Chobani Strained Yoghurt Review

Well the source for this review was different from my usual, in fact my ego requires that I claim I was head-hunted!
Earlier this month this comment from +Chobani was left on one of my posts:
'We've been stalking your blog, and are loving all of your product reviews!
So, we'd love to send you our range of Chobani Strained Yoghurt – they are made with only naturally sourced ingredients and completely fat free with twice the protein of regular yoghurt. 
What do you say – can we tempt you?'  

I deliberated long and hard on the option of free yoghurt, whilst frantically googling the company to check for obvious signs of a scam (a healthy level of suspicion goes a long way online!). The titbits of information regarding the name change from Greek to Strained yoghurt, and the subsequent packaging revamp, caught my eye first. It showed that the marketing aspect was taking advantage of the situation in a progressive manner in line with a corporate giant. This video introduction by founder +Hamdi Ulukaya explains the origins of a company which after initial production took only 4 years to become the Number One selling brand in America.

In short order a flurry of messages were exchanged, and a large box was shoogled (Scottish phrase sorry ~ definition here) to my door by a juggling +UPS delivery man. Well packaged with high density foam and chilled gel ice packs, the yoghurts transportation alone was worthy of comment. The gel packs bound for the freezer to aid future sprains and sunburn, and the yoghurts filling up the fridge. With the bright colours and almost simplistic design they looked snazzy and fashionably appealing.

The clear 0% fat made a proud statement amongst the less than healthy food, I love a tasty and lazy way to eat healthily. The yoghurt is Gluten free and contains no wheat, rye, barley as it is also Vegetarian it contains no other thickeners, gelatines or stablisers. The straining process gives a minimum of 13g of protein per 170g pot of yoghurt, making it ideal for a treat or as part of a more structured diet. Served singly, with muesli cereal, or used to make biscuits and cheesecakes, the yoghurt has endless potential.

The appearance isn't as visually appealing as other yoghurts, although I will put this firmly down to the enthusiastic delivery man. The yoghurt is thicker than standard, but not spoon bending thick, instead it is luxurious, rather than solid and chunky. The fruit is already partially mixed, which gives it a strange consistency and it takes a bit of mixing to get the texture smooth and creamy. 

I liked the detail inside the lid with the handy Hash tag for those social networking fans (#tastereal ). Echoing their 2009 US billboard campaign which featured real tweets about their products.

Flavour wise its a varied bunch with the Apple & Cinnamon and the Blueberry being newcomers for the relaunch of the transatlantic brand. Unfortunately due to my negligent guarding of the fridge, two of the yoghurts were robbed by unscrupulous scoffers (apparently the fridge contents are fair game and suitably appealing for public consumption!). I have been informed that the flavour curious guilty parties were lured to snack against their will. Despite the overwhelming guilt; the Apple Cinnamon and the Blood Orange, were deemed to be awesome (very descriptive guys!). Obviously purchasing these flavours again could be dangerous, a travesty which will be carefully considered before another attempt is made.

The appeal of the unique combination of Apples and Cinnamon in a yoghurt, was something I was extremely interested in, elevating the yoghurt to a dessert rather than a snack. The extreme flavour of the rather vicious sounding Blood Orange should have been delicious, however the taste will have to be postponed (feeling any guilt yet?).

I was able to snag a taste of the Blueberry, Raspberry, Strawberry and Black Cherry (whole lot of berries), and I found them to be quite standard fair. The flavours were clearly defined and exactly what you would have expected, they certainly didn't taste like they were 0% fat.

The Pomegranate was mind-blowingly tasty, and although I appreciated the natural aspect of the seeds, I wish they hadn't. I have always loved the fruit but hated the effort and hassle of eating one, after a few minutes you always start to resemble a demented machine gun spitting out the seeds. I know the seeds are edible and available to purchase, but I'm happy to pass.

The Peach flavour is always going to be one of my favourites in a yoghurt and this particular on didn't disappoint. So sweet it was hard to believe that it was healthy, very filling with the right ration of yoghurt to fruit. Again definitely a flavour I will purchase again.

My main gripe with the Chobani yoghurts is availability; I have searched every supermarket in a 15 mile radius and can't find any who have even heard of the brand. Never mind everyone else, I need more of these in my life. Ideal for health nuts and fakers trying to look good  (guess which I am!), I look forward to seeing this brand across the chiller cabinets in the very near future (especially Scotland).
Thanks again to +Chobani for the opportunity to taste test their newly relaunched yoghurts! Have a scout round their website here.
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