Three Twins - Dad's Cardamom

Dad's Cardamom - Cardamom Ice Cream

I have been sampling flavors from the Northern California-based Three Twins Ice Cream for a couple of years now.  One flavor on their website which has always intrigued me is called Dad's Cardamom.  It is basically a cardamom-flavored ice cream.  Not cardamom and tea, or cardamom and pistachio, or cardamom as part of a spice blend, but just cardamom and vanilla.  I have always been intrigued by the cardamom spice -- the middle eastern spice which Scandinavians fell in love with.  Every time I've tried it, I've noticed how it adds an aromatic effect inside my mouth but it's often hard to isolate it's exact flavor.  That's why I've always wanted to try Dad's Cardamom.  I have had the darnedest time trying to find it, though.  I finally tracked it down at a Festival Foods in White Bear Lake.  So, I trekked out there, picked up a pint and I am anxious to check it out.

Opening the pint, the ice cream is very grainy.  You can see the crushed cardamom pods!  By my count, the speck density is higher than a vanilla bean flavor but lower than an cookies & cream flavor made with Oreos.  Digging in, I taste the cardamom right away.  It is flavorful and aromatic as expected and it is not at all overpowering.  It's a good well-balanced flavor.  As I continue eating the pint, the flavor fades a little bit as it builds up in my palate.  One might want to eat this with something so that the palate can be cleansed every so often and that nice effect of that first spoonful can return.

I enjoyed this pint quite a bit.  It is a simple homogeneous pint with no mix-ins, but it is perhaps the best example of cardamom flavor that I have tried yet.  If you are curious about the cardamom flavor as I am, then check it out.

Milkjam Creamery - Uma Thurman

Uma Thurman - Frozen Greek Yogurt with a Passion Fruit Lychee Swirl

I went to the Minneapolis-based Milkjam Creamery last week and picked up a couple of pints.  The first pint is called Uma Thurman.  This is a frozen Greek yogurt with a passion fruit & lychee swirl.  I was a bit hesitant at first to do a Greek yogurt, but this flavor is always available (and usually listed first!) and it is always available in pints, so it appears to be one of their signature flavors.  Plus, I like passion fruit.  The flavor name is a bit unusual in that it honors a living actress.  I am stumped as to what the connection would be between Uma Thurman and the flavor.  She is not Greek or of Greek descent.  Maybe the yellow-ish swirl is supposed to be her hair?  Or maybe it is that famous suit from the Kill Bill movies?  Or it could be totally random?  It is fun to speculate.

Removing the lid, the frozen yogurt base is bright white and has a fluffy look to it.  A single yellow streak of fruit is visible on the top.  Digging in, the yogurt is quite thick in texture (the fluffy look on the top was misleading) and the flavor is a bit tangy.  I have had a couple of yogurt pints from Jeni's before (here and here) but this is my first Greek yogurt.  I checked to see what makes Greek yogurt different and I guess there is an extra straining step in the process which removes more whey.  So, the yogurt is thicker, creamier, and indeed tangier than regular yogurt.  Eating further, I quickly encounter one of the passion fruit & lychee swirls.  I taste more passion fruit than lychee, but I like passion fruit more so I don't mind.  Perhaps the lychee adds a bit of sweetness to the mix, but I'm not sure.  The fruit swirls are not that large, but a little bit of passion fruit goes a long way.

This is a pretty good pint from Milkjam.  It is a decent balance of a tropical fruit swirl against a tangy Greek yogurt base.  It's not too tangy, though.  Personally, I prefer my passion fruit a bit more intense like with this Sweet Science pint from last year, but if you like a fruit and Greek yogurt blend, then check this pint out.

