At a bustling trade show a couple years ago, an energetic woman suddenly stopped us in the middle of an aisle to introduce herself. She knew Go Dairy Free, and had co-created the perfect new product for us to trial, Sorbabes Gourmet Sorbet.
Fast forward to today, and that fledgling brand has completely revamped their packaging, flavors and formula. They were very good to start, but now they are launching into the legendary space. Sorbabes makes it clear that their sorbet isn’t ice cream, but it is pure and equally decadent. And their new formulas are remarkably lower in sugars – most with just 12 grams per serving.
Tasting Notes for Sorbabes Gourmet Sorbet
We sampled all of the current flavors, and here is my feedback on each!
Jam ‘n Lemon
This revamped flavor now has a creamy lemon swirl for a lemon curd-like experience. It’s literally lemon on lemon on lemon! It’s intense and zesty. I recommend it for lemon purists who don’t like their citrus overly sweetened.
Ingredients – water, cane sugar, lemon juice, chicory root, erythritol, lemon juice concentrate, lemon peel, sugared lemon zest, citrus pulp, tapioca starch, guar gum, xanthan gum, natural flavors, stevia leaf extract (reb m), turmeric for color. Manufactured in a facility that processes almonds, brazil nuts, cashews, coconut, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, peanuts, pecans, pine-nuts, pistachios, walnuts.
Raz ‘n Berry
They added a new swirl to this flavor, too, but it’s a crushed wildberry rush. I loved the addition, which escalated this flavor to one of my favorites. The sorbet has a perfectly fresh sweet-tart berry flavor and the chocolate shards offer the perfect complement.
Ingredients – water, raspberries, cane sugar, pear, apple, clarified pineapple and raspberry juice concentrates, chicory root, tapioca syrup, erythritol, coconut oil, blueberries, alkalized cocoa, natural flavors, blackberry puree, tapioca starch, vanilla extract, elderberry juice concentrate, citric acid, cocoa, guar gum, xanthan gum, salt, stevia leaf extract (reb m). Manufactured in a facility that processes almonds, brazil nuts, cashews, coconut, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, peanuts, pecans, pine-nuts, pistachios, walnuts.
Passionilla
The passionfruit sorbet base is just fruit, but it has a creamy mouth feel. The flavor is pure with a warmth, tanginess, and sweetness. The thin vanilla chips add interest without contradiction. Overall, I truly enjoyed this experience.
Ingredients – water, passionfruit juice from concentrate, cane sugar, orange juice, chicory root, erythritol, coconut oil, orange peel, vanilla extract, beta carotene for color, guar gum, natural flavor, sunflower lecithin, salt, xanthan gum, stevia leaf extract (reb m), citric acid. Manufactured in a facility that processes almonds, brazil nuts, cashews, coconut, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, peanuts, pecans, pine-nuts, pistachios, walnuts.
Pistachio & Caramel
This intensely nutty flavor has a creamy gelato-like texture, a generous handful of chopped pistachios, and a pleasant dairy-free caramel ribboned throughout. I’m not sure if they reduced the sugar in this one, but it truly tastes “snack worthy.” In fact, I enjoyed it as an afternoon snack without the least bit of guilt.
Ingredients – water, pistachio (nut butter, pieces), cane sugar, chicory root, erythritol, tapioca syrup, coconut oil, sea salt, spirulina extract for color, natural flavors, guar gum, safflower oil, xanthan gum, pectin, caramel color, beta carotene for color, salt, stevia leaf extract (reb m). Contains Pistachios. Manufactured in a facility that processes almonds, brazil nuts, cashews, coconut, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, peanuts, pecans, pine-nuts, pistachios, walnuts.
Peanut Butter Luva
Delicious ribbons of real peanut butter and big bites of peanuts (some whole!) can be tasted throughout this peanut butter sorbet. Yes, this really is for peanut butter lovers. It’s relatively creamy, and not too sweet, with little shards of chocolate that melded seamlessly in the base. This pure peanut butter flavor replaced their peanut butter and banana flavor, which I think was a good move. See below for a picture of this pint.
Ingredients – water, valencia peanut (nut butter, pieces), cane sugar, chicory root, erythritol, high oleic safflower oil, coconut oil, tapioca syrup, alkalized cocoa, sea salt, sunflower lecithin, cocoa, guar gum, peanut and/or safflower oil, xanthan gum, pectin, natural flavor, caramel color, salt, stevia leaf extract (reb m), vanilla extract. Contains Peanuts. Manufactured in a facility that processes almonds, brazil nuts, cashews, coconut, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, peanuts, pecans, pine-nuts, pistachios, walnuts.
