Best New Froyo Flavors of 2020

 

Fro-yo girl here. There were fewer new froyo flavors this year because of COVID-19’s impact on froyo shops. Most of the ones I’ve been to stopped offering samples and are full service (even though most are self-serve froyo shops). But there were new froyo flavors introduced this year, so it’s time for me to pick my favorite new flavors for 2020.

Best Tart: Acai Berry by Pinkberry

There were very few new tart froyo flavors this year. Pinkberry was an exception – they’re still good about introducing tart flavors. Acai Berry tasted like blueberry tart (I love blueberry tart) with a hint of acai.

Best Sweet: Carrot Cake OREO from Menchie’s

What is it about carrot cake and froyo? Carrot cake froyo is usually tasty and I don’t even like carrot cake. The dairy mutes the sweetness of the cake flavor. I like the warm spices Menchie’s used.

Best Vegan: Key Lime by Yoga-urt

Yoga-urt continues to be the best vegan froyo you can find and they also continue to introduce fabulous new flavors. Key Lime vegan froyo married an intriguing nuttiness from the house almond/cashew milk base with the tang of key lime. It's also organic, kosher, soy free, and gluten free.

For the list of new froyo flavor introductions, see

https://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/news/new-froyo-flavors-flavor-trends-in-2020

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

* YOGA-URT, 1407 ½ W Kenneth Rd., Glendale, CA 91201 and 2211 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026

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.

New Yoga-urt Flavor: Coconut Macaroon (Vegan)

Fro-yo girl here. Yoga-urt just introduced a new flavor, inspired by Hanukkah, Coconut Macaroon. It’s made with Yoga-urt’s made in-house almond cashew base. I don’t love coconut but I did once make coconut macaroons. I used less sugar and they were really good. The new Coconut Macaroon flavor reminds me of those homemade coconut macaroons. It’s sweet but not cloying. I could see the shredded coconut. I think the nutty base complements and mellows out the coconut. 

Recommended toppings: Housemade chocolate shell, almonds, and housemade waffle chips.

The new flavor is vegan/plant-based, organic, probiotic, hand-crafted, kosher, soy-free and gluten-free, like all their other flavors.

Coconut macaroon froyo is available for a limited time only. Check Yoga-urt’s Instagram page for the current flavors. Also, check the freezer for pints.

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.

Japanese Hot Yogurt & Drinkable Soft Serve

Fro-yo girl here. Woodberrys, the beloved Tokyo froyo shop that specializes in seasonal fruits and made to order froyo, recently started offering hot yogurt. I saw the announcement and immediately wondered, what is hot yogurt? I had to find out.

Hot yogurt was born on September 30, 2013, the launch date of Yakult’s bottled hot yogurt drink called Hot Miruju. Hot Mijuru contains calcium and probiotics (live bacteria). Interestingly, I can’t find recent information about it, so either it was discontinued or the name was changed. There’s very little information online about hot yogurt. Hot yogurt seems to be popular only in Japan and it’s popular for health reasons.

I found a simple recipe for hot yogurt on Slism. According to Slism, “Where hot yogurt differs from cold yogurt is the wonder it does for your digestive system. Cold yogurt cools down your body affecting the inner working of your digestive system such that your body has a hard time absorbing essential nutrients such as calcium. On the other hand, hot yogurt has the effect of increase nutrient absorption of calcium in your body that in effect impedes parathormone hormones from being release by your body making you gain pounds weight in fat.”

Japanese convenience store, MINI STOP, just introduced two new hot chocolate drinks made with soft serve ice cream base, Belgian Chocolate and Hot Milk Soft Cream. They sound delicious and they’re available 24 hours a day.

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 in Santa Monica, CA, Past Froyo History and Current Froyo Scene

Fro-yo girl here. For a city of slightly over 90,000 residents, Santa Monica has a lot of froyo. It was true during the height of the froyo craze and it’s still true today. The residents of Santa Monica must love froyo. There’s even a Green Business Certified TCBY/Starbucks at Santa Monica College (1900 Pico Blvd). The campus is currently closed due to COVID-19, so TCBY/Starbucks is temporarily closed. 

There were a few old school froyo shops in Santa Monica that were present before the second wave of froyo popularity. Sparky’s Yogurt (3110 Main St.) was open for 30 – 40 years. The owner retired in 2016. TCBY (715 Montana Ave.) was around for decades (not sure when it opened) before closing in 2011.

