Coolhaus - Queens' Coffee

Queen's Coffee - Coffee Ice Cream 

Well, here is an unexpected surprise!  A new flavor from Coolhaus which I stumbled upon at the Whole Foods on Lake & Excelsior in Minneapolis.  It is called Queens' Coffee and I had no idea it was coming.  Also, Whole Foods usually only carries Coolhaus sandwiches and not the pints.  It was only after I got the pint home and in my freezer that I started seeing tweets about the flavor.  I have checked their website again and a link has shown up.  It appears to be a simple coffee ice cream implementation.  The coffee comes from Allegro Coffee headquartered in the Denver area.  Specifically, it includes a coffee which Allegro calls their Three Queens Blend -- coffee from three farms  -- one in Rwanda, one in Malawi and one in the Democratic Republic of the Congo -- which promote gender equity.  Coolhaus itself is a women-founded and women-owned company, so this partnership makes sense.  Also, there was not previous a coffee flavor in Coolhaus' pint selection, so this pint fills a void in that respect as well.

On to the ice cream!  Removing the lid, it looks like Coolhaus has switched from foil to plastic for their extra seal.  Compare the image below from today's pint with that from a previous review with the same message.  I understand the move away from foil, but I'm not sure about the color scheme.  It's just a cosmetic thing.  Peeling back the seal, the coffee base has the expected light brown color.  Digging in, the coffee flavor is quite good.  It has a lot of coffee flavor, but it is not too intense and not at all bitter.  The ice cream has the thick texture that I've come to expect from Coolhaus.  They originally designed their product for use in ice cream sandwiches so it appears to fold onto your spoon as you scoop it.  I shared some of this flavor with my coffee-loving friend and they approved.  It is a homogeneous pint with no mix-ins.

This is a solid implementation of a coffee ice cream from Coolhaus.  Nothing too fancy.  There are no mix-ins or swirls and it does not have a super-intense flavor to appease caffeine junkies.  I have trouble ranking coffee bases against each other, but this is certainly a good coffee ice cream.  I look forward to seeing if they work this flavor into future ice cream sandwich releases.  It would go really well with a chocolate cookie.

Milkjam Creamery - Desert Rose

Desert Rose - Almond Ice Cream Layered with Toasted Almond Pieces and a Persian Rose Cream  

Today we return to the Milkjam Creamery of South Minneapolis for a flavor called Desert Rose.  It looks like this was part of their "Silk Road" series from January, but I bought it more recently than that.  Sometimes they have pints from the previous month in the freezer case of the shop.  Milkjam is always notably terse with the flavor descriptions on their website flavor page, but I have found that their instagram account often includes more details.  The instagram post for this flavor is here and mentions that this is based on a Persian-style ice cream popular in Iran called "bastani".  It has an almond flavored base with almonds and rose water flavored cream.  I believe this is a dairy flavor -- the instagram page does not specifically mention that it is not.   Let's check it out!

Popping off the lid, the ice cream has a yellow color and there's a dark pink swirl.  It looks beautiful.  Digging in, the base ice cream is soft and smooth (I am pretty sure it does contain dairy).  There is an almond-like flavor to it, but it is not the strong marzepan-like flavor.  The swirl does have a mild rosewater flavor to it.  I have had rosewater in ice cream several times before -- the strongest one being a McConnell's pint.  It is a decent flavor -- not as strong as it's color would imply.  I did not see the almond pieces that were in the instagram post linked above, but the pink sections of this pint did get quite clumpy as I ate my way down.  One of the clumps was so large and thick that it took quite a bit of effort to cut with my spoon so that I could eat it.

This is an interesting and exotic flavor from Milkjam.  The almond and rose flavors were good and not too strong.  The clumpiness was a bit strange and a mild issue, but not a deal breaker.  This was a fun experimental flavor for me -- I got to learn what 'bastani' was.  It tasted alright, but I did not love it.  Perhaps this is a flavor which is best enjoyed in the scoop shop where you get a scoop at a time and the texture can be better controlled.  If this comes back, sample it before you order.

