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Product Review: Noosa finest yoghurt

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Kelli, Marin and I recently went to our beloved Boulder Farmers Market for the first time this season, which now has more than 100 vendors.  It’s always great to see familiar faces (in addition to our regular vendors, we even bumped into The Spunky Coconut and her family), but it’s also exciting to find new vendors with tasty gluten-free offerings.  Noosa finest yoghurt is one such discovery.  The crowd was 3 or 4 people deep at their stall, and we could hear one of the Noosa guys – in his best salesman voice – proclaim, “Try it, and you’ll buy it!”

We couldn’t resist, and we muscled our way through the crowd to the front (politely, of course…).  Noosa proved to be quite a tasty yogurt (in a word, it is delicious), and we walked away with 3 or 4 16-ounce containers to take home, all blueberry (which was all they had left, and which, conveniently, is one of my favorite flavors).
Part of what makes Noosa such a tasty yogurt is that is very rich and creamy.  It’s almost like having dessert, and the nutritional information backs that up.  Each 4-ounce serving contains 140 calories, 6g of fat, 17g of sugar, and 5g of protein.  By those measures, this is a yogurt that is both decadent and indulgent.  And there’s a reason why – you won’t find much in the way of low-calorie fat-free milk on the ingredients list, nor will you find artificial sweeteners like Splenda or aspartame.  Noosa is made with authentic, familiar ingredients – milk, sugar, blueberries, cream, honey, and a handful of other ingredients.  In other words, it’s made with the kind of ingredients we might use if we made yogurt here at home.  We like that.


We also like the backstory behind Noosa, which I think is worth sharing.  The company, founded in 1999, is based out of Fort Collins, Colorado, and they make Australian-style yogurt with mostly local ingredients from right here in Colorado.  Most notably, the dairy comes from Morning Fresh Dairy Farm, in Bellvue, Colorado.  Founded in 1894, the company is still run by family descendants of the founder.  Their milk is all-natural (and in the process of undergoing organic certification), and they deliver milk to several thousands customers in the surrounding communities the old fashioned way – with a fleet of 14 drivers who bring fresh milk to your door in glass bottles.  (Morning Fresh has also partnered with the Grant Family Farms CSA to dovetail weekly deliveries of milk and produce.  Melissa at Gluten Free for Good is a member of the Grant CSA, and she’s not shy about talking about how much she loves it.)
The yogurt comes in four flavors: blueberry, mango, raspberry, and honey (which is the base flavor for the other three).  For now, it’s available throughout Colorado at Whole Foods and select King Soopers locations (and some farmers markets).  As word gets out, though, I’d expect its popularity, and its availability, to spread.  Noosa can be a bit on the pricey side, but I’d categorize it (at least for now) as a boutique, high-end, high-quality yogurt, so the price seems to fit.  What’s more, if you buy it at the farmers market, the more you buy, the cheaper the per unit price, so it ends up costing similar to other similar yogurts you’d find at the supermarket.
With both the price and the decadent richness, I don’t eat Noosa in the same quantities as I do other yogurts.  But I’d gladly have a smaller serving of Noosa than a larger serving of a less satisfying brand.  And I do.
– Pete
Logo and image courtesy of Noosa.

Comments

  1. The idea of the glass bottles and milkmen made me go weak in the knees (and I’m sitting down). I even made that swooning noise they make in old movies. Haha!

    Actually, up until about 15 years ago Maui had its own dairy and my boyfriend and his dad would go when he was a kid and get manure from the dairy for their farm. The entire state of Hawaii only has one dairy these days, and our egg farms are mostly gone too. Maui lost its last egg farm a couple years ago (I used to live next to it, not such a nice thing…). My boyfriend remembers the glass bottles and the POG caps from his childhood. Did you know that POG is Passion Orange Guava juice here in Hawaii, and that the POG game originated here?

    This yoghurt sounds delicious, and I wish I could try it out. If I’m ever in Colorado you’ll bet I’ll have to give it a try. Mmmm.

  2. Sounds delicious. I know what you mean about having less of a quality product. I make my own yogurt sometimes just so I can get a taste of the really good stuff.

  3. Hi Amanda… I don’t suppose that last dairy farm is on the Big Island, is it? When Kelli and I were there a few years ago, we spent some time passing through a big cattle ranching area, though maybe that was for beef, not dairy.

    Hi Jessica… I’d be curious to hear more about your experiences making your own yogurt!

    Cheers, Pete

  6. I live in central Iowa and discovered Noosa on the shelf at my local grocery store (hy-eve) Always up for trying new things I chose the honey flavor. It was probably the most creamy and delicious yoghurt I’ve ever had. The only thing that comes close is Tilamook, which is also fresh from a near buy dairy but you have to go to washinton state to get it. After reading about Noosa I feel very lucky to have stumbled upon it right next door as opposed to Colorado. Not that I’m ever against visiting CO. It’s beautiful there. Anyway, I’m glad Noosa has decided to expand. I feel very fortunate. 🙂

  8. I tried your product for the first time last week and I have to say it is absolutely delicious. I have never tasted a yogurt that is so creamy and rich tasting. Makes you crave for more. I live in the SW Florida area and would like to know if there is anywhere in my area where I can obtain this product

  10. This is a superior product. I just tried it(raspberry) for the first time and was amazed. I agree that less is best in this case I looking forward to tomorrow when I get another ration of it.
    yummy.
    I live in Wilimington NC and found it at the Fresh Market.
    Michele

  12. I tried it a few weeks ago, here in Oklahoma, and it is delicious! I love all the flavors it comes in. Thanks for sharing their background story.

  13. Hi, I just found this product here in NE a few days ago!! AMAZING!! I tried the honey and was absolutely delighted with the taste and texture!! decadent indeed! Though, I must tell you that I chose it for the 10g of sugar per serving, which is the least I have seen in a natural yogurt, and also for the fact that there were a total of 6 ingredients…..all of which I could pronounce and knew just what they were!! which is a miracle! Thanks so much for sharing!!

  14. Oh my goodness! This yogurt is the best ever! It’s just so smooth, creamy and sweet (honey flavor). Decadent is the perfect word. Just want to savour each spoonful. It’s wonderful, delicious simple nutritious ingredients. I just discovered Greek type late last year. It is no comparison to Noosa. Noosa is in a higher distinct category of it’s own. I happened by it last week in my local Safeway. I want to tell everyone but haven’t in fear it’ll sell out before I get some! I went back this week to buy some more and found no trace of it. BTW I live all the way over here in Hawaii.

  16. I am in mourning….

    We had discovered Noosa at our local Fresh Market grocery and they had….wait for it….:Strawberry-Rhubarb flavor!!!!!!!

    OMG!!!! There is nothing on the planet like that sweet/tart/creamy yogurt!
    Now – for the mourning part….They don’t carry that flavor ant longer…
    HELP!!!!!

  17. Although this is by far the best tasting yogurt i have ever tasted , I’am needing to find a yogurt that contains Lactobacillus and bifidobacterium . Can anyone tell me if this yogurt has these live cultures in it.

    Lisa