These froyo shops have also closed in Santa Monica:

• Cherry on Top (2009-2012) was inside a Shell gas station convenience store (1866 Lincoln) near Santa Monica High School. I went once in 2010. I didn’t like it. It was self-serve.
• Frogo (2008-2010) was described as a Pinkberry clone with counter service (1300 Wilshire).
• Fruitti Yogo (2007-2012) was a Pinkberry clone that opened in Santa Monica (2829 Ocean Park Blvd) before Pinkberry. They also served gelato and boba drinks.
• Pinkberry (2008-2019): The perfect location for strolling, shopping and stopping for froyo, Pinkberry (1456 Third Street Promenade) was once right outside Santa Monica Place, the main shopping mall in Santa Monica. I managed to go there a few times.
• The Spot Frozen Yogurt (2010) opened up across from Santa Monica College (1701 Pico Blvd). It was self-serve and just 33 cents an ounce when it first opened. It lasted less than a year.
• Tutti Frutti (2010-2016) was upstairs at Santa Monica Place (395 Santa Monica Place). I remember when it first opened, I was a little surprised that they bothered to open when better froyo places were so close.
• Yogurtland Lincoln & Pico (2016-2020) was the second Yogurtland to open in Santa Monica. This location (1902 Lincoln Blvd) was part of a newish looking strip mall. I went once and wasn’t impressed (the yogurt was too soft and it wasn’t as clean as other YL locations).

Froyo businesses still operating are:

• Go Greek Yogurteria (2017-present), the premium Greek froyo and Greek fresh yogurt self-serve shop, opened beachside in Santa Monica (1431 Ocean Ave) in February 2017. I liked that they offered some Greek toppings as well. The froyo is richer and more indulgent.
• Menchie’s (2010-present) on Montana has been the scene of countless celebrity froyo sightings (732 Montana Ave.) since opening across the street from TCBY. This was the first Menchie’s in Santa Monica.
• Menchie’s (2011-present) is close to the Santa Monica Airport (2901 Ocean Park) in another busy part of town. Montana is the posh part of town.
• Pinkberry (2007-present) is tiny but well-situated for the Montana Ave. shoppers (1612 Montana Ave). It’s appropriately chic and design oriented. It was also the closest Pinkberry to the former Pinkberry headquarters (3130 Wilshire Blvd).
• Sunny Blue (2010-present) is one of my favorites. The tiny, adorable eatery combines fresh omusubi/onigiri (Japanese rice balls) with froyo (2728 Main St.). Stroll down to the beach with your omusubi and froyo. This is their first location. They opened another one in Culver City. Sunny Blue claims to be the first omusubi store in California (sounds right to me).
• Treats (2012-present) was opened by a local Santa Monica family with a commitment to quality (1700 Ocean Park Blvd). I haven’t been in years but I was impressed with how cute the shop was and how the employee carefully assembled my pretty cup of froyo.
• Yogurtland (2013-present) Santa Monica Promenade is just off Third Street Promenade (304 Santa Monica Blvd, Suite B). It’s a smaller location but still self-serve.

Temporarily closed:

• Forty Carrots (2010-present) is located inside Bloomingdale’s (315 Colorado Ave.). While Google lists the location as permanently closed, Bloomingdale’s says its temporarily closed due to COVID-19.
• Planet Smoothie/Tasti D-lite (2015-present) which opened in 2015 (526 Wilshire Blvd) is listed as temporarily closed due to COVID-19 with an expected reopening date of January 2021. While they mostly offer soft serve ice cream, they did have froyo at times. I noticed their assets are listed for sale, so I doubt they’ll reopen unless a new owner takes over.
• TCBY/Starbucks at Santa Monica College

Froyo?

Poki Yo (2200 Colorado Blvd., Ste B) used to provide a free small froyo with purchase of a poke bowl in 2017 but the soft serve machine broke and they never fixed it.

That’s a lot of froyo activity for a city with 90,000 residents.

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.

Menchie’s New December Flavor, Double Chocolate Froyo Made with Ghirardelli

Fro-yo girl here. Menchie’s just introduced a new flavor for December, Double Chocolate Froyo made with Ghirardelli chocolate. The lowfat flavor is gluten free and contains no high fructose corn syrup. It’s made with no artificial colors and no artificial flavors. Menchie’s describes the flavor as a “decadent, rich and velvety dark chocolate frozen yogurt flavor.”

I found Double Chocolate Froyo at Menchie’s in Sherman Oaks, CA (thanks Menchie’s SO for posting your current flavors on the Menchie’s app). While the flavor sounds super chocolatey, it was also very smooth and milky. And it was thick and creamy. Recommended toppings: Oreos for crunch, Kit Kat, and almonds.