Jeni's - Skillet Cinnamon Roll

Skillet Cinnamon Roll - Dark Caramel, Cream Cheese, Pastry and Cinnamon (lots of it)

So, the third flavor in my recent shipment from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams is called Skillet Cinnamon Roll.  It is a new flavor this year from Jeni's.  It's rather convenient that they had two new flavors (this one and Pineapple Upside Down Cake) which I could pad my special order to get the super-limited Claire's Cabinet release.  This flavor is not available locally in Minnesota (to my knowledge).  Skillet Cinnamon Roll a flavor based on homemade cinnamon rolls which you can bake in a cast-iron skillet for which there are lots of recipes.  It's a pastry with lots of cinnamon, cream cheese frosting and a dark caramel.  This looks like a winning flavor combination.  The previous pints that this remind me of are the Cinnamon Buns flavor from Ben & Jerry's and the retired Cheese Crown flavor from Graeter's.  Also, there have been a handful of churros-based flavors.  The fried churro is quite different than the baked roll but when swirled into an ice cream you get a very similar flavor mix.

OK, on to the ice cream.  Removing the lid, I see a cool Lord of the Rings inspired message on the extra plastic seal ("One ice cream to rule them all").  I approve of these extra seals.  Peeling back this seal, I see the top of the pint.  There are a couple of small air voids (not too big, thankfully), the base ice cream is a bright white and some of the dark caramel swirls can be seen.  Digging in, the base ice cream has a very bright flavor -- sweet, but not too sweet.  I quickly encounter the caramel swirls.  This swirl is very thick and dark.  It has a rich brown sugar flavor with lots of cinnamon.  The front of the container boasts that there is "lots" of cinnamon and they are correct.  Dispersed throughout the base are more mix-ins.  There are quite a few pieces of cream cheese icing.  They are about the size of the pieces that flake off of a cinnamon roll and onto your plate while you are eating it.  Then every once in a while I encounter a small piece of pastry which adds a little chewiness into the mix.  It all goes very well together.  The dark caramel cinnamon swirl in particular is amazing.

I really enjoyed this excellent new flavor from Jeni's.  They seem to be on a roll of late (pun not originally intended, but I'll let it stand).  Great flavor combinations that are mixed very well -- blended enough so that you get most flavors in each spoonful, but not overly blended so that you can't pick out each flavor.  This is my new flavor cinnamon pastry flavor.  Check it out.

Pumphouse - Black Garlic

Black Garlic - Black Garlic-flavored Ice Cream

The Pumphouse Creamery in South Minneapolis is getting very creative this winter.  Yes, you are reading the blogpost title correctly:  Black Garlic ice cream.  Since I eat so many different kinds of ice creams, I do feel like I have to sample the weird and unusual ones.  This is indeed my first garlic ice cream.  Garlic is an Old World plant which is related to the onion, shallot and leek and is known for its pungent flavor.  Black Garlic is garlic which has been heated and aged so that undergoes the Maillard reaction giving it a more a more complex, but muted flavor.  If you have Facebook, the Pumphouse account does have a photo with the ice cream, some of the black garlic bulbs and a short blurb about the flavor.  (I hope I linked that correctly).

On to the ice cream!  Removing the lid, the base ice cream has light beige color -- perhaps a bit more taupe than the usual caramel color.  I can see a few black dots in the mix as well which may be ground up pieces of the black garlic.  I brace myself as I dig my spoon in, but upon tasting it's fairly mild.  I can tell that it is not vanilla, but it does not have a super strong flavor.  Only after swallowing do a notice the garlic flavoring.  Although I can see the black specks, they do not provide any textural or specific flavoring in themselves.  They remind me of the bean specks in a vanilla bean flavor.  Being in the mix provides flavor to the base but otherwise they just blend in.  Since the garlic flavor is not very intense, I have no problems eating the whole pint in one sitting.  Using black garlic instead of white garlic I think is the key here.  About a half hour after finishing, I did have a lingering taste in my mouth and

This is a very interesting and unique pint of ice cream.  I never would have guessed that garlic could be put into an ice cream.  On one hand, it is so carefully and tastefully done so as to make the ice cream palatable.  On the other hand, muting the flavor this much begs the question as to whether it brings me joy when I eat it.  So, yes I ate it, it was not that bad and I get to add a 'garlic' tag to the block of label tags on the right, but when would I eat this again.  Would a savory ice cream go with a savory pie (Shepherd's Pie?).  I don't know.  I do applaud the experimentation though.

