With a blast-freeze method of liquid nitrogen, each ice cream creation is hand-crafted upon order, making each frozen treat in Joseph's Craft Ice Cream, a new ice cream store, fresh and fun to watch.
The owner behind this new cool frozen dessert brand is not a stranger to the food biz, as Theresa Alvarez is already a restauranteur (Just Thai and House of Wagyu) in Manila. "We're not really new with food, since this is our third venture already," she shares, "but for desserts, this is our first." She adds that a trip to the States last summer with her daughter was what made them pursue the sweet and cool side of food — they encountered an ice cream shop serving liquid nitrogen ice cream, with people falling in line just to have their fix. "It was really addicting and different," Alvarez says, "and when we arrived home, my daughter was still craving for it, and then I said… Why not?" A devout Catholic, she partnered her thorough research of this particular ice cream making method with a lot of prayers to Saint Joseph, and then something happened — her contacts for this ice cream concept from different parts of the world were either named Jose or Joseph — and that is when Theresa sees this coincidence as a good sign and a blessing, thus naming their store Joseph's Craft Ice Cream.
By incorportating the science of liquid nitrogen into their desserts, Joseph's ice cream is instantly created right in front of customers, with a white cloud of vapor appearing like magic as the ice cream 'scientists' churn out ice cream that uses pre-mixed liquid using fresh and pure ingredients. Because liquid nitrogren blasted ice cream is faster, the texture of the dessert is smoother — the unwanted ice crystals that tend to form on typical ice creams is never in sight at Joseph's. Since they're always made fresh, ice cream isn't available by pints or gallons, too—they come in cups and currently are offering Basic Flavors (P150/cup) and Premium Flavors (P180/cup depending on availability).
Flavors here lean on the less sweet–ice cream is not too reliant on the saccharine sweetness of syrups or white sugar, and never cloying. It's pleasant on the palate and a cup of it won't induce young kids to that hyper sugar high, yet this is also the reason why people can have more of it — you'll seem to feel less guilty consuming more since it's not so sugary. Their Basic Flavor line consists of Organic Vanilla Bean, Hershey's Choco, Fresh Strawberry, Coffee Latte, and Cookies & Cream; while Premium Flavors include Bacon Crisps, Mango Basil, and Sea Salt Caramel.
Among the current available flavors, easy favorites are Coffee Latte and Fresh Strawberry (basic flavors) that taste exactly how the flavors describe them to be, while Sea Salt Caramel is a personal favorite among the premium lineup. Another flavor that plays with the sweet and salty combination is Bacon Crisps, its tiny bits of bacon topping indeed staying crisp to give you a little salty crunch in every spoonful.
To add more texture and flavor, customers can put toppings on their craft ice cream, such as nuts (pecan, almonds, cashew, walnut, macadamia), sweets (crushed oreo, crushed biscoff), chocolate chips (milk and dark), waffles, and even a whole fudge brownie cookie. Soon, customers can create their own flavor combinations and build their own ice cream if they want it sweeter or mild, and limited edition flavors will be released.
Joseph’s Craft Ice Cream is now open at the 4th floor of Shangri-La Plaza Mall, Mandaluyong. Like Joseph’s on Facebook ("Joseph’s Craft Ice Cream") and follow on Instagram (@JosephsCraftIceCream).
