When I get up in the morning, one of my first thoughts is usually along the lines of how good that alarm clock would look when smashed into a million pieces. Given this is the case, I tend to sleep as late as I can and still get to work on time. Doing this does not give me a lot of time in the morning for breakfast. I try to make up for this by eating a cup of yogurt as my first breakfast and then later in the morning I get a granola bar as second breakfast.
Additionally, I don’t like to waste money1 so I tend to buy whatever yogurt is on sale. When I did this Tuesday, the grocery store had Dannon yogurt on sale at 20 cups for $10 or 50¢ a cup. This makes them just barely cheaper than the store brand yogurt. I thought I’d give them a try and picked up 10 cups in a variety of flavors.
Yesterday, I cracked open my first cup of the Dannon yogurt and had selected 7 Benefits All Natural Coffee Yogurt. Once I had the foil cover off the cup of yogurt I knew this was not going to be good. The color of the yogurt reminded me of things I’d blown out of my nose, last time I had a bad sinus infection. For extra unpleasantness, there was a thing layer of oil or maybe water on top. I mixed the yogurt up with my spoon, starting by smashing it straight down into the yogurt. To my mind some of the yogurt should have stuck to the spoon when I lifted it out of the cup. Also, the yogurt should have moved together to fill in the holes where I’d stabbed down into it with my spoon. Alas, neither of these events transpired. Then I did a more traditional mixing2 and prepared to take my first bite.
*horrified shudder*
Imagine if you will the worst office coffee you’ve ever had. With extra creamer. Gone all cold and solidified. Now add in an unhealthy dollop of chalkiness and you’ll almost understand what it tasted like. Of course, that’s not the worst part of this story. The worst part is I have another cup of it in my fridge and I’ll be eating it in the next week or so. Yes I know I will hate it, but if I just throw it away then it’s wasting money. *sigh*
1 Some people would say I’m cheap.
2 Swirling the yogurt around in a circular fashion using my spoon.
You young hipsters with your new-fangled yogurts. Jebus Cripes, you don’t know good when you see it.
When I was young, we *loved* Dannon, and got unruly when our moms tried to feed us the pre-mixed generic stuff. Give me my Dannon with six extra teaspoons of sugar, or I’m skipping nap-time.
As we grew up, we rioted in the isles when Dannon prices rose, but stores offered Yoplait on sale. Too smooth by half. It had no grit, no soul.
I personally love mixing my own slowly-seperating plain yogurt into my blueberries-at-the-bottom. And the berry bits were still good and large, thank you, because they haven’t been through an industrial mixer.
That said, their yogurt may have gone to the dogs in the last ten years, who knows. Gimme a fruit cocktail in a viscous sugar syrup, and I’ll be smiling in the corner.
It couldn’t be worse than DQ’s moolatte. DQ knows how to make things sickly sweet, they don’t know a damn thing about coffee. I still have nightmares.
@Ken: When we “young hipsters” were young we ate cereal for breakfast because we had parents who would kick our butts out of bed in plenty of time for a proper breakfast. Of the yogurts at my local grocery store, the best yogurt is Yoplait hands-down, no contest. With the wide variety of flavours and types* anyone can find a Yoplait yogurt they would enjoy.
* They’ve got regular, diet, custard style, whipped and maybe a couple of others.
@Michael: *shudder* That does sound rather nasty but I’m not sure it’s worse. Dannon’s craptastic yogurt
advantagedisadvantage… err, I’m not quite sure what to call it but it’s texture and color were quite powerful in their awfulness.Dont eat yoplait—even though people and animal activists have begged them for years, they still refuse to reshape the containers that trap small animals heads after shoving and straining them in to get at the sweet on the bottom….
