Thursday, November 13, 2014

Target Exclusive Noosa Pumpkin Yoghurt - Target: Cherry Hill, NJ

Target Exclusive Noosa Pumpkin Yoghurt - Target: Cherry Hill, NJ
I still have so many pumpkin items to review and I'm running out of time! I'm going to stick to my current schedule for now, where I post pumpkin reviews every other day, but I won't be reviewing any more pumpkin items in December. So, if I still have things to review come Nov 30th, I'll have to have a massive pumpkin posting party. (Although I think I might be able to squeeze everything in. This might be my largest collection of pumpkin items yet!)

This year, my collection  is going to include a lot of yogurts. Seriously, every single brand made their own pumpkin themed yogurt this fall, and even thought I didn't buy every single seasonal yogurt I saw, I still bought 5 different brands.
Can someone explain why Americans are so obsessed with little flavored yogurt cups? I know several people who eat yogurt every single day, sometimes multiple times a day, and while I enjoy the occasional container with my breakfast or lunch, I just can't eat it all the time. I don't have a problem with flavorings, there's so much variety, but that soft texture becomes so boring that it can make me feel nauseous if I eat it too frequently. Sure, you can mix in fruits and granola, but why not just eat that fruit or granola instead? (Are any of you yogurt addicts? If so, what makes you enjoy it so much?)

Long story short: I like yogurt, I'm just not addicted to it. With that being said, I've never tried this brand before. Since the packaging boasts all about it's "quality" product, I'm kind of excited to try this and compare it to the regular cups of yogurt I usually buy at Aldi.

The packaging for this brand is very different from it's competitors. Instead of being a small cup-shaped plastic container, this is wide and very shallow. Usually hummus, dip, and savory spreads like cream cheese are packaged this way, so it's interesting for a yogurt to be in a container this shape and size. Plus, the lid is resealable. Is this meant to be multiple servings? If so, this portion of yogurt is really skimpy.

Nope, the information on the container says this is just one serving, so it's a bit odd that the lid is resealable. The packaging isn't the industry standard for yogurt, but I like it. The design on the clear plastic is simple, but the bolder design on the top of the lid is a lot bolder and it appeals to me a lot more.


Under the lid there is a foil seal with a bold graphic boasting about the happiness levels of their cows and the company's yoghurt making process. The graphics were a nice surprise, since I was expecting a plain foil or plastic seal,but the yellow seems a bit out of place. Why not an orange to go along with you pumpkin theme?

I peeled back the foil and the yogurt was a creamy off-white color with a hint of the pumpkin filling/puree underneath. Visually, it looks like any other yogurt on the market, with a fruit-on-the-bottom kind of set up, but it smells a lot tangier than any of the pumpkin based yogurts I have eaten and reviewed already.
I took a bite of the yogurt my itself first,  and it had a really refreshing flavor. From what I can tell this is plain yogurt, so if you want the entire mixture to have a pumpkin flavoring, you would have to stir and mix the container. On it's own, the yogurt had a really nice texture and flavor, it was tangy, mildly sweet, and very refreshing. This definitely has a better flavor and texture than the plain tubs of yogurt I get from Aldi (but the Aldi kind is a lot cheaper).

I tried the pumpkin mixture on it's own, and it was really flavorful as well. It wasn't overly sweet, like a pumpkin pie filling, but it didn't taste like straight-up pumpkin either. There was a nice balance of authentic pumpkin flavoring mixed with sweetness, so it has a nutty flavoring similar to actual pumpkin puree, but it was also heavily spiced. The spice blend was well balanced, so none of the pumpkin pie spices seems to overpower the others, and at times the pumpkin mixture seemed a bit pulpy, like real pumpkin fibers were in it.

When it was mixed together, I got the best of both worlds. The pumpkin mixture was sweet and spicy, while the yogurt added a nice tanginess. I really liked this yogurt a lot, and it might be one of the best in the dairy aisle that I've ever had, but it is just a bit too expensive for me to buy again. Sometimes there are coupons available, but I can't rationalize spending $2+ dollars on one cup of single serving yogurt when I can buy 5 or more cups at Aldi for the same price.

It may be pricey, but this is a really nice product, and the yogurt was definitely a higher quality than the ones I've had in the past. If you're looking for a delicious but higher end product, this is it. You can definitely taste the difference when you compare this to other yogurts on the shelves. (I just can't afford it.)
On a Pumpkin Scale of 1-5 (5 being the most pumpkin-y) I’d give this a 4. The puree has a really fantastic flavoring, almost like pumpkin pie filling, but not as dense and sweet. The spice levels are well balanced and this was really delicious, but with the higher quality product comes a slightly larger price tag. 
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1 comment:

  1. I had this in Clearwater FL after the Tampa Bay Times 5k. They were giving it to participants after the race. Everyone in our group loved it. We hope to find it now that we are back home in Erie Pa.

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