Salt & Straw Introduces Chocolate Toasted Buttermilk Torte Froyo

 

Fro-yo girl here. Salt & Straw just introduced another frozen yogurt! That’s two consecutive months – something that’s never happened before. The froyo, Chocolate Toasted Buttermilk Torte, is part of The Chocolatiers Series. Salt & Straw describes it as: “For Sebastian Cisneros of Portland’s Cloudforest, chocolate is personal—his single-origin cacao (sourced from his native Ecuador) often marries ingredients sourced from his home in the Pacific Northwest. Inspired by Cloudforest's Nest bar, this scoop blends our one-of-a-kind honey milk chocolate frozen yogurt—sweetened with local Oregon honey—with ribbons of caramelized, toasted-buttermilk fudge. Spiced graham cracker crumbles add a cozy, malty swirl, while hunks of dense, ganache-y chocolate cake make it a decadent celebration that’s definitely worth writing home about.”

Chocolate Toasted Buttermilk Torte: it’s very sweet and intensely chocolatey. There’s a lot going on, including pieces of chocolate cake, spices and spices. It was rich, creamy, and thick. Did it taste like frozen yogurt? No. But it was interesting in a good way. I wish it had some tang.

Also, Salt & Straw’s Black Forest Cake is made with coconut cream frozen yogurt. I wish I could buy a slice rather than the whole cake.

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.

February at Menchie’s: A New Flavor, A Returning Flavor & NFYD

 

Fro-yo girl here. This month, Menchie’s is featuring a new flavor, Classic Blueberry Muffin froyo, and a returning favorite, Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Kisses froyo, made with Hershey’s milk chocolate.

Classic Blueberry Muffin froyo: According to Menchie’s, “muffin compares to our new flavor, Classic Blueberry Muffin! This froyo is made with no artificial flavors, no artificial colors, and no high fructose corn syrup.” It’s made with cake mix but the blueberry flavor is stronger than the cake flavor. The color is a striking blue. My sample was icy and also seemed overly sweet. I could taste a hint of the cake. Recommended toppings: graham crackers, blueberries, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

In case you needed a reminder, February 6 is National Frozen Yogurt Day. Menchie’s will offer a buy one, get one free on froyo on February 6 and double points when you scan your Menchie’s app in-store from February 7 – 13.

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.

Amazon to Close All Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh Locations

Fro-yo girl here. Amazon recently announced plans to shutter all Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go locations. Amazon Go was Amazon’s version of a convenience store. The suburban Amazon Go locations offered self-serve froyo and toppings with flat rate pricing of $4.99. Initially, Pinkberry was served, but later they switched to non-Pinkberry froyo.

The Amazon Go in Whittier, CA, was the first Amazon Go to open in Southern California back in 2022. Later, Amazon opened additional SoCal Amazon Go locations in Woodland Hills and Torrance. The Whittier location was the only one still open in 2026.

I liked Amazon Go because you could get hot, even freshly made food that was affordable and better than 7-Eleven and other convenience stores.

There were 14 Amazon Go locations listed on the Amazon website in late January 2026. I looked into which Amazon Go locations still had froyo in 2026. Five of the 14 offered self-serve froyo.

Locations of Amazon Go with Froyo

• Amazon Go #ILS1, 14249 Whittier Blvd, Whittier, CA 90605 - opened in 2022
• Amazon Go #IBF2, 10819 4th St. NE, Bellevue, WA 98004 - opened in 2024
• Amazon Go #ILS4, 13209 39th Ave SE, Mill Creek, WA 98012 - opened in 2022
• Amazon Go #IWA3, 17710 Canyon Road E, Puyallup, WA 98375 - opened in 2023
• Amazon Go #IWA2, 15518 Meridian Ave, Puyallup, WA 98375 - opened in 2023

Locations of Amazon Go without Froyo

• Amazon Go #ICH2, 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza, Chicago, IL 60654
• Amazon Go #ICH3, 500 West Madison Street, Chicago, IL 60661
• Amazon Go #ICH6, 130 E Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60601
• Amazon Go #INY1, 200 Vesey St, New York, NY 10281
• Amazon Go #INY4, 150 E 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022
• Amazon Go #ISE9, 1122 Madison St, Seattle, WA 98104
• Amazon Go #ISE6, 300 Boren Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109
• Amazon Go #ISE1, 2131 7th Ave, Seattle, WA 98121
• Amazon Go #IBF3, 1906 Terry Ave, Seattle, WA 98101

Amazon Go in Woodland Hills, CA, had froyo, but the one in Torrance did not. 

