Cocobella

Tried 30/12/2018, Gold Coast

**Dairy Free Approved/ Vegan Approved**

There really is nothing more inviting than the yogurt section of supermarkets. The way the display lights illuminate the floor and the way yogurts are packaged just has a such a pull on me. On a late night run to Coles in search for breakfast foods, I was yet again, inevitably drawn towards the yogurt isle. By now, it can almost be considered a hobby of mine to check out new dairy free yogurt releases and when I spied Cocobella’s new Yogurt Bowls, I knew I couldn’t leave without it. I can’t recall how much I got it for but I remember thinking it was a just price; a shoot in the dark would put it at around $3.

I had 2 flavors to chose from, Strawberry Blueberry or Passion-fruit Coconut and under any other circumstances, I would have chosen Passion-fruit but I must have been feeling adventurous. On the Cocobella website, I also noted a Gluten Free flavor which I didn’t see in store, Mango Pineapple. The yogurt bowl comes in an absolutely adorable carton which separates the clusters from the yogurt via a pull-back foil, keeping the clusters fresh.

The clusters had a slight oily sheen from the toasting process and felt slick to the touch. At first, I did think there seemed to be a very little clusters for the amount of yogurt. The pull-back foil really did its job in keeping the clusters crunchy, each bite delightful and satisfying. There’s nothing worse than hard to chew muesli and fortunately, this isn’t one of them. The clusters tastes mostly of puffed rice, sunflower seeds and millet although I must admit I have no idea what Chicory or Pepitas are. There also seems to be some coconut in the clusters which I didn’t see nor taste. Alone, the clusters are quite delightful, if it was sold separately as a cereal, I would consider purchasing it.

Upon opening the yogurt, the scent of strawberry jam hit me immediately, so naturally, I thought it would at least taste a little like strawberry. However, it only tasted like blueberries. So, apart from the smell and the little strawberry seeds floating around in the coconut yogurt, I can’t see why it would be marketed as strawberry yogurt. The blueberry compote had a gel like consistency and also didn’t taste like very much. If you diluted some blueberry juice in a lot of water, I think you would achieve the same flavor. There were 3-4 whole blueberries which also didn’t do much for the fruit flavor but added textural interest. They were fun to bite into, reminding me of dried prunes.

The coconut yogurt is the best dairy free yogurt I’ve had so far in terms of mimicking the actual consistency of regular yogurt. It sits on the spoon in the same way you pick it up and doesn’t flood the spoon. Its also quite smooth, although I did spy tiny gritty specks. The flavor of coconut is barely there and the yogurt isn’t tangy like some other coconut yogurts I’ve tried. I would recommend Cocobella to people looking for an easy introduction to diary free yogurts.

Then of course, I tried eating it mixed together. Surprisingly, there are quite enough clusters for my yogurt as I had a little crunch in every bite. The clusters were substantial enough to remain crunchy even after submerging in the yogurt which I was quite pleased by. The same can’t be said for the fruit gel which was absolutely drowned out by the coconut yogurt, although it did tint the overall yogurt a purple color. The gel just didn’t taste like much on its own to keep its presence. Overall, the yogurt bowl tasted pretty average after mixing.

I’m afraid I don’t see much of a point in promoting a yogurt as fruit flavored if it clearly doesn’t taste much like fruit. So, if I was in the market for some fruit flavored yogurt, I wouldn’t repurchase Cocobella’s Yoghurt bowls. I would however, repurchase Cocobella’s Yoghurt Bowls if I was in the market for a really convenient snack, some good clusters or for a friend looking to try out diary free yogurt for the first time.