Jeni's - Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Pineapple Upside Down Cake - Sweet-tart Pineapple with Golden Cake, Red Cherries, and a Caramel Swirl

Recently, I ordered a shipment from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams because of their extremely limited batch flavor inspired by the Outlander television series called Claire's Cabinet.  One of the bonuses of making such an impulsive purchase is that I get to fill out the order with more pints from Jeni's!  Today's flavor is one of those pints.  It is new flavor this year called Pineapple Upside Down Cake and has an interesting combination of pineapple, cherry, cake and caramel.  A reminder to local readers that I bought this online and I do not believe that any local grocery stores are stocking this flavor.

An upside down cake is a fun cake where the toppings of the cake are added to the bottom of the cake pan before the batter and the whole thing is cooked together.  Then when the pan is flipped over to remove the cake, the cooked toppings are back on top.  Pineapple is the most popular topping for these types of cakes because rings of pineapple that you can buy in a can hold their shape when cooked.  There are lots of recipes online.  Jeni herself even has an instructional video from several years ago showing how to adapt a "Lady Cake" recipe from her own cookbook into a pineapple upside down cake.  And now we have an ice cream from her to try.  Yum!

(Edit: this month Jeni's has added a pineapple upside down cake recipe to their website blog)

Popping off the lid, I see an extra wrapper on top.  I think this is the new normal from Jeni's now.  I like it.  Peeling back the wrapper, I see a cream-colored base with a large dark caramel swirl meandering across the top of it.  Digging in, I taste the pineapple right away.  The pineapple flavor is good -- not too sweet and not too tart.  Checking the ingredient list, the base is a mixture of buttermilk frozen yogurt and ice cream.  I've never seen that before, but the results are good.  There are a few small pineapple pieces in the mix as well.  That's not all, though.  Occasionally, I find a small cherry piece.  The cherry flavor does not dominate any individual spoonful, but I can tell it is in there.  I find a cake piece from time to time.  The effect of the cake is only textural -- soft and chewy -- but it is still good.  Then, there is the dark caramel swirl which is simply delicious.  It has a bit more of a brown sugar flavor than the usual caramel.

This is an excellent new flavor from Jeni's.  Flavors with so many ingredients have the risk of being either overmixed where you can't perceive the individual flavors or they are undermixed where the flavors you feel like there are multiple scoops in the same carton.  This somehow has mastered the 'half-blend' where every spoonful contains all the flavors but you can still taste them all indivudually.  I really enjoyed this and it should be a hit with pineapple lovers.

Ben & Jerry's - Netflix & Chilll'd

Netflix & Chilll'd - Peanut Butter Ice Cream with Sweet & Salty Pretzel Swirls & Fudge Brownies

Ben & Jerry's has a new flavor for 2020!  It is called Netflix & Chilll'd and is based on the common slang term for watching the streaming video service.  It looks like an extra 'l' has been added... probably so that they could trademark the flavor name.  It looks like an interesting flavor.  It has a peanut butter base with both brownie and pretzel mix-ins.  Ben & Jerry's has a popular pretzel flavor in Chubby Hubby and their Chocolate Fudge Brownie flavor was one of the first ice creams to use brownie mix-ins back in the 80's.  It'll be fun to see how a flavor tastes which includes both!  I picked this flavor up at the Ben & Jerry's scoop shop in Minneapolis, but I imagine a wider distribution will be coming soon.

On to the pint!  The packaging is nice.  I like the Netflix logo on the lid and the three cows watching together on the couch.  Removing the lid, I see the beige color of the peanut butter base with a hint of one of the brownies on top.  Digging in, the peanut is pretty good.  It is a good balance between nutty and sweet.  It is not too heavy or intense by itself which is good because the focus in a pint like this is going to be on the mix-ins.  I see the brownies first.  The here are slightly smaller than I remember the ones in Chocolate Fudge Brownie.  They appear to be slightly smeared as if they've been 'swirled in'.  That's just a cosmetic observation, though.  They are just as tasty and delicious as usual.  The chewy chocolate goes really well with the peanut butter base.  I encountered the pretzels next.  They are different from the ones in Chubby Hubby -- smaller and not chocolate-covered.  They have a slight crunch and deliver some saltiness to the mix which I enjoyed.