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.

Froyo Scene in Daly City, CA

 

Fro-yo girl here. After seven years, Daly City has a froyo shop again. San Froyo opened this year at Serramonte Center. Interestingly, while Daly City is the second most populous city in San Mateo County with 102,000 residents, no large froyo chain has ever opened in Daly City.

There are three places you can get froyo in Daly City, but only one froyo shop. I found two closed froyo shops. I remember visiting both. I also found six establishments that are still open and once served froyo, but no longer offer froyo.

Places To Get Froyo

• Nick the Greek, 507 Westlake Center, is part of the Greek fast casual chain that offers Greek froyo. This branch opened in 2021.
• Nick the Greek, 309 Gellert Blvd B, opened at the Gellert Marketplace in 2022.
• San Froyo, 37 Serramonte Center, opened in 2025. The shop is self-serve. This is San Froyo’s third location. It also has shops in San Bruno, CA, and Richmond, TX. It was founded in 2022 in San Bruno.

Closed Businesses That Served Froyo

• Planet Yogurt, 40 Serramonte Center, opened inside Serramonte Center in 2008, in the food court area. It was self-serve, with twelve flavors a day. The shop closed in 2018.
• Yogurt Circle, 500 Westlake Center, opened in 2008 and closed in 2013. The self-serve froyo shop carried eight flavors a day. You could also order crepes, beverages, and Mitchell’s Ice Cream.

Open But No Longer Serves Froyo

• Jamba, 340 Westlake Center, may have opened in 2006. It served Whirl’ns mix-in style froyo from 2011 - 2013.
• Jamba, 127-J Serramonte Center, may have opened in 2007 and probably offered Whirl’ns as well.
• Loop Neighborhood Market, 390 Hickey Blvd, opened in 2013 with self-serve froyo
• Loop Neighborhood Market, 398 Gellert Blvd, opened in 2010 with self-serve froyo
• Loop Neighborhood Market, 950 Hillside Blvd., opened in 2013 with self-serve froyo
• Quickly, 175 Southgate Ave, I had froyo here in 2008. I’m not sure how long they offered froyo. The shop opened in 2006.

Did I miss any places to get froyo in Daly City? Let me know.

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.

Austin Froyo Reviews

 

Fro-yo girl here. Now that I covered the froyo history of Austin in the previous post, I want to share my Austin froyo reviews. I went to three places for froyo. Each was quite different, so it was a good sampling of Austin froyo. TCBY is part the old-school froyo franchise and counter-serve. Yo So Cool was part of the wave of self-serve froyo shops that opened in Austin starting in 2008. And Aba is a chef-driven restaurant that serves Greek froyo for dessert.

TCBY, 303 W Martin Luther King Jr Blvd

This TCBY was across the street from UT Austin. The current owner has owned the shop for 27 years. It’s been open for 37 years. The signs might be from 30 years ago. It has a drive-thru!

This location had eight soft serve froyo flavors a day, hard-scoop froyo, shakes, malts, shivers, sundaes, banana splits, parfaits, and smoothies.

Soft serve prices: Small ($4.49), Medium ($5.49), Lage ($6.49). Toppings are extra. I noticed the fruit was not fresh. It looked defrosted and syrupy. The dry toppings were typical – nuts, chocolate chips, candy, etc. A few toppings bins were empty. There were fewer toppings than usual.

Small Greek honey vanilla: The froyo was too soft and melted quickly. The owner should have known this. The flavor was okay. I could barely taste any honey. It did taste like yogurt and was creamy (but too soft).

3 out of 5 stars.

