By Lara Alexander

Even though afternoon clouds threatened rain, Revelations Yogurt was packed on opening day yesterday. Children and adults alike lined up to fill their cups with their choice of frozen yogurt flavors and make important choices at the toppings bar. Helping new customers get acquainted with the Revelations way, generous stacks of mini tasting cups were on hand with a sign encouraging sampling of frozen yogurt flavors and friendly employees gave each customer a $1 discount.

Employee Keirstan Hanson was on hand keeping the toppings bar tidy. Best friends with shop manager Devon Duvall, Keirstan just graduated from Meadowdale High School and plans to spend her summer working in the yogurt shop until she leaves for Western Washington University in the fall.

I did the difficult work of making my way down the aisle to taste each flavor. With over 100 flavors available to order, Revelations yogurt plans on changing the flavors on tap every few weeks. The standouts available now were the Original Tart, providing a slightly tangy base for a load up of sweet toppings, the rich Peanut Butter flavor that would pair well with the chocolate and crushed candy toppings, and the Pomegranate-Raspberry sorbet which tasted of real fruit.

The Lemon frozen yogurt tasted like lemon cake rather than the bright clean lemon flavor that I was expecting and the Strawberry frozen yogurt tasted more of strawberry bubble gum than real fruit and cream.

Also on tap was Angel Food Cake that did actually taste like a white cake and not just another word for plain vanilla. Red Velvet was reminiscent of a black forest cake, with a fruity chocolate flavor. Chocolate had a nice dark chocolate taste, richer than the bland milk chocolate flavors of cheap ice cream. Carmel tasted remarkably similar to the peanut butter, which isn’t to say that it did not have a nice flavor. Vanilla was also available for those who want a blank slate for toppings.

The topping bar is the showpiece of the yogurt shop. A wide variety of fruit and fresh berries – not frozen – including blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and raspberries. Candy of all kinds filled bin after bin, including sour candies, chocolate chips, and crushed candy bars. Those with allergies will appreciate the extra care that Revelations takes by placing all of the chopped nuts and crushed candy containing nuts at a separate station from the other toppings.

After loading up on frozen yogurt and toppings, customers take their unique creations to the register to be weighed. I opted for the Original Tart yogurt, topped with berries and crushed nuts, totalling 4 ounces in weight and costing less than $2 before the opening day discount was applied. All creations cost $0.44 per ounce, a good value for the quality of toppings and variety of choices.

Revelations buzzed today with the excitement of both the chipper staff and the eager new customers. It has captured the feeling of a favorite community spot and I hope that it keeps that feeling going for the long haul. As long as I can keep my portion sizes in check, I plan to return to Revelations Yogurt frequently over the summer for a healthier dessert or afternoon treat.

Revelations Yogurt
527 Main Street
11 a.m. to 10 p.m. weekdays
11 a.m. to 11 p.m. weekends

A culinary adventurer, Lara Alexander grows, cooks and writes about food from her home in Edmonds. You can read about her garden and kitchen fun on the blog Food-Soil-Thread.