Maxine's Cookies & Cream Ice Cream

Sad news today... Three Twins is shutting down (as announced by CEO Neal Gottlieb on social media today). I know they tried to expand with Slim Twin and Maxine's, but it will be their good old fashion pints that I will miss the most. I'm sorry I didn't buy more of them. They weren't crazy, they were just classic done right. The only disclaimer I will throw down here is that I've tried to pick up their Madagascar vanilla bean flavor from two different stores recently and both times it was just a disaster of a pint (completely mishandled in shipping & stocking). Was that part of the downfall? Who knows, but I'm sad that I may never have another pint of theirs again.

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[2017-2020] Way back in the summer of 2017, Three Twins debuted their more budget friendly lineup called Maxine's. Named after two of the founder's mom, it came out in six flavors. Clocking in at $7.99 for 1.5 quarts, I just never got around to trying it. One because it's really only been at Whole Foods until last year when it hit Market32, and two, it carries a cross contamination warning... but then I saw it for 75% off and I thought "ok, I'll give it a shot". I checked all the containers for their production dates and discovered the freshest option was...

Maxine's Cookies & Cream Ice Cream

Organic Madagascar Vanilla ice cream
with Chocolate sandwich creme cookies

Slim Twin Ice Cream

*** Please Note, Three Twins has gone out of business ***

[By CT, 2018-2019] Over Labor Day weekend, my 9-year-old son made the observation that I had put on some weight. A quick stop on the scale and a look back and records of my weight revealed that in the last two years, I had put on about 25 pounds. It was an eye-opening moment and caused me to quickly adjust my food intake over the past couple weeks.

With a reinvigorated desire to shed pounds and eat better, what's a guy to do if he wants some ice cream? Well, along comes Dubba and says, "Hey, wanna try some Slim Twin Ice Cream?"

Three Twins joins the Halo Top bandwagon

Look, this isn't the first trend we've seen ripple through the freezer aisle, but for whatever reason is does seem quicker than say the greek froyo trend. The latest to join the high protein, low cal, low fat frozen dessert trend are the folks behind Three Twins ice cream. Not too long ago, they were announcing a mainstream version of their organic ice cream and now we have...

Slim Twin by Three Twins Ice Cream

There will be seven flavors to start: vanilla, chocolate, coffee, mint chip, cookies & cream, lemon cookie, and cardamom. Each pint packs 24 grams of protein. They seemed inspired by the regular three twins lineup and that should be a good thing.

The slim twin webpage doesn't have nutrition info posted yet, but the PR person told me that it's "cane sugar, monk fruit, and small amounts of erythritol". I had hoped for something without erythritol but I guess I am out of luck.

At the moment it looks like it's going to start off as a west coast thing, but I felt it was important for everyone to see just how quickly things can change. To put that in question form: who do you think will jump on the bandwagon next? could we see weight watchers or healthy choice take the plunge? Haagen-Daz? Turkey Hill? Take a guess and leave it in the comments.

Parting thoughts: 1) I'm trying to get Nick to actually review a pint of Breyers Delights.
2) I apologize that my posting is still inconsistent since I was sick. I guess I'm using the slowness of the freezer aisle as an excuse to take better care of myself. In the past, I would force myself to post no matter what but recently I'm letting my self slide with a movie or early bedtime. Gotta recharge before ice cream 2018 starts. New review will be up on Monday.


UPDATE: I forgot to go back and check ingredients. So much for "small amounts of erythritol".

Slim Twin Vanilla = organic nonfat milk, organic egg yolk, organic milk protein concentrate, organic erythritol, organic soluble tapioca fiber, organic cream, organic vanilla extract, organic cane sugar, organic locust bean gum, organic monk fruit extract.

Granted I don't know the flavor to quantity ratio, but that order of ingredients does not match how it was described. That really annoys me since they were annoyed when I pointed out the erythritol... yet here we are and what's the fourth ingredient? erythritol.

Three Twins debuts Maxine's Ice Cream

Now it's been too long since we've had a Three Twins ice cream review on the blog, but that doesn't mean I don't keep my eye on them. Well, rather than trying to dive in to gelato or non-dairy or some fad market, they've taken their philosophy on super premium ice cream and applied it to their new mainstream lineup.

This is Maxine's ice cream and as you can tell, it's still organic. The big difference will be that it's lighter in texture which will make it more like a mainstream brand.

They are starting off with six flavors: vanilla, vanilla bean, chocolate, coffee, mint chip, and cookies & cream. That last one makes me happiest of course.

 I don't know when this will hit your area, but I'd love to do a head to head against all natural Turkey Hill at some point. TH has more flavors but Maxine's still has eggs and locust bean gum in the mix which will provide a different texture from TH.

There's more info here if you are curious.

Three Twins Mint Confetti Ice Cream

I was serious when I said I was trying to fill in my three twins knowledge. There are currently 23 flavors and I've only had... six of them? Wow, that's just sad, I didn't realize I was that far behind! I need to get caught up post haste!

Three Twins Mint Confetti Ice Cream

"a celebration of chocolate flecks in mint ice cream"

Three Twins Bittersweet Chocolate Ice Cream

Alrightly, this is going to be a quick review because unfortunately I seem to have picked up a freezer burned pint. Yes, I'm sure it's freezer burn. No, I am not amused. To compensate, I left my bowl of ice cream melt for a good bit tonight and I'll finish off the pint over the weekend as a milkshake. That said, I'm still confident in recommending...

