Fro-yo girl here. Goodbye 2013...it’s that time to look back at the year that was in the Bay Area.
Bay Area closings: Yogorino (both locations in SF), YoCup (both SF locations), Yogurt Circle, Yoppi Yogurt Palo Alto, Yogen Fruz Novato, U Love Yogurt, Tuttimelon Burlingame, Tutti Frutti Berkeley, Tutti Frutti Oakland Chinatown, Sweet Sundays, Harmony Frozen Yogurt, Blush SF
Yogorino is no longer available in the Bay Area...or on the West Coast. Very sad. Harmony Frozen Yogurt was one of the first tart froyo shops in the Bay Area. YoCup was also an early Bay Area tart froyo shop but the quality was significantly worse after it was sold to new owners. Fortunately, Blush still has other locations.
Tutti Frutti Berkeley and Yoppi Yogurt Palo Alto's locations weren't open long. Tutti Frutti was replaced by Honeyberry which has the worst froyo.
Bay Area openings: Yogurtland Fremont, Yogurtland Pinole, Yumi Yogurt Hillsdale Mall, Tutti Frutti Montclair Village, Swifty Sweets, Red Mango Palo Alto, Pizza Bello, Pinkberry Walnut Creek, Menchie’s Berkeley, Menchie’s Fremont, Mega Walgreens SF, La Luna Cupcakes, Coffee Cultures, Almaden Yogurt Factory
Scoop Microcreamery in Palo Alto opened this year and offered froyo made with liquid nitrogen for about a month but they stopped offering froyo. Back in October, Tuttimelon Burlingame changed from selling froyo to selling liquid nitrogen ice cream as Cryo Cream (the ownership is the same...Tuttimelon has been selling liquid nitrogen ice cream in Hong Kong for months), Honeyberry keeps opening new locations - some have froyo and some don’t. Swifty Sweets launched in April and is the Bay Area’s only froyo truck.
I had some memorable cups of froyo outside the Bay Area in 2013. If you're in NYC, be sure to check out Culture: An American Yogurt Company which has locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn. They make their fresh and frozen yogurt in house. Go Greek Yogurt in Beverly Hills flies in super thick authentic Greek yogurt from Greece. They offer fresh and frozen yogurt. I had my first froyo taco at A Tea Yogurt in downtown Alhambra, CA.
Check out IFYA's post on key events in the froyo industry in 2013.
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 girl here. I’ve examined all the pictures of fro-yo that I took this year and picked out my best looking froyo swirls. I had a good year of swirling. Years of practice have done wonders for my swirling skills.
My best swirl of 2013 was actually my first swirl of 2013. It’s a cup of plain tart froyo with neatly arranged toppings (chopped almonds, strawberries, granola, watermelon, blueberries) and two spoons. I swirled it at Yogurtland Alhambra. I remember the frozen yogurt texture was exceptional that night: firm, creamy, thick and smooth.
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
* YOGURTLAND: 1 E Valley Blvd, Alhambra, CA 91801
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 girl here. Last year’s froyo flavor of the year was Nutella/Chocolate Hazelnut. It seemed like Nutella was showing up everywhere - in and outside of froyo shops.
This year many new froyo flavors were introduced. Greek froyo flavors continued to be popular, riding the wave of Greek yogurt popularity. Cookie and dessert flavors were popular as well. Froyo flavors are becoming more complex, for example, Menchie’s maple nut fudge and strawberry shortcake delight, Yogurtland’s black sesame vanilla and Honey Hill Farms Moon Pie.
The froyo flavor of 2013 is...any flavor with cream cheese (e.g., Carrot cake, Menchie’s Cinnayumm bun, Cinnamon roll, Honey Hill Farms key lime bar). Who can forget Bugs Bunny's carrot cake froyo flavor at Yogurtland?
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 girl here. It’s Christmas Eve and I hope you’re going to have a nice big cup of gingerbread, egg nog, cocoa minty holiday cookie or peppermint froyo today. Use your Menchie’s holiday spoon and top it with peppermint bark, red & green M&Ms, candy canes, gingerbread cookies, Christmas sprinkles, pfeffernusse, chocolate nonpareils, white chocolate, cranberries, toasted pecans, etc.
