As an avid Bubble tea (Pearl tea, Bobba... what have you) drinker, I was delighted to find that a new shop was opening on Nassau in Booster Juice’s old spot that would be serving Bubble tea in addition to frozen yogurt. Does it get any better? My roommate and I headed over to Fruity Yogurt (they could work on the name) for the grand opening and were told that that their ice machine was broken, and to come back a little later. We were promised a 25% discount on our return.
We headed over to Twist to do some sizing up before things would be forever different in frozen yogurt land. Twist was offering free reusable cups with a purchase. If you bring in the cup to put the yogurt in you can get 10% off your purchase. Is this Twist’s effort to try to combat the new competition? Hm…
The moment finally came to try out Fruity Yogurt. It was hardly full but there were enough people shuffling in and out to keep it busy. The sheer array of frozen yogurt flavors, ranging from peach to pumpkin, was impressive. In addition, they have smoothies, slushies, and Japanese green tea. Fruity Yogurt offers the same toppings as Twist’s and then some (lychee, cherries, coconut jelly, jelly beans, craisins, chocolate cookie sticks). One customer said that their yogurt wasn’t as good as Twist’s, tasting too “sorbet-y”. I was slightly disappointed with the chalky under taste of my almond Bubble tea. I’d rather get my tea next time from Tiger Noodles. Most people I know are die hard Twist fans so I don’t think the appearance of the new store will faze them. Twist also wins as a studying spot. However, if you’re dying for some Bubble tea, that could tip the balance in Fruity Yogurt’s favor.
The question is what’s next in store for Nassau Street? I want some milkshakes.
Friday, October 23, 2009
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22 comments:
I have to agree with Chloe; I'll stick with Tiger Noodles for my bubble tea. The Green Tea was quite bitter and the boba was (were?) a bit on the sticky side. As for the frozen yogurt, I tried a couple of samples and Twist wins, hands down. I don't expect this place to last even as long as Booster Juice did.
How much does it cost? Twist is expensive... 49 cents an ounce at Twist ain't cheap, and I've had better for less.
RIP Booster Juice :`(
RIP Booster Juice :`(
Interestingly enough, Twist is actually a Twist on Fruity Yogurt. Fruity Yogurt was first opened in Hillsborough, NJ (about 20 minutes away) about two years ago and it was the first of its kind. One of the employees of Twist trained under Fruity Yogurt's owner and then jumped ship to start Twist in Princeton, taking recipes, store lay-out and everything. The Fruity Yogurt owner is opening up in Princeton as a way of fighting back. Support Fruity Yogurt!
With Twist for exceptional DIY yogurt and toppings, and Tiger Noodles (or I's in New Brunswick if you can get up there) for authentic bubble tea, this new place seems redundant. I guess the owners figured they'd jump on a couple of good trends but the quality and atmosphere just don't measure up. Now a good fresh-Mex place would be welcome in that spot!
AGREED on the fresh-mex. If a Penn-Princeton rivalry exists, it's only because they have a Chipotle AND a Qdoba. This is simply another cause Princeton students need to rally for.
I heard that Qdoba was going to open next door to Twist, in the space where the paper store is now. That would have been sweet!
Hands down the yogurt at Fruity Yogurt is tastier/fresher than Twist.They're 15 cents cheaper, and they have a much wider selection. I recommend the Taro flavor--it's delicious!
Definitely try it!
I like twist way better but i think they should lower their prices back down, we're struggling college students and that was a huge price per ounce increase if i didn't love the euro tart so much i'd have stopped going. i don't think fruity yogurt is going to last there are just too many quality ice cream like places on nassau that i would choose to go to before going back to fruity yogurt
if the twist owners stole fruity yogurts recipes to open up twist, then they clearly improved upon them since opening up shop
Personally I found the toppings better at Twist and the frozen yogurt MUCH better/fresher at Fruity Yogurt. They also have more variety in flavors. As for price - Fruity Yogurt wins hands down.