This is a fun flavor from Ben & Jerry's.  Peanut Butter & Chocolate are always a winning combination and this is a way of delivering that combination (peanut butter base plus brownies) which I have not seen before.  The salt from the pretzels enhances the flavor.  I do think this is a good 'comfort food' type of flavor which is suitable for binge-watching your favorite shows and I imagine this will become a popular flavor once more stores start carrying it.

Jeni's - Claire's Cabinet

Claire's Cabinet - A Tincture of Chamomile, Clove, and Rose with Meadow Berries and Honey

So, I made an unexpected order from Jeni's the other day.  On short notice, they announced the release of a special flavor to commemorate a new season of the Outlander TV series about a WWII-era nurse named Claire who is transported back to the 1700s.  It's an interesting mix of historical fiction, romance and fantasy which has developed a bit of a cult following -- enough to inspire Jeni's to release a special flavor for it!  The result is Claire's Cabinet which is an interesting mix of berries, honey and spices.  The Jeni's website has more about the flavor on a blogpost. 

Anyhow, I got a tweet that a very limited batch was going to go on sale online at noon Eastern the next day.  I remembered that I was in the Central time zone and went there just before 11.  I saw it become available and made a four-pint purchase (three other Jeni's reviews are coming soon!).  Then five minutes later I got another tweet saying that they were sold out online!  Ha ha... it felt like I was buying tickets for a rock concert or something.  Anyhow, the delivery and now I can try it out.  I guess you won't be able to get this but I still have to write up my thoughts.  Who knows, perhaps there will be another run if Outlander has more seasons?  You never know.

I said above that the flavor is a mixture of 'meadow berries' and honey.  Scanning the ingredient list on the side of the carton, I see that this is a blend of strawberries, blackberries and blackcurrants.  Then they mention that a 'tincture' of chamomile, cloves and rose are added to season it.  Tincture is a new word for me!  I guess it means a 'slight taste superadded' to another substance.  Jeni's is usually pretty good with flavor blends, so I'm looking forward to checking this out.

OK, on to the ice cream!  Removing the lid, the top looks gorgeous!  You see these a lot of the reddish purple sauce streaked across the top.  It almost looks like an image of a newly discovered gas planet.  Digging in, the berry sauce is delicious.  I often find it hard to isolate the individual contributions of a berry blend, but I can certainly tell that it has blackberries and blackcurrants.  It doesn't surprise me that this sauce comes from the same company that creates the excellent Brambleberry Crisp flavor.  Not long after I taste the berries, I taste the rose and cloves.  They act as the finish flavor here -- meaning that you taste the berries when the ice cream is on your tongue and you taste the rose and cloves after you swallow.  It's a very unique and interesting effect.  Quite mature I suppose -- this is not a berry flavor for little kids -- but I really like it.  The base ice cream has a mild flavor to it and balances the berry sauce quite well.

This is an interesting, unique and excellent ice cream from Jeni's.  It's too bad it was only available for a few minutes!  Since I've eaten this, I found a salon article which claims to have a recipe for those who know how to make ice cream from scratch.  Who knows, maybe this flavor will return someday.  In the meantime, I am looking forward to the rest of the flavors from my Jeni's shipment in reviews to come.

Milkjam Creamery - Heart Eyes

Heart Eyes - Passion Fruit Crème Brûlée - Silky Egg Yolk Custard Spiked with Passion Fruit Puree Mixed with Caramelized Sugar Candy

Last review, I gave my thoughts on the first Valentine's Day flavor from the Minneapolis-based Milkjam Creamery called XOXO.  Today, is the second flavor which is called Heart Eyes.  This flavor is based on the popular emoji character which was added to the Unicode standard as U+E106 back in 2010.  This flavor is an interesting one.  It is an egg custard with a swirl of passion fruit puree and some caramelized candies which resemble the top of a crème brûlée.  This looks very interesting!  I should note that there is another Valentine's flavor called I ♥ You which I reviewed last year.

