Savor Ice Cream Shop is my Savior!

Savor is a local ice cream shop that provides organic, dairy-free, gluten-free, and made-from-scratch ice cream. They first opened in October 2022, intending to give the Chico community “a more inclusive option for people with sensitivities and allergies,” said

Ashlyn Pennick, a Savors Ice Cream Shop employee.

Savor uses local farmer’s markets and farms to produce their dairy ice creams. This diverse ice cream shop is located inside Meriam Park. Two Roadrunners spent the day tasting ice cream.

This article rates both dairy and vegan flavors. Let’s get to tasting!

Dairy Flavors – Ashley Peterson

The first flavor I tried was Cookies and Cream. This popular flavor was creamy with the perfect texture of slightly soggy cookies. I give this a 9/10.

Next up was Day Camp. This ice cream is made with the coffee brewed at the local coffee shop, Day Camp, which is only two doors down. The flavor had a strong coffee taste with little bits of crunchy coffee beans. I’m not the biggest fan of coffee, but I’m sure this flavor has its fans, 7/10.

Balsamic Strawberry sounded so exotic. This flavor lived up to my expectations. It was very refreshing with a slight tang at the end. I very much enjoyed this flavor, 10/10.

After that, I tried Mint Brownie, which is my personal favorite. This rating is a little biased because this is my go-to order. This flavor has a subtle mint taste with gooey chunks of their homemade brownies. Amazing! 10/10.

Salted Caramel was next. This ice cream is made with their homemade caramel sauce that they make from scratch at the shop. The flavor was so smooth with a hint of saltiness toward the end. I enjoyed the average flavor, 8/10.

I was very interested in the Earl Grey Honey ice cream flavor. However, this is not the flavor for me. I’m not the biggest fan of Earl Grey tea, but the honey flavor was phenomenal. They get the honey from local farms, which makes the ice cream super rich in flavor, 5/10.

Next was Classic Chocolate and Vanilla. The chocolate ice cream was rich and creamy, an all-time favorite. Maybe I just love simple flavors, but this one was perfect! The vanilla ice cream was very light and just as creamy as the chocolate. Both flavors were great; however, I did enjoy the vanilla a little more. Chocolate 9/10, and Vanilla 10/10.

Overall, my favorite flavor was definitely Mint Brownie. The second runner-up would have to be Classic Vanilla. All flavors are amazing and exotic.

Vegan Flavors – Gracie Trotti

The first flavor I tried was the Agave Vanilla. Now normally vanilla is just your plain, run of the mill flavor but what made this one so special was the fact that it was sweetened only by Agave syrup, rather than sugar. I would give it an 8/10.

The next one I tried was Mint Chip. This was always my favorite flavor growing up, so it definitely brought back some memories. It had big chunks of chocolate chips, which is always the best part. I rate it a 7/10.

Cookie Dough was hands down my favorite flavor. Cookie dough is my favorite ice cream overall, but this one was the best I tried. I will be going back for this! It had chunks of cookie dough, chocolate chips, and a creamy texture. It was hands down a 10/10.

Fresh Strawberry wasn’t my favorite. I am not someone who is a big fan of fruity ice cream; however, it was a nice refreshing change after taste testing all the sweet flavors. I’d give it a 6/10.

The newest flavor of all the non-dairy options is the S’mores flavor. I have to say I didn’t really care for this flavor. It had a really creamy texture which I loved, but it was almost too smooth. I was expecting it to have chunks of something in it, but it was instead super smooth and sweet. It kind of threw me off a bit. However, if you’re someone who loves sweet flavors, you will probably love it. I rate it a 5/10.

Cold Brew was a flavor I wasn’t expecting them to have. What’s super cool about this flavor is that they use cold brew from our local Daycamp Coffee shop, right here in Chico. I was expecting it to be sweet, thinking they added something to make it sweeter, but it was truly just cold brew in ice cream form. I think this flavor would actually be really good when paired with a cone and some chocolate or caramel syrup. Overall, I rate it an 8/10.

The last flavor I tried was Coconut Lime. This was something I really wasn’t expecting. It had a very unique kick to it as soon as I tasted it. While I wouldn’t go out and eat a whole scoop of this myself, I think it has its place, maybe paired with a more niche dessert. Overall I give it a 5/10. 

As someone who has spent her whole life allergic to dairy, unable to go out and enjoy a scoop of ice cream with her friends. Savors is a breath of fresh air. I absolutely love how inclusive and transparent they are about how their ice cream is made. It is somewhere I will absolutely go to, time and time again.

If you’re wondering about prices, don’t worry, here they are dairy and vegan ice cream flavors all cost the same. For a mini, it’s $3.50; two minis are $5; a single is $6; a double is $9; and a pint is $12. Savors also carries organic, gluten-free bakery options such as apricot cardamom cheesecake ($7), rocky road cheesecake ($7), brownies ($6), almond frangipane blondie ($6), and rocky road cookies ($2).

We recommend that all Butte students visit Meriam Park’s cute ice cream shop, Savor, this weekend!