Also - I just wanted to mention that Twist has always had the 10% off for reusing your cup for seconds ... I did that last year so it isn't in response to Fruity Yogurt
That said ... it seems really redundant to have both of them here on Nassau ... we're being picky comparing them but honestly they are really similar and I don't know who is going to win out.
what about a coffee shop?!?! Starbucks and Small world are on the other end of Nassau, and if a new coffee shop finds a good way to differentiate itself (dif. atmosphere, menu items, etc.) it could make a ton of money, esp. since the area is most populated during the colder months. More winter-friendly shops and less fro-yo!
I'm not sure where everyone's getting their hearsay from, but I suggest you do some fact-checking before making assumptions...
That being said, Twist will always have my taste-buds and loyalty. A few extra cents for reliable and excellent-quality yogurt & toppings, and a warm and cozy environment definitely takes precedence over "the new place in town," hands-down. Not to mention, the owners of Twist are the loveliest pair of people ever, and they cultivate an atmosphere in their shop that cannot be compared to Fruity Yogurt's, in my opinion.
So if you like boba tea, fine, go grab some down the road, but if your craving do-it-yourself yogurt, its Twist all the way baby!!
Coming in late to this conversation, but I just found out about it and want to make sure everyone has the facts.
My husband and I own Twist and never met the owner of Fruity Yogurt until two days ago (when we asked her not to send her employees to distribute her flyers right in front of our store).
Self serve fro-yo shops have been all over the West Coast for a few years so it isn't our original idea or Fruity Yogurt's original idea. Several similar shops have opened on the East Coast in the past couple of years and let's face it, we all got the idea from the Californians!
I just wanted to the record straight. We always welcome honest competition, but will not stand by while someone defames us. We love Princeton and we love our customers and unlike others who have posted here anonymously, I'm not ashamed to put my name on anything I write.
milkshakes? try thomas sweets just a few steps away from the now-fruity yogurt.
The FroYo-Twist employee story is true; while she didn't found the store she used to work at Fruity Yogurt in Hillsborough and gave a phony story about moving to Connecticut with her boyfriend. Lo and behold she starts working for Twist, and brings alot of the recipes, store strategies, etc. there that she learned at Fruity Yogurt.
The girl, whose name I won't disclose here, is very much real as is the story. She still works at Twist, to the best of my knowledge.
Go Fruity Yogurt!
yogurtland in west hollywood, ca is $.30/ounce. i can't believe the huge price difference! and the yogurt is so much better out there. i have yet to try twist, so i can't give my input on that yet. i did however go to the fruity yogurt in hillsborough, and the original flavor was gross. i don't know if there was a problem with the way that batch was mixed, but it tasted lemon-y and watery. the original/plain tart i've had at pinkberry and yogurtland (MANY times) tasted pleasantly like a slightly sweeter plain greek yogurt.. this tasted nothing like it. the taro flavor was good, however, and my mom said the mango was good and seemed fresh, but i wasn't thrilled overall. the berries weren't fresh and the mochi was also gross - stale, tough and chewy. they put it way in the back so it's hard to reach (and won't be overloaded on) and because of this, it must sit there untouched for awhile. i guess i'll keep looking for a good yogurtland/pinkberry alternative near my home.
Twist is just nasty yogurt. Ive heard they use premade yogurt that basically and 99% and basically no yogurt. Fruity Yogurt on the other hand ive heard they make their own yogurt fresh daily. So for those who like the nasty Twist better, be warned that you are basically eating powdered crap and not yogurt.
PS. Twist toppings also look like crap and are all bunched up together and look nasty, plus price hands down goes to Fruity Yogurt.
I'm pretty sure that Twist uses exclusively Yocream yogurt (real yogurt, not from a mix). I love the fact that it has the national yogurt association's "Live & Active" seal - after all one of the main reason's I go for yogurt is for the active cultures. It's worth a few cents more, in my opinion, to know exactly what you're getting. Also, I'm not a big fan of chains like Fruity Yogurt moving into a neighborhood and defaming an honest local business.
Fruity Yogurt BEATS Twist by far!
Uber expensive and tastes very watery.
Also a lack of flavors there and very unoriginal.
Below average and i prolly wont go back
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