Today I had the very good fortune of trying Cool Beans for the first time. Up until today, I had never heard of Snow Cream. The cold and creamy Taiwanese dessert, also known as shaved snow or xue hua bing, is hugely popular in Southern California, but has been spreading across the United States and recently has begun showing up in urban Canada. It’s a cross between shaved ice and ice cream, super smooth and surprisingly, quite filling.

Cool Beans is doing it right, they have a nice variety of base flavors, and then top them off with simple syrups and their namesake Cool Beans, which are magical popping juice balls which are full of flavor! These are not at all like the tapioca balls found in bubble tea, which was my initial fear. I do not like those. Continue reading →