A Tropical Smoothie customer is asking viewers for answers after she received a frozen solid açaí bowl.
In a TikTok with over 681,700 views, content creator Stevie (@steviehola308) asks Tropical Smoothie employees to weigh in on her frozen açaí bowl and the employee’s instruction that she has to wait 15-25 minutes to eat it.
“I just went to Tropical Smoothie and bought an açaí bowl,” Stevie begins while sitting in her car. “The açaí is frozen rock solid. All of it.” She holds up the bowl to the camera and taps its hard sides with her plastic spoon, demonstrating how solid the açaí is.
Taken aback by the bowl, Stevie says she goes back into the store to let the employee who served her know.
“I go in there and the girl is laughing. I said, ‘Hey, so it’s frozen.’ And she was like, ‘Yeah, it’s how it comes. That’s how all of them come,’” Stevie recounts.
She asks the employee how she is supposed to eat a frozen açaí bowl. Shockingly, the employee tells her she will have to wait 15-25 minutes for it to thaw.
“Can a Tropical Smoothie worker verify this for me?” she asks as the video ends.
Viewers weigh in
In the comments, Tropical Smoothie workers and customers weigh in on if Stevie’s frozen açaí bowl was standard protocol or worker error.
“As a Tropical Smoothie employee and seeing your video, I assume you went at night when we are doing closing tasks. The açaí bowls are kept in the freezer, only 10-12 are kept at the food station. You probably went right after they filled the fridge so it was still frozen and didn’t thaw. We are told to microwave for 5 seconds if one gets ordered while they are still frozen,” one user explained.
“Ain’t no way you’re spending that much money at Tropical Smoothie for a fresh açaí bowl when you can literally get that same frozen experience at Hannaford or WalMart,” a second viewer added.
“The açaí is ALWAYS frozen, they come frozen. We are not allowed to sell them if they get above 15 degrees Fahrenheit. From a Tropical Smoothie general manager,” another user shared.
“They don’t make them fresh to order? Isn’t it just a smoothie in a bowl with toppings? I don’t understand why it is made ahead of time and frozen,” a fourth view asked.
Yet another Tropical Smoothie employee responded to her question. “As a manager at Tropical Smoothie, we have to prep [bowls] beforehand or we won’t have time during rushes. We have 3+ bowls in an order sometimes and the bin the bases come in is hard to scoop. Not saying it’s impossible but most would complain about waiting anyway.”
Are Tropical Smoothie bowls pre-made or made to order?
Tropical Smoothie’s website boasts “fresh, made to order smoothies, smoothie bowls, and more” made with “responsibly sourced, quality ingredients and good vibes.” But their açaí bases are indeed served frozen, and it seems they have to be.
In a Reddit thread questioning Tropical Smoothie’s pre-made bowls, one user argued that a non-frozen base would make toppings impossible.
“[The base] melts VERY quickly, like 30 minutes. They’re frozen because the base is a liquid and you can’t put things on a liquid. Same as açaí, if they weren’t frozen then you couldn’t put toppings on it. That’s why the other base options use Greek yogurt or coconut milk to avoid having to be frozen,” the user explained.
For açaí bowl fans who rather skip the wait, the Internet is full of quick at-home recipes to achieve that fresh, made-to-order taste and consistency.
@steviehola308 I’m just tryna eat my acai bowl rn i didn’t pay to be patient😢
♬ original sound – stevie
The Daily Dot has reached out to Tropical Smoothies via email and Stevie via TikTok message for more information.
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