Mora Ice Cream Seattle’s Best Creamery According to Martha Stewart, Zagat & The J.S.F.

As an official West Coaster, celebrating my third year living in California in September I have really enjoyed getting to know the West Coast Culinary & Beverage scenes. This includes enjoying Restaurants and Wineries. I’ve tried to immerse myself by really getting to know those behind the food scene including Chef Interviews which if you have not seen I recommend checking out. There are some amazing talented Chefs I’ve been lucky enough to sit down with! Back to Ice Cream….

As we all know, Ice Cream is an essential food group and American past time. So it seemed appropriate to search for the best American Ice Cream, sharing these findings with YOU, my loyal readers. Stay tuned for a J.S.F. Top 10 Ice Cream post. In the mean time, I am thrilled to share with you more on Mora Ice Cream a new J.S.F. favorite from Seattle Washington.  

I was recently invited to celebrate Mora’s new ice cream factory grand opening in Poulsbo, WA – just miles away from the original store on Bainbridge Island.  Sadly, I couldn’t attend the party, but instead, the team sent the party to me. By party, I mean the ice cream of course. Talk about great hospitality, right?! Upon arriving home there was a box of Mora Ice Cream packaged securely in dry ice and unpacking instructions ensuring I didn’t damage the Ice Cream and instructing me on how to properly de thaw it before serving. Mora clearly knows what they’re doing. I obediently followed the instructions to a T before opening my Mora Ice Cream treats.  You can order Mora online here!

Mora Ice Cream is quite impressive as a small business established in 2004 by Ana Orselli and Jerry Perez.  With a small factory and three wildly successful retail shops in Western Washington – Bainbridge Island, Poulsbo and Kingston – the luxury ice cream brand garnered so much national attention from the likes of  Zagat “Best Ice Cream in Seattle” and Martha Stewart “2014 Food Finalist” that a successful mail order business was launched to satisfy what became a national appetite for Mora’s eclectic flavors. 

See some of the delicious flavors I enjoyed and fell in love with…..

D.D.L. known as the most popular flavor in Argentina! This is imported to create the authentic caramel flavor loved around the world. This was one of my favorite’s. I loved the amazing caramel, sneaking out with great depth within the Milk Chocolate. This has similarities to a Salted Caramel flavor. 

Banana Split. This real-fruit banana ice cream is enhanced with traces of dulce de leche and shaved chocolate.  I really felt like I was eating enjoying a classic banana split in every bite! Typically a Banana Split would not be my dessert of choice (I’d go dark chocolate or peanut butter), however, this is truly a flavor you must try as it’s like no other Ice Cream I’ve ever had and something everyone will love!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Moreo. This chocolate mousse ice cream is chock full of Oreo crumbles and swirls of creamy peanut butter . As both a Chocolate, Oreo Cookie LOVER and Peanut Butter this was a jackpot! 

Pink Grapefruit Sorbet. Similar to the Coconut this tasted beyond fresh and authentic. It’s hard to imagine how Mora captures the authentic fruity flavors but they really nail it. This is so popular that many eat it for breakfast. Perfect excuse for you Ice Cream lovers wanting a morning treat!

The amazing Coconut Ice Cream.  It tastes so fresh as if you just picked the coconuts and the ice cream was made moments before it’s served. Even if you’re not typically a coconut lover (like me) you will appreciate the amazing flavors and richness of this ice cream. I promise.

Italian Chocolate, this decadent flavor is made with milk chocolate ice cream, roasted walnuts, chocolate fudge chunks and French cognac.  I found this the heaviest of the chocolate ice creams so those true rich chocolate lovers should try this! I loved the delicate chocolate flakes throughout the ice cream adding a great texture and crunch. 

You may wonder, what differentiates Mora Ice Cream from the other yummy Ice Cream brands you already know and love? 

With the incredible 48-flavors-at-any-given-time options of Banana Split, Pink Grapefruit, Chocolate Peanut Butter Moreo, cinnamon-spiked Mexican Chocolate and mouth-watering blends like Goat Cheese and Fig, Lemon Bar and a true Argentinean Dulce de Leche (D.D.L.) with shaved Belgian chocolate Mora is truly like no other. 

After experiencing 8 of their 48 flavors the best way to describe Mora is that it captures the authentic taste of each flavor transporting you to another time and place. One taste of the Banana Split makes you feel like you’re really eating a Banana Split, truly capturing authentic tastes, color and even textures.  

They describe it best explaining  “in our recipes, we pair fresh whole milk with thick rich cream. The result, in addition to being intensely flavored, also has the lucky benefit of being lower in fat and cholesterol than most other super-premium brands. It continues in the creamery, where we squeeze fresh lemons, limes and grapefruit by hand, slowly melt great blocks of chocolate, and carefully roast walnuts and hazelnuts. We believe the extra time it takes to make our ice cream is worth it, and to echo this belief, we’ve become a part of Slow Food USA, a non-profit educational organization that encourages people to take pleasure in preparing, serving and consuming the bounty of the table.”

How is Mora keeping up with the extraordinary national press coverage and high customer demands? 

As demand has grown Perez and Orselli began implementation of their next two growth areas; a larger, Washington-based factory and a franchising model.  With a new, 10,000 square foot custom-built factory Mora can increase production while still featuring the small-batch quality that Mora is famous for.

“It sounds like an oxymoron when you say you’re going to increase production on a significant scale but keep making things from scratch,” Perez acknowledges, “but for us it’s always been about the quality of the ingredients and the attention we bring to each and every recipe and batch of ice cream or sorbet. That’s not changing one bit and, in fact, one of the reasons we’re bringing in the equipment from Italy is that it’s designed for small, artisanal batches of ice cream….not the industrial equipment that produces thousands of gallons at a time and that the commercial, mass-producers use.”

“We built this business from scratch, by hand, in Washington State and we feel a huge commitment to the neighbors and businesses and customers who built it with us through their support. Whether our expansion means we’re selling to a luxury hotel property in New York or helping a Mora Iced Creamery franchise owner in San Francisco establish a new, successful business, we’re committed to sticking to the core principle that has allowed us the growth of a brand we’re proud of and appeals to so many others; above all, quality.”

Ice Cream photographs courtesy of Mora Ice Cream

DISCLOSURE: Emily, The JetSetting Fashionista enjoyed complimentary Mora Ice Cream.  However, Emily was not paid to write this post and only write posts or features about restaurants, wineries, hotels, products or destinations that she personally enjoys and proudly endorses and wants to share with her readers. All opinions expressed are her own.