My new favorite yogurt

I discovered this truly amazing yogurt while in Australia and New Zealand. It's made in Australia and not available here, but I hope that someday changes. I mean, if I can buy apples from New Zealand at my co-op, why not this coconut yogurt? In full disclosure, I don't know if this is a raw product. I would bet it isn't, but I have to write about it anyway because it is hard to find a thick, creamy raw yogurt if you don't make it yourself. I also admit that normally I wouldn't have bought this if I had seen the full ingredient list. The price tag was conveniently over the one ingredient that would have prevented me from buying it the first time-- tapioca starch (which raises insulin levels much like gluten).  All the other ingredients were pretty pure, so I didn't think too much about that pesky little price tag (pesky for more than one reason; what it hid and what it stated--this stuff is not cheap).

After purchasing it, I brought it back to where I was staying, took off the price tag and let out a sigh of, "Oh well, not perfect, but I'll try it anyway." Can I just say that sometimes it is so worth it to let go of your personal rules just to experience something wonderful? This yogurt was so thick, resembling a Greek yogurt, and so smooth and not too sweet. It was definitely the full fat coconut, which I have no fear of, though I wouldn't eat this every day. It's so rich that it's better to enjoy it spoonful by spoonful, relishing each one with all the attention it deserves. I mean, really, I closed my eyes and savored each bite. Especially since I thought this would be the only time I ever tasted it. The one exception to the tapioca starch that I would make. Ha!

At this point, the vacation attitude took over and I thought to myself, "I'll only ever have it here. I can't find it at home. I'll try every flavor just once."  I almost did that. I let some flavors slide. But I did try the blackberry, the plain, and the passionfruit.  I found the passionfruit flavor while in New Zealand, long after I had said good-bye and put an end to this love affair with this Australian made product. But there it was in Queenstown, beckoning, and I indulged for the last time, pairing it with a raw cracker made in New Zealand that I found at the Mediterranean Market. The cracker was made with buckwheat, dates, and figs. Really, it was nothing fancy but paired with the passionfruit yogurt, it was divine. While everyone else in my group went out to dine at restaurants, I enjoyed my chance at solitude while indulging in each incredible bite. A bit anti-social, perhaps, but this is what love does. It puts you in your own little world where nothing else enters in, at least for awhile. And I loved it while it was happening. It was my favorite meal during the entire New Zealand adventure.