Ok, on to the ice cream!  Removing the lid, I see an yellowish base for the custard with a bit of an orangish tinge.  Some of the passion fruit might have bled into the base a bit.  Digging in, the custard base is soft and creamy as many of Milkjam's bases are.  I can indeed taste a bit of the passion fruit right away as I had guessed.  It appears that the passion fruit puree is mixed with the caramelized candy to create a single smooth swirl.  There is no crunch to the candy, so it is almost like a burnt caramel swirl.  This swirl is quite delicious, delivering the tropical sweet flavor of the passion fruit and the caramel removes the bitter finish that you sometimes get with just passion fruit alone. 

This ice cream is quite good!  Mixing passion fruit with caramel (or something caramel-like) is a great idea!  For pure passion fruit in isolation, I have had the very good Sweet Science ice cream and and McConnell's custard, but Milkjam has done a very good way of finding blends for passion fruit which work extremely well, where it is this flavor or the passion fruit lychee swirl of their Uma Thurman flavor.  I understand that by the time these reviews get posted that Valentine's season is over, Milkjam often has pints in the freezer case from the previous month and these holiday flavors often come back (as I ♥ You has done).

Milkjam Creamery - XOXO

XOXO - Dark Chocolate Ice Cream w/ Hazelnut Praline, White & Milk Chocolate Flecks

The two Valentine's Day flavors that I found this year are both from the Minneapolis-based Milkjam Creamery.  So I will have one the day before Valentine's Day and one the day after.  The first flavor is called 'XOXO" -- which we all know means "hugs and kisses".  It is a dark chocolate ice cream with hazelnut praline and flecks of both white and milk chocolate.  Sounds very chocolatey.  I am very curious about the hazelnut as well.  Let's check it out.

Removing the lid, I see a deep brown color.  It looks chocolatey.  Not anywhere near as dark as their famous Black flavor but darker than the average chocolate ice cream.  If I look closely, I can see a fleck or two of white chocolate right away on top.  Digging in, the chocolate ice cream is quite good.  It's always interesting when a dairy flavor bills itself as 'dark chocolate' -- there's gotta be milk and cream in there after all, right? -- but this is a very rich and chocolatey base.  I note the two fleck mix-ins -- both white and milk chocolate -- as I eat my way down the pint.  Adds a little crunch from time to time.  I looked but I could not find the 'hazelnut praline'.  The word 'praline' is something that I see used mainly candy-coated pecans, so I sort of expected candy-coated hazelnuts, but I did not see those.  Perhaps what happened is that a Nutella-like goo of hazelnut chocolate is in the mix and it got blended into the chocolate base.  That would help make the chocolate extra rich without adding any crunch.

This is a decent flavor from  Milkjam.  As far as chocolate-chocolate chip implementations go, this is excellent, but the 'hazelnut praline' on the flavor description page had me thinking there was more.  So, expect chocolatey goodness which is probably enhanced with a hazelnut spread with chocolate chips and don't expect a chocolate pralines & cream.

Ample Hills - PB Takes a Dip

PB Takes a Dip - Chocolate Ice Cream with a Peanut Butter Swirl and Peanut Butter Cup Pieces

Today is the final pint from my four-pint shipment from the Brooklyn-based Ample Hills Creamery.  This one is called PB Takes a Dip which is a clear flip on their popular PB Wins the Cup flavor.  Both flavors contain peanut butter cup pieces.  The original wins-the-cup flavor uses a vanilla base while the newer takes-a-dip flavor uses a chocolate base.  This flavor was added alongside Fluffernutter Fudge to their main line last fall.  This should be fun.  (Note to Minnesota readers that this is only available online and in areas that carry Ample Hills (NYC, SoCal, Florida).  This is not carried by grocery stores in the Twin Cities.)

Removing the lid, the ice cream is a very deep brown flavor -- it looks super chocolatey.  Digging in, it is very chocolatey -- that said, this is Ample Hills and their standard recipe includes adding skim milk powder to the base and I can definitely taste that as well.  It is a very milky chocolate.  It's not long before I encounter the peanut butter.  There is a lot of it!  The peanut butter cups here are the same ones used in PB Wins the Cup and they are excellent.  The best part of these cups is that they do not try to fully cover the peanut butter -- that allows for a much higher ratio of peanut butter to chocolate.  The extra peanut butter is extra welcome here as the base has so much chocolate.  This is delicious.