Häagen-Dazs - Amaretto Black Cherry Almond

Amaretto Black Cherry Almond - Amaretto-Infused Non-Dairy Dessert with Black Cherry Jam & Sweet Almond Toffee Pieces

Today is the sixth and final pint from Häagen-Dazs' Spirits Collection released this spring for 2019.  This is the fifth pint I've reviewed this spring and the sixth flavor, Bourbon Pecan Praline, was available a couple of years ago in different packaging as a limited batch preview.  This is a non-dairy flavor.  I have not normally been surveying the non-dairy lines of the major national brands, but I decided to do this pint for a couple of reasons.  First, it is a unique flavor -- it is not simply a non-dairy version of a regular flavor.  Second, the Spirits Collection only had one non-dairy flavor and it would bug me if I had all but one of the line.  This flavor is called Amaretto Black Cherry Almond.  The base has an amaretto (almond liqueur) flavor, there is a swirl of black cherry jam and the mix-ins are almond toffee pieces.  I have had amaretto in ice cream before, once in a nutty pint from Izzy's and once in an apple cider sorbet from Ample Hills.  Let's check it out!

Opening the pint, I am greeted by loads of mix-ins.  There are large splotches of the cherry jam and I can see quite a bit of the almond toffee as well.  Digging in, the cherry jam is the first thing I taste.  It has a decent flavor -- not too sweet or too tart.  The almond toffee pieces are good, though not too crunchy.  Some toffees become half-dissolved when immersed in ice cream.  It is an interesting effect.  Not a complaint -- dissolved toffee is quite tasty -- just keeping you informed of the texture.  The non-dairy base is decent.  They do a pretty good job of mimicking the texture of ice cream in these non-dairy desserts these days.  I can taste a bit of amaretto flavor, but it is not too strong.  The effect of the alcohol is quite a bit milder than most of the other Spirits Collection pints.  In most of those, your mouth gets flooded with the aromatic sensation of the alcohol but without being too boozy on the palate.  Here, the alcohol is a soft accent to the cherry toffee mix-ins.

This is a decent pint of non-dairy ice cream.  The cherry jam and almond toffee were quite good.  There were so many mix-ins that I almost did not notice that the base ice cream was non-dairy.  The amaretto 'spirits' were only play a supporting role -- they could almost get away with putting this in the regular line.  The cherry and almond combination is good, though, and scanning my reviews I don't see any other flavors like it.  If you like cherry jam & almonds, then check this one out.

Tillamook - Toasted Coconut Fudge

Toasted Coconut Fudge - Toasted Coconut Gelato, Chocolate Fudge & Coconut Flakes

The Oregon-based Tillamook brand returns to the blog!  I was beginning to think that they were a west-coast-only brand -- or perhaps that they were de-emphasizing their pints in favor of their 1.75-quart tubs which I do see from time to time.  I keep checking freezer cases every time I am in a grocery store, though, and a few weeks ago I stumbled upon a small local change which carries Tillamook pints.  This flavor is called Toasted Coconut Fudge. 

The first thing I notice is that Tillamook has changed their pint design.  They switched from the old plastic containers to the white cardboard containers that most other places use.  They've also changed their logo.  Removing the lid, I see an extra foil layer with the label "Made to be enjoyed."  That's nice.  Then removing the foil I see no ice cream is visible!  I see only coconut flakes (and perhaps some fudge) on top.  This is going to be a layered pint!  Digging in, the coconut flakes are sitting on top of a thin layer of hard fudge with soft coconut gelato below.  The coconut flakes by themselves are amazing.  Some of the best strands of toasted coconut that I have had in an ice cream.  The coconut gelato is soft, and creamy.  There are no extra coconut mix-ins within the gelato itself but the coconut flavor is sweet, strong and delicious.  The fudge layer presented some changes.  The taste was good, but it took some effort to break the spoon through it.  As I ate my way further down the pint, it was almost all gelato beneath the top layer.  I saw a little bit of extra fudge sticking to one of the sides, but there were not more 'layers' below.  Because of this, I wanted to break the top fudge layer into smaller pieces so I could mix it into my lower-pint spoonfuls.  That was a challenge, though, as the layer was so hard.

