Happy Fro-yo Easter 2013

Fro-yo girl here. Happy Easter, fro-yo fans! Let Easter inspire your cup of fro-yo today. I spotted my favorite Easter egg candy, Cadbury Mini Eggs at Easy Breezy Frozen Yogurt. They also had marshmallow peeps. Cute!

Cadbury Creme Eggs have been spotted at various Menchie's locations.

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

* EASY BREEZY FROZEN YOGURT: 4028 24th St., San Francisco, CA

YoCup Rincon Center Closes

Fro-yo girl here. YoCup Rincon Center has closed its doors for good. It’s like saying goodbye to an old friend. YoCup, you will be missed.

YoCup first opened at the Rincon Center in March 2008, adding a second location on Market Street in August 2008. The Rincon Center location was always the better one. Their original tart was nearly perfect. I gave YoCup Rincon Center five stars in May 2008.

YoCup was a special place with exceptional customer service, interesting toppings (e.g., carrot, dried prunes) and really excellent tart fro-yo. I remember that the fro-yo took a long time to melt. Over the years they added sweet fro-yo flavors and mini cupcakes. I used to meet Diane P. here for fro-yo dates. It was her favorite place.

The ownership changed in October 2012 and the shop wasn’t the same after that. The fro-yo was much worse. The shop signs are gone but the counters are still inside.

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

* YOCUP FROZEN YOGURT: 101 Spear St. Ste. A10, San Francisco, CA 94105

Pinkberry Greek Yogurt National Launch

Fro-yo girl here. Pinkberry is transforming itself from a frozen yogurt chain to a handcrafted yogurt bar chain with the impending nationwide April launch of Pinkberrygreek, a non-frozen Greek yogurt offering along with new toppings. Pinkberrygreek is already available in some locations. It was launched in the Bay Area around March 11. It’s a major addition to their menu, so I had many questions.

• What’s new on the menu? First the entire menu has been updated into four groupings: frozen, parfait, blends (smoothies and shakes) and greek. The greek yogurt comes in five suggested pairings. The same plain, no sugar added Greek yogurt is the base of all the creations. The suggested creations are: Strawberry mango, Chocolate berry, Kiwi strawberry, Tomato basil, and Sunflower cucumber. I think Greek parfaits, Greek smoothie, frozen shakes (strawberry pomegranate and chocolate banana) are also new.
• Are there new toppings for pinkberrygreek? Yes. I spotted grape tomatoes, cucumbers, basil, sunflower seed bites, dark chocolate granola, balsamic vinegar, cinnamon honey, organic vanilla agave nectar, strawberry puree, organic chili powder, extra virgin olive oil and sea salt.
• Can I create my own pinkberrygreek creation? Yes you can. They recommend choosing three fruits, 1 crunchy topping and 1 sauce. You can select any topping they have, not just the new ones that came out with pinkberrygreek.
• How much is pinkberrygreek? Does it come in different sizes? It comes in one size that’s $4.95. You get 5 ounces of Greek yogurt with toppings.
• What does pinkberrygreek taste like plain? Like sour, plain, thick, creamy yogurt. It’s very thick.
• Is pinkberrygreek non-fat? Yes it is.
• Have the store hours changed? No, at least not at the location that I visited. I like having yogurt parfaits in the morning so I thought the hours might have changed. They’re positioning pinkberrygreek as more of an afternoon snack though.
• Will I get a stamp on my Pinkcard for buying pinkberrygreek? Yes

The pinkberrygreek flavor was fine but didn’t stand out compared to other Greek yogurt that I’ve had. It’s a nice, filling snack but I wish I had more toppings and less yogurt. With frozen yogurt, one doesn’t need sauce or even toppings to make it taste better. With Greek yogurt, the toppings and the amount of them are more important. The ratios were off for me. I would have preferred to add my own toppings and sauces (yes, in this case I would prefer self-serve). I also like having layers of crunch vs. just having all the crunchy toppings on top. I don’t need an expert swirler to make it look nice. I like a lot more crunch with my yogurt.  

I forgot to ask how pinkberrygreek parfaits differ from pinkberrygreek creations.

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.

St. Patrick’s Day Fro-yo

Fro-yo girl here. Here’s my St. Patrick’s Day inspired cup of fro-yo: Lucky Mint Creme fro-yo with green M&Ms, green gummy bears, green Fruity Pebbles and birthday cake bites with a green spoon from Yogurtland. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

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

Honey Bunches of Oats Greek Yogurt Crunch is Great with Fro-yo

Fro-yo girl here. I’m loving the combination of the new Honey Bunches of Oats Greek Yogurt Crunch with fro-yo. The whole grain cereal flakes are thin and crunchy. The Greek yogurt coated clusters are creamy and crunchy with a strong yogurt flavor. The cereal is really crunchy and not too sweet, therefore making an excellent fro-yo or yogurt topping.

I found Honey Bunches of Oats Greek Yogurt Crunch at Fresh & Easy for $2.50 for a 15.5 oz box.

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

New Flavor Alert: Cucumber Froyo at Easy Breezy

Fro-yo girl here. Noe Valley’s charming neighborhood fro-yo shop, Easy Breezy, has been quietly creating some of the best fro-yo flavors. This week they introduced organic cucumber fro-yo and it is DELICIOUS. I wasn’t sure what to expect but it exceeded my expectations.

The cucumber flavor is distinctive but not overpowering. It’s lightly sweetened, extra refreshing and super fresh/natural tasting. Plus you can still taste the natural yogurt flavor and enjoy the creamy, light texture. If you like the flavor of cucumber, it’s a must try.

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

* EASY BREEZY FROZEN YOGURT: 4028 24th St., San Francisco, CA

Chobani Bite Review

Fro-yo girl here. Chobani introduced Chobani Bite in January 2013. The flavors (different than typical yogurt flavors) caught my eye and the packaging is adorable. Each Bite is 3.5 ounces, perfect for a light snack. Sold in packs of four at a suggested retail price of $2.99, Chobani Bite is an all natural Greek yogurt product available in four flavors:

* Fig with Orange Zest
* Raspberry with Dark Chocolate Chips
* Caramel with Pineapple
* Coffee with Dark Chocolate Chips

I first tried Coffee with Dark Chocolate Chips. The non-fat yogurt was creamy, thick, and smooth. The coffee yogurt has mild, not overly bitter, distinctive tangy coffee flavor. There weren’t that many chocolate chips. The chips are small, flat rectangular pieces of chocolate. The yogurt is more tangy than sweet. The chocolate pieces have strong, bitter dark chocolate flavor that enhances coffee flavor and add a little crunch but are pretty bitter. I like to add a nutty granola for crunch and sweetness.

The Raspberry with Dark Chocolate Chips flavor has the same tiny, flat dark chocolate bits. The raspberry yogurt is quite tart, which I really like. It tastes more natural.

I hope they'll add more flavors in the future, including Madagascar Vanilla.

I found Chobani Bite at Target for $2.99.

4.5 out of 5 stars.

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

* TARGET: 133 Serramonte Center, Daly City