Tom’s Farm Yogurt Almond isn’t a shockingly new flavor concoction, but still manages to surprise with its unusual, yogurt flavor profile. These almonds straddle the line between the acceptable and the false, before tripping over into the artificial. It’s a flavor that I’m sure the Japanese and Korean audiences will enjoy out of pure nostalgia, while leaving the rest of us wondering what we just consumed. If you’re familiar with Yakult “yogurt,” then you’ll understand exactly what I’m talking about. For the uninitiated, Yakult is a brand of yogurt that has its origins in Japan, but managed to find its way to Korea as well. If you’ve spent time in Korea, you’re also probably familiar with the yogurt ladies that travel your neighborhood on their electric versions of Santa’s sleigh, delivering mini-yogurts to the needy. It’s a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it! Anyways, you’re in for a crazy treat today if you’re unfamiliar with the cult of Yakult. I seriously wish I could see the reaction on your faces after eating some these “yogurt” almonds…
Packaging:
I think I’ll start with the artwork on the packaging today, because I find it interesting. Is it just me or is their something mysteriously sexual and phallic about the cover art today? Featured dead center is a large phallic bottle of yogurt spouting sticky liquid as it covers our almond friends. They also look like they are enjoying it quite a bit! Now, I don’t know how to say this lightly and it might just be a figment of my dirty imagination (probably so…), but having done my undergraduate senior thesis on the prose and marketing strategies of advertisements, this image is clearly leaning heavily on human sexuality or sex for that matter.
To put it bluntly, this image is a bukkake dream if I’ve ever seen one…
I kind of feel bad for our cute and innocent almond friends. They should have never been intertwined with this idea, but I guess that’s life.
Anyways, other than the sexual imagery, there are puddles of yogurt mess throughout the image and almonds bursting out of yogurt bottles covered in the mess. This whole image makes for a strange day in almond land…
In terms of the packaging, I counted 24 almonds in total in this 30 gram (~1.06 ounce) package of almonds. Again, I was cheated out of a gram of almonds, because the total weight of almonds from this package was 29 grams. I don’t know about you, but I’m kind of over being cheated out of almonds from Tom’s Farm. This seems to just be the norm…
Flavor:
Tom’s Farm Yogurt Almond is surprisingly sour for yogurt flavored almonds. The fine dusting of yogurt flavored powder tastes less like yogurt and more like Japanese or Korean Yakult drinks. Initially, it’s an unusually sour tang that hits you before transitioning into a sweeter faux yogurt flavor. The finishing flavor is delicious and brings balance between the tanginess of the yogurt and the sweet earthiness of almonds. What I like best about Yogurt Almond is that almonds remain the star. However, I’m not a big fan of the fake yogurt flavor or even Yakult for that matter. People talk like Yakult is good for you, but I’ve always been skeptical of this. It has an overly sweet, powdery flavor that taste like man-made garbage, rather than a nutritious dairy product. Anyways, I digress… The flavor of these almonds is relatively balanced, but far from the most delicious or exciting flavor from Tom’s Farm. These almonds are just okay…
Aroma:
The aroma of Yogurt Almond is similar to the flavor. These smell exactly like the tiny Yakult drinks you can find around East Asia. If you tossed almonds into one of those tiny bottles (in the label of these almonds, if you’re unfamiliar…), it would taste and smell the same. The aroma is a precarious sweet and sour odor. It doesn’t really smell like anything that you’ve had the pleasure of sensing before, I’m sure. It’s very strange indeed! I would say it’s loosely “yogurt-y.” The sweet and sour aroma is also more than enough to squelch the smell of almonds, so don’t expect any earthy notes from these almonds.
Verdict:
Another one of my not-so-favorites from Tom’s Farm. Yogurt Almond is average at best and luckily, there are better almonds from Tom’s Farm to enjoy instead. If you’re into the flavor of Yakult “yogurt drinks” or any other sour yogurt products, my guess is that you will probably enjoy these almonds. I’m just not a fan of the artificial tasting yogurt powder that coats the exterior of Yogurt Almond. In my opinion, it’s an unnatural, malignant abomination of wholesome dairy products, but that’s just one person’s opinion! You should try and decide for yourself, because variety is the spice of life!
Have you ever tried Yakult? Do you think this is a flavor combination that works or not? What foods do you like to combine with yogurt? Let me know in the comments. I can’t wait to hear back from you!
If you’re interested in hearing more about Korean snack nuts or instant ramen, check out my on-going series, Noodle Story: An Exploration of Korean Instant Noodles and my other series, I Think I’m Going Nuts: An Eyeful of South Korea’s Little Snack Nuts, here on Medium.
