An Interview with Spring Snow’s Christopher Teoh

Christopher Teoh has opened up a new concept that everyone needs to go check out, because this could be the next newest craze. Spring Snow serves Snow Cream, a hybrid ice cream/shaved ice, made from fresh fruit and milk. What does it taste like? it’s almost like eating a fluffy cloud, except the cloud just happens to be sweet and creamy. Spring Snow uses natural ingredients, and are committed to always using fresh fruits and real dairy to develop their snow blocks. Once created, the large snow blocks are shaved into thin ribbons providing a light, sweet dessert that almost melts in your mouth, just like snow!

Spring Snow. Photo by Nick Rama.

Christopher is always experimenting with new flavors to add to the line up either as occasional specials or as a part of the rotating menu (new flavors are posted every Thursday). Each size comes with one flavor of Snow Cream, one topping and one drizzle. Additional toppings are available for. 50 cents each. Located at Kuykendahl and Louetta, Spring Snow recently celebrated their Grand Opening the weekend of August 18, 2018.

Spring Snow Menu and Toppings. Photo by Nick Rama.

Step 1 to the process of building your perfect Snow Ice is to pick your Snow Ice base flavor. Snow Flavors include Blueberry, Mango, Strawberry, Strawberry – Banana, Espresso, Blue Oreo, Pineapple – Mango, Mocha, Chocolate Strawberry, Watermelon Basil, Raspberry-Melon, Chocolate and Vanilla to name a few.

Fresh mango for toppings prepared at Spring Snow. Photo by Nick Rama.

The next two steps after choosing your size of cup and flavor of Snow Ice is adding toppings and drizzles.

Step 2: Toppings

• Toppings: Fresh Fruits: Bananas, Mangoes, Strawberries
• Original Topping: Chocolate or Strawberry Pocky, Crystal Boba, Lychee Jelly, Mini Mochi, Rainbow Jelly, Tapioca Balls, Bursting Bobas (Blueberry, Lychee, Mango, Pink Rose or Strawberry).
• Crunchies: Cap N’ Crunch, chocolate chips, cinnamon toast crunch, frosted flakes, fruity pebbles, granola, lucky charms marshmallows, mini oreos, nilla wafers, sliced almonds, toasted coconut

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Step 3: Drizzles: Condensed Milk (most popular and traditional), chili powder, whipped cream, plum power, chocolate, caramel, Nutella.

If you can’t decide, Spring Snow has started to have some suggested popular flavor combinations such as:

• Pink Eskimo: Strawberry Snow, Original Mini Mochi, Frosted Flakes, Condensed Milk
• Blue Dream: Blueberry Snow, Tapioca Balls, Fruity Pebbles, Condensed Milk
• Cool Beans: Coffee Snow, Nilla Wafers, Whipped Cream
• Chilly Chili Mango: Mango Snow, Fresh Mangoes, Chili Powder, Condensed Milk

Spring Snow. Photo by Nick Rama.

We sat down to interview Christopher Teoh to find out more about Spring Snow.

What fascinated you about Snow Cream and where did you learn about it?

“Shaved ice has been around in Asia for centuries. Traditionally, the ice was crushed (similar to how snow cones are made) and then a bunch of toppings (e.g. seasonal fruits, red beans, tapioca balls) along with condensed milk were added. So, I had been eating this variant my whole life and then in 2011, I moved to Hong Kong and that was where I was first introduced to “snow cream”. I remember being immediately floored by how snow cream managed to capture the refreshing coolness of traditional shaved ice while somehow adding new dimensions of flavor and creaminess. I was hooked and basically had it everyday on my way home from work.”

How do you make a block of Snow Cream and how labor intensive is it to make a single block?

“We’re constantly trying to come up with new flavor combinations and tweak our existing ones to give people an experience that’s delicious as well as refreshing and exciting. Each block of snow cream contains fresh fruits, dairy, and minimal sugars (e.g. honey), along with other natural flavors that are blended together until the consistency is perfect, and then immediately frozen over 10 hours in our snow cream machine. We do everything in-house from de-stemming the strawberries to grinding the coffee beans, so that every batch is 100% natural and the quality is 100% consistent. We put a lot of work and thought into making our snow cream, and love to see the fruits of those efforts in the smiles we see from the people that try it, either for the first time or the 100th!”

Why did you choose Spring, TX to open Spring Snow?

“I chose Spring because I wanted to focus more on the suburban markets, so local friends and family can spend more time together as opposed to on the road.”

Why is it important to you to use fresh ingredients?

“It is important to use fresh ingredients because it simply tastes better! It also provides a healthier, more natural alternative to other frozen desserts.”

What can someone expect that has never been to Spring Snow?

“Someone who has never been to Spring Snow can expect a delightfully fluffy and refreshing bowl of soft and creamy snow that brings a little party to your mouth with every bite! We have a few combo options, but most people customize their own bowl (with different flavors, toppings, and drizzles).”

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Do you plan to expand the menu to offer more than Snow Cream?

“We plan on introducing teas and smoothies in the future, but as of right now, we are putting all our efforts into making sure we create the best snow cream product possible.”

What are your challenges in bringing a new product concept to the area?

“One of the largest challenges is getting people to try something new. Many people come into Spring Snow expecting a snow cone or ice cream and are sometimes unsure about trying out the snow. That being said, we’ve had an amazing reception thus far.”

What are your three personal favorite combinations?

• Pink Eskimo – Strawberry Snow, mini mochi, frosted flakes, and condensed milk

• Blue Dream – Blueberry Snow, tapioca balls, fruity pebbles, and condensed milk

• Chilly Chili Mango – Mango Snow, fresh mangoes, and condensed milk with chilli powder (Tajin)

Spring Snow. Photo by Nick Rama.

What are your hottest selling flavors of Snow Cream so far?

“So far, the hottest (but not actually hot) flavors are strawberry and mango. However, our Coffee and Strawberry-Chocolate flavors were more recently added and they are very popular.”

What are bursting bobas?

“Also known as “popping boba”, bursting boba is filled with fruit juice that bursts in your mouth. These tiny balls of big flavor are great additions to any snow cream!”

Are all your flavors made with dairy?

“Yes, all of our flavors contain dairy which helps the snow cream have that light and fluffy texture. That being said, we are continuing to research and develop a dairy-free option.”

I noticed on your website that you do offsite events, how does that work and what type of events do you do?

“We love offsite events! What we do is load up the Yeti with a few flavors of snow and bring along our snow shaver. You are able to pick a certain amount of flavors, toppings, and drizzles that you would like to offer at your event. Most of the time, the size of the event dictates the number of menu items.”

Is this the only location of Spring Snow? Do you plan to expand or franchise?

“Yes, right now this is our only location. We do plan on expanding in the future to more suburbs around H-town, but right now Spring is the focus.”

5 Words to describe Spring Snow?

“Highly Pleasant To The Taste”

Spring Snow is located at 18379 Kuykendahl Rd, Spring, TX 77379. Learn more about Spring Snow by calling (832) 224-6596, visit their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/springsnowtx/ and website at springsnowtx.com.

Nick Rama is a food writer, contributor of Hello Woodlands, and shares his restaurant experiences on Nick’s Local Eats at NicksLocalEats.com and the Q Up The Burgers Facebook page. Nick enjoys helping the small business owner, supporting his community with fundraising for food banks, and plans tasting events with locally owned mom and pop restaurants.

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