Here’s a festive picture I took at one of my favorite places: Blush Burlingame. I also made an ornament out of a froyo cup while I was there (they had an ornament making station) enjoying the gingerbread froyo and added it to their Christmas tree.
Hope you wake up and find fro-yo gift cards in your stocking. Happy holidays to all fro-yo fans!
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 girl here. I’ve sampled many new froyo flavors this year. Some of the new froyo flavors I really enjoyed include Yogurtland’s Lemon Cream Cookie and Tiramisu, Cherry Pinkberry, Key Lime Pinkberry, and Easy Breezy’s Mint Mojito with fresh mint leaves.
Now that the year is coming to the end, it’s time to declare my favorite new froyo flavor of the year…it’s Cucumber froyo from Easy Breezy in San Francisco, CA. Cucumber froyo is made with fresh cucumbers and it works well because of the natural properties of cucumber: sweet, crisp, refreshing and light. The cucumber flavor is distinct and doesn’t overwhelm the natural yogurt flavor. Even better, the froyo is organic. Cucumber froyo might not be for everyone but I love the flavor of cucumber. Easy Breezy also makes some amazing froyo flavors with fresh mint - e.g., Mint Mojito.
Check Easy Breezy’s Facebook page for the current flavor line up.
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
* EASY BREEZY FROZEN YOGURT: 4028 24th St., San Francisco, CA
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 girl here. One of my hobbies is to make a new batch of Christmas ornaments every December. I’ve made simple ornaments out of felt, clear glass globes, pipe cleaners, yarn, dough, clay and more. There’s something gratifying about decorating your Christmas tree with unique handmade ornaments that are inexpensive, easy and fun to make.
This year I picked up some clear glass ornaments at Michael’s (they come in packs of 6 for $5 per pack), paint pens ($2 and up) and satin paint (you can find some for under $2 a bottle, read the label and make sure that it works on glass). There's glittery paint available too. I used craft smart paint pens and Americana multi-surface Satin paint in Turquoise Waters from DecoArt.
It's much cheaper than etched glass ornaments because a bottle of Martha Stewart glass etching cream is $24.99.
Take the stem out of the ornament and paint it with a brush. Let the paint dry before adding another coat. After it’s dry, you can easily draw designs or use stencils. If you like clear globes, draw directly on the glass.
Stencils are easy to make. Find an image of frozen yogurt that you like on the web and print it out (adjust the size via your printer settings if desired). Tape it to a thin, clear, plastic sheet. Use an exacto knife to cut out the shape and presto, you have a froyo stencil that you can use for Christmas cards, ornaments, stationery, etc.
If you’re not the crafty type and you love frozen yogurt, you can always buy frozen yogurt ornaments from CafePress or Amazon but that’s just not as fun.
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 girl here. This week’s batch of new seasonal flavors, White chocolate peppermint & Raspberry pomegranate tart, have arrived. Walking in a Winter Yogurtland which gave us 2 new seasonal froyo flavors a week for six weeks, is drawing to a close - this week's flavors are the last of the promotion. I always feel sad when a Yogurtland promotion ends...they have such exciting promotions and so many new froyo flavors. The new flavors are in stores for a week or while supplies last.
* White chocolate peppermint: “Real gourmet white chocolate and refreshing peppermint. This flavor is a winter wonderland right in your mouth.” The flavor was milder (not as minty) as I expected but I liked it because you could taste the white chocolate better. The mild minty flavor hits you first and then the warm, sweet white chocolate. It was extra creamy, thick and rich.
* Raspberry pomegranate tart: “Celebrate the season with all the healthy goodness of real raspberries. Our fresh fruit and real pomegranate juice is delightfully tart, yet balanced with natural sweetness.” I thought I liked their raspberry tart a lot but raspberry pomegranate is even better: more flavorful and tangier. So good!
I wanted a cup of both flavors but the white chocolate peppermint froyo was calling for the new topping, peppermint bark. It came in big pieces! Yum.
Remember you can earn double points Monday - Wednesday with the Real Rewards program.
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.
