Hailing from near Los Angeles, I understand Pinkberry. I am fit, I like yoga, and I enjoy the hunt for delicious food while still counting calories.

New York is not quite the same as LA, though, and both weather and culture made attending the opening of Pinkberry on 112th and Broadway a questionable endeavor. Not only did Pinkberry open as the tickle of winter winds were beginning to stir, but many questioned the ability of pricey Pinkberry to stay afloat—it’s both more expensive and less convenient than the on-campus Tasti D-Lite.

Despite early speculation, Pinkberry opened at the end of October to throngs of devoted fans and curious onlookers. The freezing temperatures have not appeared to have made an impact on lines out the door, as long as the students are around. Mike, a manager at the 112th Street location who was not comfortable revealing his last name, noted that there “hasn’t been that much of a difference because of temperature. The biggest difference was when the Columbia and Barnard students came back to campus.”

Pinkberry’s popularity may have something to do with the way it lends itself to mystery and rumors surrounding its caloric content, “yogurt” status, and distinct flavor. Everyone is talking about it, good or bad.

The calorie count can be somewhat misleading to a cursory onlooker. A serving size of Pinkberry is a half cup without toppings. There are 50 calories in a serving of green tea flavor, 70 in a serving of original, and 90 in coffee—but a small Pinkberry contains 1.4 servings, a medium 2.2, and a large 3.6. Theoretically, a person could walk away from a Pinkberry experience only about 70 calories down, but up the size and add a few toppings and the scale could be tipped to 400 easily.

Pinkberry removed the term “frozen yogurt” from their Web site after it was discovered that it does not contain the necessary amount of bacteria cultures to be legally called “yogurt” by the California Department of Food and Agriculture. The term has since reappeared on the Web site, and Mike maintains that the labeling is correct. “There are active cultures in it. It is yogurt,” he said.

The National Yogurt Association requires that a yogurt manufacturer have 10 million active cultures per gram in a product in order to carry a Live and Active Culture seal, based on research on the amount necessary to receive health benefits from the bacteria. The Los Angeles Times tested Pinkberry last year and found only 69,000 active cultures per gram.

Despite the curiosity, Pinkberry may have missed their mark with their new coffee flavor, which debuted two weeks ago in honor of Pinkberry’s third anniversary. When asked whether it was popular, employees said only, “A lot of people are testing it.”

In three trips to Pinkberry over the last week, nearly every person in the store has sampled the new flavor, including me. As an addict of both Pinkberry and coffee, I was not turned-off by the bitter tang as many people were, but even my hardened taste buds didn’t dance the way that they do when experiencing either Pinkberry or coffee individually. Given the choice at the register, I, and everyone else I observed, went with something else.