Or one can take responsibility into their own hands by either:
I agree with the original warning, the coffee flavored Dannon All Natural 7 Benefits tastes awful… unless you like the taste of slightly burnt wood. I do, however, like the vanilla flavor, texture and all. As for the separation on top, I assume it to be water, and I just pour it off because I like my yogurt thicker. My favorite thing about this yogurt is the short ingredient list. Only 4 items. Cultured reduced fat milk, sugar, natural vanilla flavor and pectin. (For all you vegetarians out there, no gelatin!!!) I suffer from horrible food allergies and a few of those are to common food additives. Even if I am not allergic to certain additives I now think twice about eating it, especially if it is an unneccessary ingredient being used to cut production costs.
The other Dannon Naturals that come in 4 packs have more than the 4 ingredients. If you consider high fructose corn syrup a natural ingredient, go for it. I’ll stick with the Vanilla flavored 7 benefits variety.
FYI, “flavors” and “flavorings” are not always derived from the original item and are often by-products of other items and their processes. For example, coffee flavoring generally is not made from coffee. Maybe this is the reason why this coffee flavored yogurt tastes like wood?
Myself, I choose the “All Natural” Stonyfield Farm brand….EXCELLENT!! No additives/preservatives, no synthetic growth hormones, no artificial sweeteners; just smooth & creamy SUPERB flavor. I buy the fat free plain version and add my own homemade strawberry syrup to it for a bit more flavor or I add granola or grape nut cereal to it for extra crunch and fiber! This can also be purchased in the “organic” variety. Hands down, the BEST YOGURT ON THE MARKET!!
I don’t think my local grocery store carries that brand, but I’ll keep an eye out for it. Thanks for the tip!
I checked out the Stoneyfield Farm brand yogurt ingredients on the Peapod website. It looks like something I would like to try, thanks for the information Kaprina.
I want to add a correction from my previous post, The Dannon Naturals four pack doesn’t have the high fructose corn syrup, it’s the Dannon Friut on the Bottom varieties.
the “water” on top is whey–the most nutritious part of the yogurt. Separation is natural–stir it in, don’t pour it off.
(From Stonyfield):
Why is there liquid (sometimes) on the top of my yogurt?
This liquid, called whey is a natural component in cultured yogurt. Whey contains many of the most important vitamins and nutrients in yogurt. Simply stir it back in to take advantage of its nutritional benefits. It occurs whenever there has been any type of pressure on the curd, or also from temperature change. A little bit whey is normal. The appearance of whey is actually a good sign, indicating that the beneficial cultures are alive and active.
Good to know, I’ll keep it in mind for any other yogurts I eat.
I just had a cup of blueberry 7 benefits Dannon yogurt and it was fine. Almost delightful. It was gross looking but not to the extent that it had gone bad, but all fruit-on-the-bottom yogurt looks gross if you really want my opinion( I try to stir it up as fast as possible!) Try the mixed Dannon yogurt and see if you still have that yuck factor. Maybe you just got a bad batch, or maybe Dannon has gone down hill, you may want to experiment.
I’m like you, I buy what is on sale, but Yoplait really is my favorite despite all the sacrificed animals.
@Krissy: Dannon’s fruit-on-the-bottom has always been tasty when I’ve had it. In fact, the only one of their yogurts I can recall disliking is this All Natural Coffee. This particular yogurt was just so tremendously nasty that I felt the need to warn others away from it.
Dannon coffee yogurt is the only yogurt I eat. I love the flavor and the texture. The texture equals that of normal cultured yogurt. I admit I may be addicted to the 45 mg of caffeine it contains. If I skip the Dannon coffee yogurt and do not drink a cup of coffee, I will get a headache.
Dannon coffee yogurt is my favorite food. I can happily consume 4 to 5 six ounce cups a day. I buy it in bulk when it goes on sale. I was dismayed several years ago when Dannon discontinued the 16 ounce coffee yogurt containers.
I would like to find other Dannon coffee yogurt afficionados. Maybe after consuming several you may become addicted too.
Hi Betsy, Stacey & Ben,
I am another Dannon coffee yogurt addict. Most days I only eat two, but I have been known to eat five. I found this blog after I googled “caffeine dannon coffee yogurt” because I suspect that my occasional migraines are actually caffeine withdrawal. When my grocery store is out I have to wait until the following Tuesday for them to restock. I know that caffeine withdrawal from 35-45 mg of caffeine sounds crazy, but I had to give up regular coffee b/c one cup would give me heart palpitations.