Menchie’s holiday gift card offer is back as well. Buy a $25 gift card and get a $5 bonus card for free.

FYI, Menchie’s Sherman Oaks offers full service with three cup sizes. A small with 2 toppings and 1 sauce is $4.99. Customer service was excellent!

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.

Casa Coco Ice Cream/Froyo, Home-Based Frozen Desserts Business in Los Angeles

Fro-yo girl here. I found out about Casa Coco Ice Cream through LA Taco’s September 2020 article on the ice cream maker, Mercedes S. “She is a transgender Chicana chef who makes high-quality seasonal sorbets and ice cream to sell out of her home in the perpetual summer that is Los Angeles.” Past flavors (e.g., quince, vanilla + yuzu sorbet, feijoa with pink pepper, fennel flower w/ strawberry, cardamom + tiger fig blondie) sounded interesting. Honestly, all the flavors sounded good but I had to try the froyo (not offered too often).

Placing the order was easy. New flavors are announced every week. Send a direct message to reserve your pints, pay and then pick up a few days later on Friday or Sunday.

Pomegranate froyo: The pint was labeled with the flavor but the ingredients were not listed. Since it’s a home kitchen, that doesn’t bother me. Pomegranate froyo was described as “Scott Farms wonderful pomegranates (behemoths of their season) juiced and syruped, blended one-to-one with ever-mighty Karoun labne, churned to tangy-sweet lightness. Little bit of cherry laffy taffy going on? Chewy? Chewy.” Juicing pomegranates is hard work. I like pomegranates and Karoun labne, so I was very excited to try it. The froyo is high quality and full of flavor – no doubt about that. The vibrant color was beautiful as well. Even after several days in my freezer, the froyo wasn’t rock hard. It stayed soft and had a stickier consistency. The flavor was tangy and fruity. I could definitely taste the labne. I did find it a little sweeter than I personally prefer but getting the sweetness right is hard because people like different levels of sweetness. I like froyo that’s very tangy. Quality froyo – it did remind me of Laffy Taffy but with yogurt flavor.

One pint is $10, 2 for $18, 3 for $26, max 3 pints per order.

If you’d like to try Casa Coco, you can order via Venmo/Cash app and find the flavors of the week on Instagram @pulquemami. The pickup location is in Arlington Heights (Central Los Angeles). 

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.

Marin County Froyo Guide & Froyo History

Berry Bliss, Larkspur

Fro-yo girl here. Years ago when I went to Marin County regularly, San Rafael was a mini froyo hot spot and there were a few other places to get froyo, like Woody’s Yogurt Place in Mill Valley and Berry Bliss in Larkspur. Woody’s Yogurt Place closed earlier this year due to the rising cost of rent at Strawberry Village. The same family owned Woody’s since 1998 and they were always giving back to the community. Sad. But on a happier note, Easy Breezy Frozen Yogurt opened in Corte Madera this past January, their first location in Marin County.

Berry Bliss (2247 Larkspur Landing Cir, Larkspur, CA 94939), a small, counter serve shop, was notable for being the first tart froyo shop in the area; it opened in 2008 and closed in 2013. Back in 2008, I visited Berry Bliss and wrote the following in a Yelp review, "Fro-yo girl here. Berry Bliss is the first tart fro-yo shop in Marin County (it opened on April 1st). It makes a good effort though I think the flavors could still use some work. They're too sweet but then again, some people prefer sweeter tart fro-yo. They have four flavors a day (some flavors rotate) with fresh fruit toppings, granola, chips, cereal and nut toppings to choose from; eight dry toppings, I think and about 8 fresh fruit toppings. They DO NOT HAVE MOCHI BALLS (I wish I had brought my own).” I was obsessed with mochi back then. Wow, that was twelve years ago and the start of the new wave of froyo shops in Marin County.

Here are the other Marin County froyo shops that are no longer open for business.

