Behind the Scenes: How We Pick a New Flavour

Executive Summary

Our monthly Featured Flavour doesn’t just appear out of nowhere — it goes through several rounds of testing, tweaking, and honest (sometimes brutal) staff feedback before it ever reaches the bar. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at how a new flavour actually gets made, and what happens to the ideas that don’t survive the process.

TL;DR

New flavours start as a rough idea, go through several small test batches, get taste-tested by the team, and only make it to the menu if they hold up once frozen — a lot of great-sounding ideas simply don’t work once they’re actually churned and served cold.

Key Takeaways

• Every new flavour goes through multiple small test batches before it’s considered menu-ready
• Team taste-testing is a real part of the process, not a formality
• Some flavours that taste great at room temperature fall apart once frozen
• Texture matters just as much as taste — fibrous or watery ingredients are usually a dealbreaker
• Not every idea makes it — we’ll tell you about a few that didn’t

Where New Flavour Ideas Come From

Ideas come from everywhere — a seasonal ingredient that’s just come into peak availability, a customer suggestion at the counter, or occasionally just someone on the team saying “what if we tried…” over a quiet afternoon shift. Seasonal produce, like our Australian mango flavour, is usually the easiest starting point, since there’s a natural story and a natural deadline built in.

The Test Batch Process

Once we’ve got an idea, we make a small test batch — nowhere near full production size — and taste it fresh. If it survives that first taste, it goes into the freezer overnight and gets tasted again the next day, because freezing changes flavour and texture more than people expect. Some ingredients lose sweetness once frozen, others become oddly fibrous or grainy. This is usually where the first round of ideas gets quietly retired.

Texture Is the Real Test

Taste gets a flavour into testing, but texture is what decides if it actually makes the menu. A flavour that’s rich and delicious in a bowl at room temperature can turn fibrous, icy, or watery once it’s been through the machine. This is exactly why we tested several mango varieties before landing on our current blend — some tasted great but didn’t hold up texturally once frozen and churned.

Flavours That Didn’t Make the Cut

Not every idea works out, and we think that’s worth being upfront about. A raw watermelon flavour sounded refreshing on paper but turned icy and lost almost all its flavour once frozen. An early attempt at a matcha flavour was too bitter for most palates once combined with our yogurt base. Both are the kind of thing that sound great in a brainstorm and don’t survive contact with an actual freezer.

FAQ

How long does it take for a new flavour to go from idea to menu?

It varies, but a few weeks of testing is typical — sometimes longer if the first few batches need real reworking.

Who actually decides if a flavour makes it to the menu?

The whole team weighs in during taste-testing, though the final call usually comes down to whether it holds up once frozen, not just how it tastes fresh.

Do you ever bring back a flavour that didn’t make the cut the first time?

Occasionally — sometimes a flavour that didn’t work becomes viable later with a different ingredient blend or technique.

Can customers suggest flavour ideas?

Yes, and we genuinely welcome it — mention an idea to the team in-store or send it to us on Instagram.

Is the Featured Flavour always seasonal?

Not always, but seasonal ingredients are often the easiest starting point since there’s a natural reason for the flavour to exist and a natural end date.

Do you test flavours on customers before launch, or just internally?

Testing is internal first — once a flavour survives our own process, it goes straight to the bar rather than a separate public trial phase.