A Trip To Yoghurt Heaven (and a giveaway)

I'm not really a dairy lover (putting chocolate aside!). I don't like milk and cheese much and would easily give either or both up. But as a woman I have this niggling thing about the fact that I should be consuming calcium so I don't end up all bent in half like a paper clip as an older woman.

 So I decided I would do the yoghurt thing - I put yoghurt through my cereal and that way I feel like I can  give myself a calcium tick. The other day I decided to treat myself and instead of buying a cheap tub of 'whatever is on special' (and is probably full of fake everything) I grabbed a tub of Bliss - Berry Happy gourmet yoghurt. And I was indeed Berry Happy. Oh.so.good - so thick and so creamy (almost like a velvety smooth mousse) and full of a berry 'compote'.

It literally was so good that I emailed the company to congratulate them (I always ring a company if their product is defective so I try to balance it out with praise if I find something genuinely above and beyond).

Long story short I discovered the yoghurt is made by a proudly Canterbury company!! and they are lovely to deal with. I received a personal reply to my email from the company CEO Jim Small, who himself started Cyclops Yoghurt in 1988. Well impressed. Then last week I made the trip out to their factory in Hornby and came home with all sorts of things to try.

For Christchurch dwellers they run a factory shop on a Wednesday for you to be able to buy yourself some treats at below the RRP. 10am-4pm and worth a trip! If Victoria helps you out tell her I sent you because I'm sure she'll be thrilled about that!

Just for a bit of background the company produces the following:

Cyclops - these are the original products and all the ingredients are certified organic, the yoghurt is fermented for a minimum of 12 hours in comparison to the 5 hours of most other brands and it contains a much higher concentration of milk solids which gives it an acidity and pro-biotic bacteria levels that are much higher than standard yoghurt's.

The Bliss range - the one I bought. This is a gourmet brand and has the most wonderful selection of flavours. (even the titles make me happy - Apricot Enthusiasm anyone?). These yoghurts are made in the same factory using the same products and although they contain organic ingredients are not currently certified organic. These yoghurts are more dessert like, to me they remind me of eating the slightly soft ice-cream from around the edges of the tub (you mean you don't do that?? must just be me!) and certainly satisfy the after-dinner sweet craving. They are higher in fat than some of the others and I find for me that means I eat less and feel more full and satisfied.

(Does this make anyone else think of the Seinfeld episode when they spent the whole time eating frozen yoghurt??)

The company also produces 3 flavours of organic frozen yoghurt - Mango, Strawberry and Coffee(which a lot of my friends swear by). And tubs of sour cream.

I love that they as a company they are ardently committed to being an adult based brand - not that children wouldn't enjoy them but with flavours like Ginger and Pear (with definite ginger flavours) and Mango and Cardamom and a strong focus on organic and pro-biotic qualities - they are not aiming to be a 'lolly brand'. Certainly my Flip was more than happy to try the frozen yoghurt and described it as 'all of that' and has been asking for it for dessert every night since.

They are also genuinely committed to doing their best by the environment as well - there are awards like this all over the wall at the factory shop

It makes me really pleased to see artisan products being produced locally in New Zealand that refuse to compromise the standard of their products to take a stake of world domination. I also find it really impressive that for over 20 years (before it was trendy) they have been producing organic products.

As I say, I approached the company (Serra foods) after trying the yoghurt because I found it SO good. They kindly gave me some more products to sample and were very generous when I asked them for some vouchers to give away.

SO... to my September giveaway. If you would like to win a voucher (let's call it a ticket to yoghurt heaven!) to get your own taste of happiness leave me a comment here.

For further entries be a follower of this blog - please leave another comment

and if you really want one of these vouchers pop over and like their fb page and leave me another comment.

3 chances to win!

** currently Cyclops is available at all your local supermarkets but the Bliss range is not stocked in Countdown supermarkets. If like me you're a cheap and cheerful PnS shopper or a more refined New World shopper you are in luck for both products. **

Entries close on 20th of September and winners will be posted their vouchers within a week. Sorry to my international readers this is a NZ giveaway only. Please ensure I have a way of contacting you should you be a winner.