Following my shipment of five pints of ice cream from Phin & Phebes, I shared a story with them about how my grandmother just wasn’t able to resist the urge to eat their Coconut Key Lime. After finding my circumstances as amusing as I had, they decided to forward my experience with their customers by way of Da’ Blog. Here’s how things went down: “I had a wedding to go to this past weekend and my elderly grandmother volunteered to housesit/dogsit for my girlfriend and I while we were out of town for the night. Keep in mind she’s 73 years old and not typically an ice cream fan (many major brands don’t agree with her taste buds and/or stomach). She arrived Friday night around 8pm. By the time we returned on Saturday afternoon around 5pm, not only had she discovered the last remaining pint of Phin and Phebes in my freezer, but she also managed to polish off the entire pint of Key Lime Coconut by herself. I already knew her love for all things coconut, however she just couldn’t stop raving about how incredible this ice cream was. Sure I’ll have to pick up another pint to review at my local Earth Fare, but hearing her go on and on about ice cream was well worth the sacrifice. I’ll probably pick up a few for her as well if I want to stay in her good graces.” After her endorsement, I made it a priority to head back and purchase another pint.
Key Lime Pie ice cream has been tried before by a number of different manufacturers, but they all seem to come up short. Whether or not they can’t outsmart the sourness or they choose the wrong mix-in, most have trouble agreeing with my taste buds. Phin & Phebes takes a completely different approach by ditching the pie route all together, replacing pie crust with graham cracker chunks and mixing their key lime base with a little coconut. The finished product is a 220 calories per serving super-premium ice cream that sounds like it has some serious potential; especially after popping off the lid and seeing the first layer. The combination of coconut and key lime ice creams results in a base that is light in color and full in flavor. Each bite begins mellow, but soon starts to incorporate the tart characteristics of the key lime. Before sourness is able to overwhelm the senses however, the distinguishable taste of coconut comes into save the day.
The coconut is able to balance out the lip puckering ability of the South Florida fruit and provides an above average base to show off the mix-ins to come. These little splotches of golden graham cracker chunks are involved in nearly every bite and bring an additional element of sweetness to contrast the bite of they key lime. They add a gritty, slightly chewy texture and compliment both bases tremendously. Although Coconut Key Lime isn’t based on a traditional Key Lime Pie, their creation ends up being better than any other ice cream I’ve had based on this concept. Now I fully understand why my grandmother caved in.
Where I Found It: Earth Fare
Grade: B