This was an interesting and tasty pint of coconut fudge ice cream.  I really loved the ingredients -- especially the coconut base and coconut mix-ins -- but as with a couple of other Tillamook flavors I had issues with how the layering was done.  I am not always against layered pints.  The Häagen-Dazs layered pints contain some crunchy fudge layers but the layers are so thin and they repeat throughout the pint -- it is hard get a spoonful that does not contain every layer!  The Talenti layers are thicker -- there are certainly top-of-the-pint layers and bottom-of-the-pint layers -- but the layers are also really soft and it is very easy to mix them, or to selectively dig your spoon as I did, to make sure you are experiencing all the the flavors at once.  Here, the tough fudge layer on top created a challenge.  I found myself finishing that layer early and then having mostly plain coconut gelato on the second half of the pint.  The coconut flavor was excellent, though.

Häagen-Dazs - Vanilla and Vanilla Bean

Vanilla - Vanilla Ice Cream 
Vanilla Bean - Vanilla Ice Cream with Vanilla Beans

Last weekend was Easter and we had a group dinner with the extended family.  I was in charge of getting the ice cream.  The family knows my penchant for trying new and interesting flavors, so they told me ahead of time "we are having it with cake, so just get regular ice cream".   So, I got vanilla.  I chose Häagen-Dazs because they do simple flavors very well, plus it was on sale!  At the store, I noticed that Häagen-Dazs actually has two different vanilla flavors -- Vanilla and Vanilla Bean.  So, I picked up a couple of pints of both.  It turns out that my family did not eat as much ice cream as I expected -- there was a lot of ham and it was good, so I had leftover ice cream.  I figured why not turn it into a joint review!  Although I have written before (here and here) about how the vanilla spice is actually quite exotic, it still Simple vanilla pints often do not make for the most interesting of reviews.  Plus, I figured these flavors might be similar enough that I might not remember distinguishing details if I waited a few days between eating them.  By eating them side-by-side, I hope to bring out the constrasts between the two pints.

Enough talk, removing the two lids, both ice creams look pretty darn white but when next to each other I can see a clear difference.  The vanilla is a brighter white with perhaps the slightest tinge of yellow, while the vanilla bean is more grey and upon close inspection, I can see the tiny specks of vanilla bean.  Digging in, the vanilla ice cream feels slightly thicker while the vanilla bean is slightly softer.  It's a small difference -- perhaps the plain vanilla was in the colder part of my freezer -- but I am especially looking for contrasts here.  The flavor of both is a good vanilla.  The vanilla bean tasted a little bit stronger.  I checked with someone else and they agreed.  We also both agreed that we could definitely tell them apart with our eyes closed.

This was a fun side-by-side experiment.  Both ice creams were quite good. Häagen-Dazs does the basic flavors very well (their chocolate ice cream is excellent).  The differences between these two ice creams were subtle but noticeable.  I thought the plain vanilla was thicker and milkier -- it tasted like a vanilla-flavored frozen whipped cream while the vanilla bean was slightly softer and had more vanilla flavor.  When would I choose one over the other?  My personal opinion would be that the plain vanilla would go better with a piece of cake or a slice of pie.  It was more 'neutral'.  While the vanilla bean would be better by itself -- or perhaps with chocolate syrup.  I'm intentionally splitting hairs here, of course.  You can't go wrong with either one.

