Coffee & Treats in Columbia

Creamy frozen yogurt, fresh-fruit mix-ins, and healthy toppings such as almonds, granola, and shredded coconut make Yogen Früz a source of unlimited fresh flavors. Yogurt artists mix customers’ custom creations—such as piña colada mixed with smooth-blended pineapple yogurt, or apple pie sprinkled with graham-cracker crumbs—before their very eyes. Along with such quasi-decadent options, the company’s 1,300 worldwide outposts offer low-fat varieties, nonfat probiotic yogurts, and fresh-fruit sorbets. Every mix is low in fat, a good source of vitamins and fiber, and one of the only known sources of the essential nutrient frostiness.

The straws are wide by design at Bubble Tea Cafe, where the staff cooks chewy balls of tapioca daily to plunk into their customers' cups. These "bobas" add an interactive element to the Taiwanese beverages. Available in more than 40 flavors, including blueberry, avocado, spiced chai, and peanut butter, the frosty drinks comprise the bulk of the cafe's menu, but share space with hot and iced tea variants such as mojito mint-lime. Guests can even mix their bubble tea types to create creamy combinations—the Bananas Foster mixes banana and caramel, whereas the Boba Loca blends honeydew and almond—and pair their personalized sips with one of many rotating desserts.

It would take more than 140 cones or outstretched hands to serve all the ice-cream recipes made in-house at Bruster's Real Ice Cream. The expansive menu brims with seasonal and traditional flavors, 24 of which are always available to fill waffle cones and bowls, layer into gourmet cakes, and mix into sumptuous shakes. They also form the base of Bruster's ice-cream creations, such as the peanut-butter-cup sundae with peanut-butter sauce, as well as the loaded strawberry shortcake.

Since its founding in 1989, Bruster's Real Ice Cream has demonstrated the cross-cultural appeal of ice-cream headaches, with locations across the country and even one in Guyana.

When she granted herself a doctorate in baking and opened the doors to The Cake Professor, a burgeoning cake designer transformed desserts from a passion into a successful career. Her business has since brought her closer to achieving her lifetime goal "to help others reach their dreams," which others learn about when reading her story.

The Cake Professor brings that same dedication to her desserts, whether baking exquisite cakes and cupcake batches for weddings, or sharing her talents with others during baking classes. She continues to call upon her experience in accounting, designing more than 12 flavors of cupcakes and more than 17 fillings to mesmerize even the most determined tax collectors.

Swirl 5 Points churns out nine rotating flavors of frozen yogurt, their tangy peaks colorful under slices of fresh fruit, gobs of cookie dough, and pyramids made out of Sour Patch Kids. In addition to classic vanilla and chocolate, the menu includes less-common but still crowd-pleasing flavors such as cake batter and pistachio. Guests can also munch on crepes and sip bubble tea inside the pristine, white parlor or enjoy an invigorating combination of frozen treats and fresh air outside on the patio.

Every day at Bruster’s Real Ice Cream, passionate ice-cream professionals craft fresh frozen treats while drawing from an arsenal of more than 140 recipes. At any given time, up to 24 different ice-cream flavors situate themselves on the shop’s menu, providing creamy canvases for a mélange of toppings including M&Ms, chocolate chips, fudge, and gummy worms. A lineup of yogurt, sorbet, and fat-free selections provide lighter yet equally satisfying alternatives to traditional cones, and chilled beverages such as iced coffees, shakes, and fresh-fruit smoothies challenge slurpers to sip until lips become permanently frozen in the shape of an ear-to-ear grin. In addition to dishing out treats from behind the counter, Bruster’s Real Ice Cream totes its refreshing repertoire to public functions and fundraisers, where the company typically donates a portion of its sales to the event’s cause.