Yo So Cool, 1201 Barbara Jordan Blvd #1290

I made the long trek out to Mueller to try Yo So Cool, which opened in 2010. The froyo and toppings are self-serve. There are 12 flavors a day and toppings for $0.70/oz. I spotted sample cups at the toppings bar. The sign said take one cup. I didn’t see the price on any signs. They serve YoCream froyo out of Taylor twin twist machines. It’s a typical self-serve froyo shop.

The fruit looked fresh. Toppings included fruit, popping boba, whipped cream, cheesecake, nuts, cookie dough, chocolate chips, candy, mochi, brownies, cookies, cereal, etc. In addition to froyo, YSC has smoothies, root beer floats, and clear parfait cups. I also spotted waffle bowls.

My froyo was too icy and too soft.

3 out of 5 stars.

Aba, 1011 S Congress Ave, Bldg 2, Suite 180

I’ve been eyeing Aba since it first opened in Chicago because it serves froyo. Fortunately, Aba opened in Austin in 2020. It’s a hip Mediterranean restaurant with a full bar, dark dining room, and a multi-level terrace. The menu includes hummus, spreads, cold mezze, hot mezze, raw items, seafood, kebabs, and desserts (yes, frozen Greek yogurt).

Frozen Greek yogurt, lemon meringue topping ($10.95): SO GOOD…not too sweet, very smooth, creamy but not heavy, a bit sour, tasted like yogurt. The texture was something special. Loved the tangy lemon sauce too. This was superior froyo. I’m sure it’s the BEST FROYO IN AUSTIN.

5 out of 5 stars.

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.

Mother Culture Greek Yogurt Review

Fro-yo girl here. One of the joys of traveling is finding local products like Mother Culture. I spotted Mother Culture Greek yogurt at Whole Foods in Austin, Texas. The 8 oz tubs were $6.49 each. Mother Culture is based in San Antonio and available at retailers across Texas and farmers' markets.

The process starts with certified Grade A raw milk sourced from a dairy farm in Moulton, Texas. The cows are grass-fed. The yogurt is made by hand using traditional methods. A slow, low-heat pasteurization technique is used to help the probiotics thrive. Greek yogurt is strained.

Luscious Lemon Greek yogurt: Indulgent, tastes like cream and yogurt. The texture was creamy, thick, and rich. It was lightly sweetened with honey. The texture is a bit thicker than whipped cream. The lemon extract is blended in. It's not that sweet and has some sourness, but it’s more like rich cream that tastes like yogurt. I wish it weren't quite so rich but it's good and pure.

Serving size: ½ a cup, 188 calories, total fat 11g, total carbs 14g, sugar 12g, protein 9g

Ingredients: milk, honey, lemon extract, cultures

Available flavors: Plain, Honey Vanilla, Luscious Lemon, Maple Pecan. I saw Pumpkin Pie on the Mother Culture website but not at Whole Foods

4.5 out of 5 stars.

* WHOLE FOODS: 901 E 5th St, Ste 100, Austin, TX 78702

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.

Yogurtland Turns Twenty

 

Fro-yo girl here. Happy 20th anniversary, Yogurtland! Yogurtland celebrated twenty years on January 20 with a special promotion, 20% off froyo purchases. During my visit, I also spotted 20th anniversary sticker sheets. These are free, but sometimes you have to ask for them. Each sheet has nine stickers. And there was an anniversary exclusive flavor: Super Tart (a flavor that I love). The receipt says 20th anniv. 20% discount.

Here's some Yogurtland trivia. Super Tart was created for Yogurtland's 15th anniversary. 

Chocolate Raspberry Truffle froyo is the current Seasonal Exclusive flavor. I also spotted a new topping, Brownie Brittle.

There was a sign in the window that said 20 years of love, joy & hope. I’ve been a fan of Yogurtland since 2007, when the Cupertino branch opened. It was the first Yogurtland in the Bay Area. Yogurtland has improved a lot since my first visit. In the early years, most Yogurtland locations charged $0.30/oz!

The original Yogurtland opened near Cal State Fullerton. Sadly, that location closed in October 2020. I did get to visit it a few times.

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.