This is a great pint of ice cream!  I wouldn't have guessed that Ample Hills could match their PB Wins the Cup flavor but this arguably has.  The rich and decadent chocolate and peanut butter combination reminded me of the excellent Target-specific Ben & Jerry's flavor Peanut Butter World except this flavor also has extra large peanut butter chunks in it.  This likely won't replace PB Wins the Cup.  If you want mostly peanut butter with a little chocolate in a lighter vanilla base, that's the way to go.  Today's flavor is for chocolate lovers.  Enjoy.

Sweet Science - Graham Caramel Fudge

Graham Caramel Fudge - Graham Cracker Ice Cream with Swirls of Fudge and Salted Caramel

The February flavors for the Saint Paul-based Sweet Science Ice Cream are out.  One flavor is Blood Orange Cream which I already reviewed in a previous winter seasonal release and the other flavor is today's flavor:  Graham Caramel Fudge.  It has a graham cracker base and swirls of fudge and salted caramel.  I got it at the scoop shop in the Keg & Case Market in Saint Paul.

Popping off the lid, the top of the pint looks very good.  The graham cracker base is a tan color, but it is well hidden by all the fudge and caramel.  As I dig in, the fudge and caramel are everywhere and they dominate the flavor here.  The fudge tastes a bit like Hershey's chocolate syrup -- it has that time bite in the back of my throat after I swallow.  The caramel swirl is excellent as well.  It would be a strong swirl if the fudge was not there, but it is still quite noticeable.  The graham cracker flavoring in the base is a bit mild.  That's fine as it seems to serve as the vehicle to deliver these tasty swirls.

I enjoyed this pint very much.  This reminded me a bit of a S'mores flavor but with caramel instead of marshmallow.  That substitution is a great idea because caramel is a more popular flavor in isolation than marshmallow -- at least with adults.  Or you could just enjoy it for all the chocolate and caramel.  Check it out if this interests you.  Sweet Science cycles seasonal flavors out every month but they often have pints from previous months at the bottom of their scoop-shop freezer case.

Pumphouse - Lemon & Shortbread Ripple

Lemon & Shortbread Ripple - Sweet Cream with Lemon Sauce and a Shortbread Ripple

Today is another new flavor from Pumphouse Creamery in South Minneapolis.  This is called Lemon & Shortbread Ripple.  They describe it as a variant of their popular Buttermilk with Lemon Bars flavor.  As a big fan of lemon flavors, I am interested to see how this compares.  It is great all these new flavors from Pumphouse in the middle of the winter.  It's big fun. 


But first, it is milestone duty.  This is my 600th review!  And other collage of the previous 100 flavors:

Flavors 501 through 600

For previous collages, see the reviews for  for 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500. It never ceases to amaze me how many different ways that a pint of ice cream can be made.  You would think I would get bored of it by now but the opposite is true.  I still find myself eagerly checking online websites and grocery store freezer cases for new flavors and I keep finding them.  Here's to more great ice cream in 2020.

OK, back to today's flavor.  The top of the pint after removing the lid is beautiful.  I see a spiral-shaped swirl of lemon sauce right there on the top.  Underneath, the base ice cream is a bright white color with a slight yellowish tinge and I can see a few of the shortbread crumbs already as well.  Digging in, the base is very thick.  It's the time of base that you might want to let soften a bit before eating.  I quickly encounter the lemon swirl which is excellent.  A bright lemon flavor which is and appropriate mixture of sweet and tart.  The shortbread ripple ends up manifesting itself as some crunchiness that I encounter from time to time while enjoying the lemon and sweet cream.

I enjoyed this flavor quite a bit.  The lemon sauce is quite delicious and the ripple adds some texture.  Checking their website, it looks like it has been replaced by their more signature Buttermilk with Lemon Bars flavor -- that is understandable as that flavor is unique to them.  The two flavors are quite different though.  Here, using sweet cream instead of buttermilk creates a cleaner and sweeter flavor.  It will be interesting to see if this flavor comes back or if it was just a mid-winter experiment.