• Berry Bliss, San Rafael, 2009 - 2012: Small counter serve shop, same ownership as the one in Larkspur.
• Berry Delicious, Novato, 2014-2017: Located in downtown Novato, Berry Delicious was a self-serve froyo shop.
• Berry Twist, San Rafael, 2010-2020: Berry Twist was a self-serve froyo shop located inside Northgate Mall. It’s no longer listed in the Northgate Mall directory. Google lists it as temporarily closed though.
• Cocoyo, San Rafael, 2011-2014. Cocoyo didn’t change the décor of Tuttimelon but they did change signs. Like Tuttimelon, they offered counter serve froyo and gelato. Later, they added bubble tea.
• TCBY, San Anselmo, the last review was in 2012. I have no idea when it opened but one reviewer wrote that “this TCBY has been here forever” back in 2008. Woody’s was probably around longer but who knows.
• Tuttimelon, San Rafael, 2009-2011. This counter serve shop had froyo and gelato. After closing, the space was taken over by Cocoyo.
• U Top It, San Anselmo: The self-serve froyo shop opened in 2010, changed ownership in 2014 and closed in 2019.
• Yogen Fruz, Novato, 2009-2013: This was a counter serve froyo place with mix in and soft serve style froyo.
• Yolo Yogurt Lounge, Mill Valley, 2010-2105: This was a small, cute self-serve shop which had some made in house toppings and froyo flavors.

And here’s a list of Marin County froyo shops open in 2020:

• Easy Breezy, Corte Madre, established in 2020, lots of organic and vegan froyo options, plus frozen custard. Premium self-serve!
• Loving Cup Greenbrae, established in 2016. Loving Cup was established in San Francisco in 2008. “Loving Cup is the new, old fashioned creamery. Starting with cultured non-fat milk, we make our own yogurt, freeze it, then hand blend each and every cup with your choice of ingredients. The result is super creamy, velvety soft-serve with a rich taste and none of the fat. We offer thousands of flavor possibilities every day made from ingredients like fresh ground peanut butter, chocolate chunks, fruits and berries, house-made salted caramel, and locally roasted espresso beans. We have been hand crafting goodness since 2008 and are proud to be San Francisco's favorite frozen yogurt experience.”
• Mag’s Local Yogurt, Larkspur, established in 2011, “Elliott Magnuson, owner of Mag's Local Yogurt and a longtime Larkspur resident, wanted to create a self-serve frozen yogurt eatery which combined the love for frozen yogurt with that of a fun, inviting meeting place for friends & families to enjoy.”
• Mill Valley Swirl, established in 2010. “Mill Valley Swirl is the brain child of Jeff Shine, a full time stay at home dad, and his wife, Kristine Shine, a working mother. Knowing first hand that today's family dynamic is different from years ago they aspired to create an environment that caters to all ages and tastes, bringing a modern twist to the Main Street Ice Cream Shoppe. Unlike the traditional ice-cream or gelato shops, Mill Valley Swirl recognizes individual taste and a desire for a healthier lifestyle. The basis behind Mill Valley Swirl is frozen yogurt options for everyone, healthy or fun, with the customer being in full control of quantity and selection. In the summer of 2016, owner, Jeff Shine, went to ice cream making school to learn how to make his own homemade ice cream. In 2017 Jeff launched his own ice cream brand, Sweet Annie's, named after his daughter and founded on the idea of everyday deserving a celebration.”
• Swirl, San Anselmo, established in 2009. “Business was run by an absentee owner until March 2017 when a local San Anselmo family purchased Swirl, upgraded all the equipment and yogurt (now gluten free & most are kosher) and added more and better toppings (organic fruits from farmers market, cheesecake bites, snickers, etc.).”
• Tuttimelon Novato, established in 2010. Tuttimelon is still going strong in Novato. “Tuttimelon specializes in premium self created fat free frozen yogurt along with an extensive toppings bar. Featuring "Tutti-WOW" with only 64 calories /cup, all natural, lactose free and very low carbs! Come taste a truly guiltless pleasure. We also serve 26 wonderful flavors of hand crafted, artisan Gelatos. While you're there, try the 100% fruit and vegetable granitas (smoothies) from Italy and the fresh baked gourmet stuffed soft pretzels and Belgium Waffles. The Novato location specializes in creating their own unique flavor offerings in Yogurt and Gelato, featuring the best / healthiest ingredients available.”

Loop Neighborhood Market, 2 locations in Novato and 1 location in San Rafael offer self-serve froyo in an upscale convenience store format.

YOLO in San Anselmo hasn’t posted an update on Facebook since March. It’s temporarily closed according to Google and Yelp. Hmm. It’s probably closed for good since it’s already October and they missed the summer froyo season. But it does say on Yelp that it's scheduled to reopen on April 14, 2021.

I still need to go to the Loving Cup location in Greenbrae, but I’ve been to all the other Marin County froyo shops that are still open (and quite a few that have closed).

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.