Refresh Yourself with Organic Frozen Yoghurt at FRAE

I was introduced to natural yogurt as a child; daughter to a health conscious mother who incubated glasses of home made milky stuff then tried to smuggle it into our meals at any cost. I was too young to understand the digestion and calcium benefits of natural yogurt. Besides, it didn’t taste that good.

Fortunately things have come a long way since then. A few years ago, two canny Glaswegians visited New York and noticed the popularity of frozen yoghurt stores. Luckily for us, they decided that the UK needed to get in on the action and the idea for FRAE was born.

A three-minute walk from North London’s Angel tube station, amongst the antiques and vintage clothes boutiques of Camden Passage is FRAE’s flagship store. It is soon to be joined by a sister store on Notting Hill Gate, close to Portobello Market and Hyde Park.

For anyone not yet familiar with the delights of Islington, mile long Upper Street runs from Angel tube station and the high street fashions of the N1 Shopping Centre up to Highbury and Islington station where independent furniture and plenty more clothing shops can be found. So what better way to start (or end) a shopping trip with a sweet treat that will neither spoil your appetite or your waistline?

The frozen yogurt at FRAE comes in two flavours – Natural and Green Tea. The Natural, original yogurt is smooth with a clean and creamy flavour and texture. The Green Tea swirl has a subtle tang to it and is as refreshing as gin and tonic in the summer.

  

Then the fun begins as you choose from one of many toppings. Healthy options abound with seasonal summer berries from Kent, golden mangoes from Pakistan, sprinkles of granola and drizzles of honey for a hint of natural sweetness. Less healthy toppings such as penny-sized Oreo cookies and chocolate brownie are also available but this is surely offset by the yogurt, which is 100% fat-free, organic and low in calories.

Customers can get a FRAE to go (they also do giant “take home” containers) or enjoy a pot on the premises seated on a window side milking stool, watching the rest of the shopping world go by. 

For anyone like me who thought that the name FRAE might have something to do with the English word “fresh”, it is in fact an old Scottish word meaning “from”. While it is used here to reflect the owners sensitivity to the origins of their product, the care they exercise in turn ensures that the customers gets the freshest frozen yogurt and fruits. Consideration has also been given to the biodegradable packaging. Even the spoons are made from cornstarch.

For now FRAE is London-bound but with its Scottish heritage, it may not be long before their shops start popping up north of the border and hopefully in between as well. Visitors to the city are well advised to make a detour to Islington or Notting Hill, if not for the shopping, do it for the frozen yogurt. It is one of the few guilty pleasures in life you won’t actually have to feel guilty about.

Frae:

27 Camden Passage, Islington, London N1 8EA

47 Notting Hill Gate, Notting Hill, London W11 3JS

by Sara Revell