Three Twins Bittersweet Chocolate Ice Cream

"lots of cocoa means lots of flavor"

Nick at the Summer Fancy Food Show : Part 1

[by Nick] Last week I had the opportunity to attend the Summer Fancy Food Show in NYC with my girlfriend. Not sure what that is, well it's basically a 3 day event where companies from all over, not just the US but the world showcase their products for potential buyers and press alike. Want to know more about the show? Click here! I was only able to attend the first day but that was more than enough time for me. My mission was to meet with every frozen dessert company there and minus a few I overlooked, I succeeded. I mean, the other booths were cool too but there is only so much meat and cheese samples someone can eat before it all starts blending in. I'm going to take you in the order I found companies so sit back, relax and enjoy my experience.

Three Twins Lemon Cookie Ice Cream

[By Nick] I'm pretty sure I've mentioned in every review of a lemon flavor I've done (which hasn't been many) that I really want to try Three Twins Lemon Cookie ice cream. Well I no longer have to want that because on my first ever trip to The Fresh Market (you remember the disappointing gelato) they had a few flavors of Three Twins. It was the first time I've seen them in my area and I nearly fell to my knees when I saw they had a pint of Lemon Cookie.

Three Twins Lemon Cookie Ice Cream

lemon ice cream with vanilla sandwich creme cookies

Three Twins Cookies & Cream Organic Ice Cream

So I had to run into Stop & Shop (Giant) to snag a few fall product photos last week and what do I see to my massive surprise? Three Twins Organic Ice Cream! Granted this particular S&S is the kind that actually has a small all natural ice cream selection, so this probably isn't in all of their stores, but I was super stoked to spy a flavor I haven't tried yet. The best part is, it's only $3.99 a pint! That's a buck better than the Whole Foods that is three minutes down the road.

Three Twins Cookies & Cream Ice Cream

scrumptious cookies in a madagascar vanilla base

Three Twins Vanilla Bean Ice Cream Sandwich

[New for 2013] So I went to Whole Foods at lunch and three twins ice cream was on sale! A dollar off pints, 30 cents off individual ice cream sandwiches, and a buck thirty off a four pack of sandwiches. Translated, that means it's time for lunchtime dessert!

Three Twins Vanilla Bean Ice Cream Sandwich

vanilla bean ice cream sandwiched between chocolate chip cookies (5 fl oz)

Three Twins Chocolate Malt Ice Cream

[New for 2013] If you follow three twins ice cream on facebook, then you probably already know that this organic, California based ice cream company has five new flavors for us this year (plus one on the way). Which one will I find at Whole Foods first?

We have a winner! Looks like chocolate malt will be the first new flavor to come home with me. It's organic malt ice cream taglined with "the favorite of my brother is like no other". I didn't really expect to find any of these new flavors (or the ice cream sandwiches) since previously my whole foods only carried 3 of their earlier flavors, but hey, I'll take it!

Three Twins Sea Salted Caramel Ice Cream Sandwich

[New for 2013] Things certainly are looking up for three twins ice cream as they continue to grow one of the nation's few widely available organic ice cream companies. They've got two new ice cream sandwiches and 5 new pint-sized flavors available (6 if you count today's Sergio Romo's Mexican Chocolate announcement). You can buy the sandwiches in boxes of four (approx $6.99) or as singles for around $1.99.

Ok, time for "an alchemy of cream and sugar that's worth its taste in gold" which translates to "organic caramel ice cream with sugar cookies". Now don't forget that three twins started as a scoop shop, so they've been making these sandwiches fresh for years. It's only now that they are growing that they can offer them nationally.

Three Twins Sea Salted Caramel Ice Cream Review

Let's start with a quick recap: Three Twins is a west coast ice cream company churning out premium organic ice cream. They have several locations as well as 13 prepackaged flavors. The owner was nice enough to send me a few coupons to try out their stuff now that they've gone national with the help of Whole Foods grocery stores. First I dug into their very respectable vanilla bean flavor, and now it's time for flavor #2.

Funny, I just noticed it says sea SALTED caramel (as opposed to sea SALT caramel). I like the description too "an alchemy of cream and sugar that's worth its taste in gold". Now that's just some snazzy wordsmithin'.  --- If it's too snazzy for you, it says "organic caramel ice cream" underneath. Nice touch three twins. I love a good description, but a backup straightforward description is a nice little touch.

Three Twins Fair Trade Vanilla Bean Speck An Organic Ice Cream Review

Oh man did I want some Vanilla ice cream Friday night... yeah, you heard me right, plain old Vanilla. Those crazy buggers at Graeters have thrown my world into a tizzy by making such a fine vanilla ice cream. It was an awesome reminder of how I need to enjoy the simple stuff sometimes. Oh, if only I had some more of it...

This is Three Twins Organic Fair Trade Vanilla Bean Speck Ice Cream made with organic Indian vanilla beans. I would love to say I'm eating a bowl right now, but unfortunately I've already ate all of it about a week ago. It was good and I made short work of it.