Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt

i went in here for the first time today, and i just thought it was alright. i only tasted 4 of the flavors, because they don’t put out sample cups for customers to actually sample. they keep them behind the counter, and you have to «allow» them to get it for you. i’m sure they are trying to keep people from only coming in to sample, but it seems a little stingy. i was slightly offended that i couldn’t taste more than one, because not all frozen yogurt places have the same flavors – and if they do, they don’t taste the same.
anyway, i got chocolate, original tart, pomegranate (for my daughter) and only tasted the berry one. chocolate and original tart were decent. pomegranate tasted a bit too sweet for my liking. berry was pretty good, but my daughter didn’t want to try it (3 year-​old – such strong opinions). one of my qualms with the fro-​yo was that it was super soft. i didn’t want it to come out like hard ice cream, but all the flavors seemed to come out slightly melted. that’s a strike in my book.
they did have really fresh fruit cut up, which i like. i’ve been to a lot of fro-​yo places, and i am always super disappointed when the fruit comes from a can or looks like it has been recycled over a few days. so they definitely get a point back for that. and although i don’t like the exploding boba, i think it’s cool that they have it and the jelly stuff – which i also do not like.
overall, i think i will go back when i go to this mall. i am always up for frozen yogurt, and it’s a way better choice for me than cinnabon or dairy queen.

I don’t have a whole lot to compare Orange Leaf to. I’ve only ever gone to one other Frozen Yogurt place and that’s Tasty Yo in Noda. Of the two, I prefer this even though it’s a chain and not a local business like Tasty Yo. Mostly because they have more flavors and toppings.
My daughters love this place! They really like the concept of getting and mixing whatever they like, however they like. I like the look and feel. It’s kind of a mix between Orange Julius and Retro 70’s plastic furniture. I dig it, man!
The yogurts is delicious and the toppings are great. My favorites are Pineapple and Taro, which is some sort of Asian plant… and it’s purple!
And then there’s the toppings! Kiwi, Pear, Mochi, Pecan, Peach, Honey, Mango, Banana, Granola, Coconut, Nuts, Pineapple, Blueberry, Strawberry, Blackberry, Raspberry, Honey Dew, Jelly Bellies, Cranberries, Watermelon, Oreos, Fruity Pebbles, Cocoa Pebbles, Brownie, Gummy Bears, Dark Chocolate, Captain Crunch, Sunflower Seed, Dried Fruits, Graham Cracker, M&M’s, Sprinkles, Marshmallows, Butterfinger, Reeses Cups. How can you go wrong?
My favorites are these mango pearl-​like little orbs that burst with flavor when you chew them and the white chocolate covered pretzels.
You can go to this place regularly and have something different every single time. The combinations are endless. And at $.045 per ounce, it’s a pretty good deal.

Still a fan…
I think this Orange Leaf was one of the first locations in Charlotte to start offering froyo. The concept was pretty foreign to me, but since then (I guess a year or 2) there are competitors popping up all over the place.
Though this place is not as crowded as is used to be, it still has good yogurt. The toppings may not be as plentiful as other places, but they are fresh and the place is very clean.
They picked a great location since you can get a treat after running errands at the mall or just grab one while walking through and browsing. A lot of the Pinkberries and Yoforias are either stand-​alone buildings or in a strip mall that requires driving to and from (which also could lead to froyo disasters in the car). Not that it couldn’t happen here if you just drive to fulfill your craving, but you do have the option of walking around the mall or sitting in the food court before you leave.

Felt very compelled to write a review for this place…
This is the best frozen yogurt I’ve ever had — ever. Yes, I’ve had Pinkberry. If you like your frozen yogurt to have that definitely yogurt, almost slightly sour taste, this is not gonna be your bag. I like that sort of frozen yogurt when it’s done right too but I *also* like the sort that tastes a bit more like soft serve ice cream. This place is more the latter and does it *so* right that it trumps my like of the places that specialize and can do the former justice. Furthermore, it tastes better than any real soft serve ice cream I’ve ever had. Versatility!
It is thick, very creamy, rich and there’s none of that slightly ice-​y texture to it. The flavors I’ve tried have been spot on and absolutely delicious. I highly recommend the Taro if they have it in. Green Tea, Mango Tango and Lychee are a few more favorites.
When they first opened, they seemed to have a *slight* problem keeping the toppings bar (get the popping boba!) tidy but have since improved upon that. The past few times I’ve been there, the toppings bar has been as tidy as humanly possible.
The frozen yogurt here is, in a word, amazing and if you watch how much you put into your cup (they’re massive like any other self-​serve place and can easily fool you into thinking you haven’t put much in when you’ve gotten plenty), you can get out of there having paid no more than you would at any normal frozen yogurt or ice cream place. I usually get out of there having paid around $ 3 for a satisfying amount.

Worst frozen yogurt I’ve ever had. 2 thumbs down!

I was here with a friend to shop at Express and we decided to grab a froyo on our way out.
One of the biggest turn off for me and most consumers is that they are very used to getting their own taste cup so that they can pick out what they like to taste and eventually buy the one they thought was wonderful. Well here they are so stingy, they wouldn’t even keep the taste cup out. When I asked to try one, he looked at me like I am only here to test his crap. So he gave me a sample and I picked out the one I wanted than I went to the bar to get my toppings. Well I really liked cherry on my strawberry froyo at C Mills so I figured let me stick with the same here. I was so wrong, their cherry were not fresh at all, they were one of those frozen once where it has lots of essence in it. I took couple of spoon and threw away on my way out.
I had to go back in the mall and get me Startbucks to get that bad taste out of my mouth.

I admit it, I’m a Pinkberry snob, so this is a biased review. You’ve been warned.
I don’t like this whole self-​serve frozen yogurt thing. They charge you by the weight and you end up spending way more than you were planning to spend!
I am by no means a germaphobe, but I found it a bit unsanitary that you have to reach over some of the toppings to get to others. I didn’t feel like any of the employees were really supervising what was going on and the toppings were often getting mixed together a bit, so beware of this if you have food allergies.
If you’re at Carolina Place, I honestly think the Dairy Queen/​Orange Julius stand is more worthwhile than Orange Leaf.

Froyo in Charlotte! Finally! This was one of those self-​serve froyo places, and they had about 5 – 6 different flavors available, which was fantastic. I had never seen that many flavors available in a froyo place before. Great toppings, including some new ones I had not yet seen either, like lychee or jelly (stuff that you also see in bubble tea). Pay by weight, and enjoy the sweet delight. Easy, convenient, cheap, tasty!