About the “blueberry taste” – I have had that twice, once a while back, and the second time when dannon was trying to introduce the creme caramel flavor. The second time I had bought 10 coffee yogurts and they all turned out to be creme caramel. I called to give them feedback but when they tried to contact me I was in the middle of a big project and didn’t get back to them.
Anyway, I feel relieved to know that there are other people out there like me who can’t live without their FIX.
Happy New Year!
Betsy & Nan
Coffee Dannon is the BOMB ! ! Luv it. Especially Frozen. . It tastes SOoooooo Good. Sometimes when I look up again I’ve eaten 4 – .5 cups. By then I feel real happy and SATISIFIED !!!!
Another (former) Dannon coffee yogurt fan here….. until recently. I’d say for about 25 years I had one carton of Dannon coffee yogurt almost every day. I was pretty bummed out when they switched from 8- to 6-oz. cups, but I adjusted. Lately I do this instead: I put 1/2 t cinnamon, 3/4 t stevia powder, a heaping t unsweetened cocoa powder and and heaping t instant coffee powder in a bowl. Add a few drops of hot water, and stir together into a paste. Then I add a cup of Trader Joe’s nonfat plain Greek yogurt and stir it up. It’s lower in calories than the Dannon, has three times the protein, doesn’t spike my blood sugar, takes only a minute to make (I leave everything out so it’s handy, because I eat it often), and best of all I think it’s even more delicious than the Dannon! Give it a try. You can alter the amount of presence of any ingredient to suit your own taste.
I too love coffee yogurt it is wonderful. I could not find it for a while here in NC but yesterday I was looking and it was a bit concealed from my eye. Yes. I got it now!!!
@Betsy: I doubt I will ever get addicted to these as the one I tried was so entirely horrible I won’t ever be eating one of them again.
I agree with Mark, I will never get addicted to the coffee flavored yogurt either. The one I tried went in the trash after one spoonful. It tasted like a mouthful of burnt wood and sour milk puree to me. I’ll stick to the vanilla.
Here I am Betsy! I Love Dannon coffee yogurt!!! The flavor and texture to me are superb. I could eat it by the gallon. I drink black coffee all day too, I don’t know if that has something to do with it?
Does it really have 45 mg of caffeine?
Stacey, you are my yogurt soul mate. I am so happy I found you.
You must get a lot of caffeine. One web site said the caffeine content in 6 oz of Dannon coffee yogurt was 38 mg.
I guess we are lucky that there are people like Mark who do not like the product. I hate walking into a supermarket to find that all of the coffee yogurts have been sold.
Does anyone know if Dannon is discontinuing their “All Natural” yogurt line? I went into both of the Vons that I usually go to and they weren’t on the shelves anymore. When I asked one of the employees that was stocking the yogurt section what happened to it, he told me it was probably discontinued. That was the only brand that I bought since it doesn’t have the high fructose corn syrup in it! Boo hoo…….
I work for Dannon and I happen to know that we are still making All Natural Yogurt
I’m eating it now!
Dannon still lists the All Natural yogurt line on their website in both blended and plain/flavored styles. So it doesn’t look like they discontinued it; maybe it wasn’t selling well enough at your grocery store.
@Stacey&Betsy – Dannon Coffee Yogurt is my favorite yogurt as well, and favorite food as well. Most of my friends have tried it and hated it, though a few liked it. I only found this blog entry because a friend who finds my addiction revolting pointed me to it.
Welcome to the club, Ben! Let’s all get together and have a yogurt.
I love Dannon Coffee Yogurt as well! But HyVee only had 3 last night, and I didn’t notice until I got home that they all expired last week! >:O
Wish I could buy direct.