Café Almond
I taste tested this one for you. Coffee is really not my thing, at all. And this creamy almond butter sorbet was intensely java with an almost espresso flavor. It also had shards of chocolate throughout. If you are a true coffee fan, jump on this one!
Ingredients – water, cane sugar, almond nut butter, chicory root, erythritol, tapioca syrup, coconut oil, coffee extract, alkalized cocoa, cocoa, ground coffee beans, sea salt, guar gum, cold brew coffee concentrate, salt, almond extract, xanthan gum, pectin, natural flavor, stevia leaf extract (reb m). Contains Almonds. Manufactured in a facility that processes almonds, brazil nuts, cashews, coconut, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, peanuts, pecans, pine-nuts, pistachios, walnuts.
Coco Haze
Apparently this isn’t a new flavor, but it was new to me. It has a rich hazelnut chocolate base that’s quite nut forward. I would describe this as a grown up treat that’s decadent, but not Nutella sweet. See below for a picture of this pint.
Ingredients – water, cane sugar, hazelnut (nut butter, pieces), tapioca maltodextrin, cocoa, tapioca syrup, high oleic safflower oil, unsweetened chocolate, coconut oil, alkalized cocoa, natural flavors, sea salt, guar gum, sunflower lecithin, xanthan gum, safflower oil, vanilla extract, salt. Contains Hazelnuts. Manufactured in a facility that processes almonds, brazil nuts, cashews, coconut, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, peanuts, pecans, pine-nuts, pistachios, walnuts.
The Facts on Sorbabes Gourmet Sorbet
Price: $4.99 to $6.49 per pint
Availability: Sorbabes Gourmet Sorbet is currently sold in the frozen aisle of grocers in Portland, Seattle, Chicago, Northern California, and the New York tri-state area. Hopefully their distribution will continue to expand. See their website below for a store locator.
Certifications: Sorbabes Gourmet Sorbet is Certified Kosher Pareve.
Dietary Notes: By ingredients, Sorbabes Gourmet Sorbet is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, vegan, plant-based, and vegetarian. For the most part they are soy-free, but the dark chocolate they use in a couple of the varieties may contain soy lecithin. They offer several flavors made without nuts, too. Nonetheless, check with the company on their manufacturing processes for all varieties if potential allergen cross-contamination is an issue for you. Processes and labeling are subject to change at any time for any company / product.
For More Product Information: Visit the Sorbabes website at www.sorbabes.com.
Enjoy Some Sorbabe Scoops while Reading Go Dairy Free: The Guide & Coookbook!
7 Comments
Been trying to have them confirmed if they use bone char sugar or not which would not make it vegan.
Tired of seeing these companies saying their vegan just for marketing purposes but are unable to get any certifications….publications should also do their due diligence.
No, they don’t use bone char sugar Jane. They are vegan sorbets. This is a smaller company, and certifications are quite expensive. It isn’t so much that companies “can’t” get the certification, but the cost and time of the certification itself and creating new packaging. Thousands of great vegan products are not vegan certified. So I try to give products the benefit of the doubt when they aren’t certified for something. And yes, I do my due diligence. Enjoy the sorbet!
Hello,
I understand your position but if you visit Vegan Action you can actually see the cost of getting certified. They (Sorbabes) just redid their packaging with a new formula. Let’s say their have less than $250k/ year in sales, their cost is $400 to get certified.
At this point and after so many years on the market, I find it hard to believe that they never got around to do it, if all their ingredients met the requirement. It’s a rather straight forward process and the cost represents 0.16%, please.
This really is something that you need to take up with the companies Jane. Perhaps you should join the sales team for vegan certification! I’m not affiliated with this company or any other company – just this website where we do unbiased reviews and provide information to help others. I was not paid by this company and never have been.
ABSOLUTELY EXCELLENT
I picked up the passionfruit one ( before reading your review) because I was yearning for a decadent dessert. Anything white chocolate is a win in my book! My taste buds were salivating just from the aroma after opening the lid. I tasted it. Yeah, it just doesn’t work for me. It was like a candle that smells so good you could taste it, but you shouldn’t. Love the packaging. Like the creativity to offer flavors other DF brands aren’t offering, but that flavor should’ve stayed on paper.
Bummer you didn’t like that one JuneBug, but thanks for sharing your take! Being totally honest, as above, we loved the tangy freshness of it. I think they could improve on the white chocolate chunks within, but all of us were smitten with the sorbet base. All of the flavors are quite unique, so one of the others might grab you.