The journey for the best niche ice cream started when I was gifted a free Marco Ice Cream. I picked the “Dulce De Leche & Cookies” flavor and my ice-cream hating world was changed. I’m not the biggest fan of ice-cream for many reasons, the biggest one being my allergy to it. But, maybe uncommon ice cream flavors from these brands have the power to change my mind.
Van Leeuwen’s: Lemon Poppy Seed Muffin 8/10
I have never seen an ice cream title be so on point. This smells, looks, and tastes just like creamy lemon poppy seed. If you don’t like lemon poppy seed or chunky bits in ice cream, this is definitely not the ice cream for you. If you love those two things, run to your nearest store. There are so many muffin bits in the container, but I happen to love that about the ice cream. The muffin bits could be a bit more moist, but some may see that as the perfect juxtaposition to the already moist, creamy ice cream. I could definitely see myself buying this again. This was finished the 3rd fastest.
Van Leeuwen’s: Earl Grey Tea 4/10
This was the one I was most excited to try. Unfortunately, I definitely disliked this one the most. The biggest compliment I can give to Van Leeuwen’s is that their flavors match the name perfectly. The tea flavor is just too potent for me in this. It was too fragrant and almost tasted how I imagined liquid incense would taste like. Maybe it’s because I like my tea with a lot of sugar in it, but this was just not for me. The best thing about this ice cream is the perfect creamy texture. I tried to salvage this ice cream by making a sort of frosted lemonade concoction, but the flavor was still too much. If you are a tea fanatic, this may be for you.
Gelato Boy: Lavender Poppy Seed Gelato 9/10
This is not technically ice cream, but I just had to include it. This was soooo refreshing. The flavor was mild, but was still pleasant and enjoyable. I think this is perfect for the summer because it cooled me down in just the right way. Again, this tastes how it sounds. It tastes how a spa feels and kind of like how it smells. Maybe I’m a gelato person. It makes me want lavender milk tea. This was finished the 2nd fastest.
Boba x Ice Cream: Gooey Fried Banana (Lactose Free) 6/10
This ice cream was a journey. When I saw it, I just had to pick it up. In hindsight, I wish I had gone for the milk tea boba flavor. I don’t know why I’m always surprised when the flavors are accurate. The boba was the best thing about this to me. The banana flavor was too potent and the texture was too thick for my liking. I can’t give it a bad rating because I feel I just wasn’t the target demographic for this flavor. I didn’t even finish it. I think next time I’ll stick to banana pudding. However, I definitely don’t regret trying it.
Marco Ice Cream: Dulce De Leche & Cookies 10/10
No exaggeration, I finished this ice cream in 10 minutes. It usually takes a breakup for me to do that. But all jokes aside, I absolutely love this flavor, especially considering I think the last time I had ice cream before this was over 2 years ago. It has small cookie bits which I love and actually wish there was more of. I’ll definitely try their other flavors. This was finished the fastest out of all the ice cream flavors.
Other ice cream flavors I still want to try
Van Leeuwen’s
Marionberry Cheesecake
Honeycomb
Black cherry chip
Glass Onion
Marco
Green Tea White Chocolate
Ginger dreamsicle
Gelato Boy
Tropical mango sorbet
Triple berry sorbet
Key lime cheesecake
Salted caramel
Limoncello sorbet
Boyfriend brownie
Boba x Ice Cream
Churro Raspberry
Mango Chamoy
Salted Ube Smores
( All of their flavors sound so interesting)
Other information: All of these ice creams were bought at Sprouts and were slightly melted when I tried them