cherry, kiwi, peach, ume, and the list goes on.
* YOGIZMO (SANTA CRUZ, CA): YoGizmo brought mix-in style fro-yo and tart soft-serve fro-yo to Scotts Valley in 2007 and added a Santa Cruz location in 2009. The owner was inspired by the tart mix-in fro-yo she enjoyed in Canada. You can get also get soy ice cream, ice cream, and acai sorbet as the base for the mix-in. Choose up to three fruits and enjoy a custom blended creation.

Thank you, fro-yo shop innovators. You have my love and deep appreciation.

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

Sno:la: The Best Fro-yo

Fro-yo girl here. I’ve told myself that I can’t go to SoCal without visiting my favorite fro-yo shop, Sno:la. Their organic, seasonal, non-fat fro-yo has no white sugar and isn’t a Pinkberry wannabe. In a land with a million fro-yo shops, Sno:la offers something truly unique, one of a kind, and artisanal. The fro-yo flavors are natural and pure. Sno:la fro-yo actually tastes healthy since it isn’t loaded with sugar. This is probably the best fro-yo in the world (I believe it is but I haven't tried every fro-yo shop in the world).

My friend, a froyoholic whose taste in froyo I trust, noticed the taste difference (of course) and declared her love for Sno:la.



I love their sour cherry fro-yo. I haven’t seen that flavor elsewhere. And you can top it with their housemade sour cherry sauce. Their toppings are ultra fresh including the mochi that is made exclusively for them in plain, strawberry and green tea. The pomegranate and Italian tart flavors are also incredible. Stunning. I wish I could bring some of their fro-yo home or have it shipped to my house.



Sno:la I LOVE YOU. I had to see the future location of Sno:la Santa Monica during my recent trip to SoCal. The new location, which should open soon, was papered over so I couldn’t see the inside. There were various pictures of Sno:la events (so I know how the owner, Masako Kawashima, looks like now) and press clippings featuring Sno:la. And they also had a poster with my blog featuring the post that declares my love for Sno:la. I didn’t know they knew about me. I was lucky enough to meet Masako at the Beverly Hills location!

Congrats Sno:la on the new location. I’ll be there soon after it opens!

* Sno:la: 244 North Beverly Dr., Beverly Hills, CA
* Sno:la (coming soon): 314 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica, CA

SoCal Fro-Yo Report: Flavored Mochi Balls at Twist

Fro-yo girl here. I’ve found another place in SoCal that’s worthy of extra attention from fro-yoholics, or should I say mochiholics. It’s called Twist and at 28 cents an ounce, they claim to be the cheapest self-serve fro-yo shop in the US. The sheer variety of fro-yo and toppings is astounding: 14 flavors of fro-yo (sweet, tart), over 50 toppings including fresh fruit (and my favorite, pomegranate seeds).

The fro-yo is good but the real attraction at Twist is their flavored mochi balls, made exclusively for Twist.

During my visit they had the following mochi balls:
* Plain
* Pineapple
* Blueberry
* Strawberry
* Chocolate
* Coconut

I tried plain, pineapple, blueberry and strawberry. The mochi balls were soft, chewy and tiny (I prefer larger mochi balls). They should tone down the food coloring though. While I prefer the mochi topping at sno:la, Twist is much cheaper and more convenient (in terms of parking). If there are other places in SoCal where you can find homemade mochi balls, drop me a line – I need to know.

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

* TWIST FROZEN YOGURT: 12105 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA

SoCal Fro-Yo Favorite: sno:la

Fro-yo girl here. I apologize for my absence. I've been busy eating fro-yo (of course) in SoCal. Though I haven't been able to visit every SoCal fro-yo shop, I've fallen in love with one above all others in the area, sno:la.

Why sno:la? Their organic Italian tart stands apart from other tart fro-yos. It's quite sour and tastes closer to plain yogurt. The flavor is pure and fresh. And it's better for you too. It is made without any refined white sugar.

They also have unique fro-yo flavors like fig & date, pumpkin pie, sour cherry, and gojiberry. I get the sense that the flavors come from the fruit, not powders or syrups.

Toppings are also better than what you'll usually find, including their own sauces (e.g., sour cherry), aloe vera, nata de coco and best of all, homemade mochi (plain, green tea, strawberry). Their mochi topping is the freshest I've had and it also seems to be all natural. Get this - they don't cut the mochi till you order it!

sno:la is a green business. Look around the shop and you'll see recycled materials. Cups and utensils are biodegradable. They also donate to Slow Food USA and United Nations World Food Programme.

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

* sno:la - 244 North Beverly Dr., Beverly Hills, CA