Izzy's - Coffee Break

Coffee Break - Coffee Ice Cream with Oreo Cookie Pieces

Today is another flavor from the Saint Paul-based Izzy's Ice Cream.  I had come into the store because they had a flavor-of-the-year winner available (Cabernet de l'Orange), but this one looked so good in the scooping bin that I had to get it as well.  This flavor is called Coffee Break.  It is a coffee cookies & cream.  I am surprised that I have not seen this idea for a flavor combination before!  I know coffee goes well with chocolate and I know that Oreos (or Oreo-like cookies) are a common substitute for chocolate chips.  I've seen regular cookies and cream, chocolate cookies and cream, mint cookies and cream, peanut butter cookies and cream -- why not coffee cookies and cream?  The closest I can find in my archive is an Espresso Chocolate Cookie Crumble from Häagen-Dazs, but the cookie swirl there is not quite the same thing as cookies & cream.  So, I'm looking forward to checking this out.

Opening the lid, I see a lot of cookie pieces right away.  Large cookie pieces.  I can even see the white filling of the sandwich cookies in a few places.  I can tell right away that these are Oreo-brand sandwich cookies.  The coffee ice cream is a beige color is a beige color.  Digging in, the coffee flavor of the base is quite good.  I had someone who likes coffee more than me try it out and they liked it.  That said, the flavor is not too intense.  In some coffee ice cream, you can taste the beans and a dose of caffeine hits you.  This is just good coffee flavor.  The Oreo pieces are quite large and quite good.  This is a very generation amount of cookie pieces for a cookies and cream.  Even more so that Izzy's regular Cookies & Cream flavor.  That could be something that varies from batch to batch -- perhaps I just lucked out here? -- or it could be that the regular cookies & cream flavor was pre-packaged while this pint was hand packed.  As I finish the pint, I notice that I am more full than usual.  This is delicious, but it is also quite filling.  It is very good, though.

This is an excellent pint of coffee cookies & cream!  Good coffee and great Oreo cookie mix-ins.  Coffee & chocolate go very well together and Oreos are a great way to deliver chocolate.  There should be more coffee cookies & cream implementations! 

Talenti - Vanilla Fudge Cookie

Vanilla Fudge Cookie - Layers of Double Dark Chocolate Gelato, Chocolate Cookie Chunks, Fudge Sauce, Vanilla Gelato and Chocolate Waffle Cone Pieces

Today we move on to a pint from the new Layers Collection from Talenti Gelato.  This flavor is called Vanilla Fudge Cookie.  The two gelato layers here are Double Dark Chocolate and Vanilla.  The layers in between are chocolate cookie chunks and fudge sauce and the layer on the bottom is chocolate waffle cone pieces.  It sounds like a simple mix of various types of chocolate and vanilla.  Let's check it out.

Again, the only thing I see when I unscrew the lid on a layers collection pint is the Double Dark Chocalate gelato layer.  It looks chocolatey, but it does not look to be all that dark.  I checked the online page for that individual base flavor and I don't think it is actually supposed to be that 'dark'.  I dip my spoon in for a taste and it is quite good, but it tastes like regular chocolate ice cream.  OK, now to try to extract the layers.  It is a challenging, but fun task to try to dig out a wedge with reasonable layer integrity for the photos.  The results are below.  OK, on to the ice cream.  I was distracted by the 'double dark' name of the chocolate above, but it is quite good.  I have not reviewed the standalone version of this base yet, but it would work quite well.  It has a frozen hot chocolate flavor to it.  The chocolate cookie and fudge sauce layers blended together a bit -- the cookies seemed to be immersed in the fudge.  I liked that.  The cookies tasted like cookie part of an Oreo -- crunchy and chocolatey.  The chocolate waffle cones on the bottom here not that bad.  They were a bit like the cookies but less crunchy and sweet.  The vanilla gelato acted a bit like a palate cleanser here -- to keep the pint from getting too chocolatey.  It fulfilled that role quite well.

I liked this layers pint.  This is the probably the simplest flavor in the layers line -- chocolate and vanilla.  Perhaps I should have tried this one first.  It is still quite good, but it wasn't a 'wow' flavor for me due to its simplicity.  I could be a great first flavor to have if you are curious about the collection though.  Chocolate lovers should enjoy this and the layer of vanilla keeps the chocolate from becoming overwhelming.