Yoghurt expiration dates are worthless, because it doesn’t spoil for weeks. I often buy it in quantity when it has been marked down because it is about to expire and eat it for a long time afterward and it never changes. Dannon’s coffee yoghurt is my favorite!
I love Dannon Au Natural Coffee flavored yogurt. It is my favorite food in the world. I panicked when I could only find one carton at Target yesterday. My sister, mom, and I all love the flavor and consistency. Please keep it available!
Dannon Coffee Yogurt is absolutely my favorite food. Have been eating it 2x day since the late 1970’s. Now and then I get a odd blueberry-type taste which irks me, especially when I’ve bought about a dozen of them. Glad to see there are some other coffee yogurt lovers out there. I do at times think I’m addicted to it. Oh well, things could be worse.
Dannon Coffee Yogurt is what I live on. I will buy 36 at one time. I add chunky peanut butter, or nuts and mix it in. It makes me feel
so good. I eat it about 3 or 4 times a day. I am so sorry that they
discontinued the larger size. Also in my area, NY, the prices have gone way up. They are charging up to $1.19 for one 6 oz. cup. I am
still able to get it for 99 cents.
Dolores
A crying shame!
I manage to get mine for $0.60
Dee,Beck,Josh
You guys make me feel so much better. I thought I was the only one buying so much Dannon Yogurt (45 – 50) cups. whenever they go on sale for 10/ $6 or 10/ $5 . I’m in there. I go to the store and stock up. Those 45 – 50 cups last me 1 month(at 2 per day). By then, I usually have apprx. 5-10 cups left if I dont get greedy and eat more than 2 cups per day (lol). If Im gonna be away and possibly miss the sale I get a rain–check (or have someone get one for me) and I buy it when I get back. In my supermarket a rain-check is good for up to 60 days (2 months). By then Im ready to stock up again. If the store by me is out of the flavor I like/love I’ll pick and choose from what they have as a substitute until my favorite gets back in stock. I LIKE SOME OF THE FRUIT FLAVORS and the Lemon also, but I Love the Coffee BEST ! Also, with the rain-check you can buy the product at any location. Since I drive, you know Im gonna check-out another store for my fix. In fact, Im getting to the point where Im thinking of buying a small freezer just for my yogurt (food for thought). By buying so many it takes up alot of room in my refrigerators freezer compartment. Im always having to juggle around frozen foods to fit in my yogurt cups. Im so spoiled I now refuse to buy yogurt at the regular price of .99 cents per cup in my neighborhood ! Note to remember…when I buy so many cups, I put them in exp. date order and eat them in order of expiration. Its been swell exchanging ideas, keep the coffee flames roaring until next time!
Note to Meg: You are correct! That is a blueberry taste from some bad batches. You helped me characterize why some don’t taste quite right.
I agree with so many of the commenters … it’s the only yogurt I like. I absolutely love it! Whenever I find it, I stock up, but I do try to limit myself to one cup a day because of the sugar and caffeine content.
When I am not feeling full of energy (age 70) I know that
it is time for me to eat another Danon Coffee yogurt with
peanuts or chunky peanut butter. This, my favorite food,
makes me feel so good after eating it. I am a nationally
ranked senior tennis competitor and I travel all over the
U.S. I am about to leave for California next week and I
always make sure that I find the coffee yogurt where I
go.
Dolores
Finally ive found other coffee yogurt lovers! I dont even drink coffee but ive been eating at least one a day since the second grade n im afraid ive passed my obsession onto future generations as both my children are equally obsessed. When theres only one left in the fridge its war!
Coffee Yogurt from Dannon is something special. I also never drink coffee. I used to eat a lot of coffee ice cream,
but now I use Dannon Coffee Yogurt as a substitute.
Sincerely,
Dolores
Doris,
I had the same problem! I absolutely loved the Dannon Naturals four pack in strawberry – delicious and no fake sweetener or high fructose corn syrup. I refuse to eat fruit on the bottom yogurt as it always ends up a bit chunky no matter how much I stir. Some stores do still carry the Dannon Naturals, check their website, you can also get it with your sandwich at Subway but it’s rather expensive that way.
I absolutely love coffee yogurt. I am addicted, I have been eating it since like 3rd grade. I too, have passed on the liking to my kids. Only a couple of stores even carry it anymore. When I see them in the store, I stock up. They are getting so dang expensive though!
I love Dannon coffee yogurt! My favorite way to eat it is with Tom Sturgis little pretzels which I sink into it whole and then fish out with my spoon…GREAT!!
I’m trying not buy Yoplait or Dannon because of growth hormones, but I love coffee yogurt. Does any one know of a coffee yogurt that is not one of these brand? Thanks!
In answer to Rebecca’s question of another brand of coffee
yogurt. Absolutely. Try Brown Cow Creamy Coffee. It is found in most health stores. It is very good and not as sweet
as Dannon.
Dolores B.
I like a lot of yogurt, though I do prefer greek yogurt (esp. Trader Joe’s brand) mixed with honey and fresh fruit. I found this blog because I was trying to figure out whether or not Dannon had gelatin in it, b/c I read the Yoplait label after I ate it and almost vomited my strangely too pink yogurt. Ew! Gelatin 🙁 Anyway, had fun reading this blog while pretending to work. I definitely don’t eat gelatin if at all possible, as I am a vegetarian, and I just think it’s gross to eat anything made from bones, skin & “other” (according to wikipedia, which knows everything!) Anyway, Dannon does contain gelatin, and perhaps this is why it revolted Mark so much!
I love the natural coffee yogurt…I think it’s a love or hate kind of thing.
I too am Dannon coffee yogurt-aholic! I was recently diagnosed with diabetes and had to change my diet to avoid insulin shots. As I became more aware of unhealthy sugars and their amounts in foods I eat, I realized the regular Dannon All Natural coffee yogurt is loaded with refined sugar at 25grams/6 oz. I now mix (half and half) with plain yogurt and I add instant coffee to it as the coffee taste was not strong enough. Its really good, and much healthier that way to consume it!
Hey Julia….I thought about doing the same thing. Half reg coffee and half plain. I tried it one time the other day and it wasnt so bad. alittle light on the coffee flavor but I can deal with it. Thinking about doing it with other fruit flavors too when necessary. Thx for sharing!
I love Dannon coffee yogurt. It’s the only yogurt I and my 5 kids will eat! Our store has a hard time keeping it in stock because it is so popular in our area.
Another quick update for you coffee-flavored yogurt lovers, one of the writers for BoingBoing just posted this review of Yoplait’s Coffee Yogurt. It was an… unfavorable review, would any of you wish to try defending your preference? Or is this simply a case of Yoplait vs. Dannon?
Just happened upon your blog and thought I’d say, Yoplait’s coffee yogurt is indeed nasty. But I love Dannon’s, not sure it’s the “7 benefits all natural” kind that you had though.
Do you want to swallow this?! Imagine eating yoghurt eaten out of dog’s rear!
Ewwwwwwww! Light and Fit doggish model or actress sounds and looks like my dog licking his! She may love it but it would be less disgusting to eat yoghurt out of any other container … or no yoghurt at all!
Disgusting yuck!
That thin layer on top of the yogurt is the cultures.
I’ve been sick with mono and tonsillitis for the past week and all I’ve been able to eat is yogurt soup and applesauce. It gets old pretty quick. But my brother came home with an entire case of this coffee yogurt and I’m a little apprehensive about trying it. I try to keep beverage flavored food off my radar. Unless its root beer suckers.
That “new” version of Dannon Coffee Yogurt is horrible. I am an avid fan of the Dannon Natural Coffee Yogurt. It is amazing- have been eating it for years. Sadly, some stores have taken it off the shelves and put in the “new” one. I called Dannon to tell them how I felt!
You should try Dannon Natural- tastes similar to coffee ice cream- so if you like that flavor you are in for a treat. The color is like a warm taupe. I could decorate a room with it!
Just my .02!!