West Chester has seen the comings and goings of a handful of dessert shops over recent years, but it seems like the current mix of ice cream, fro-yo and gelato stations are here to stay.
Settled right into the pack on the first block of N. Church Street, Tropical Homemade Ice Cream offers something for everyone with its tantalizing blend of exotic and straightforward frozen treats. Sibling to the celebrated La Michoacana Homemade Ice Cream in Kennett Square, Tropical Homemade was the natural next step for owner Noelia Scharon, whose roots in West Chester mean a lot to her.
Mexican Ice Cream
Prior to opening La Michoacana in 2003, Noelia Scharon took a trip to visit family in Mexico. “A visit that changed my life,” she recalls. On a jaunt to Jalisco, she had some amazing ice cream and told herself then, “We have to have to have this back home.”
Once she returned to Pennsylvania, Scharon left her job at a mushroom farm and opened up La Michoacana, which is now cruising along into its 14th year of operation.
Though she lives in Kennett Square, Scharon is also very much rooted in West Chester. Opening Tropical Homemade Ice Cream was both a practical and comfortable next step, as she grew up in West Chester and her family, including nephew and Tropical Homemade co-owner Tony Nieves, still live in town.
Flavor Array
As its name suggests, Tropical Homemade has an array of lush, exotic flavors in addition to a classic assortment. Scharon says that the four most popular flavors, now flagships available anytime, are avocado, coconut, corn and mamey. Mamey (pron. mah-mey) is a coral-colored fruit with a totally unique sweet and creamy flavor akin to apricot.
This season Scharon is rolling out three brand new flavors: Ferrero Rocher, Ganso and Sweet Memory. Ferrero Rocher, named for the hazelnut chocolates, will be made with peppermint chocolate chips. Ganso, as Scharon describes, is essentially, “a Mexican Twinkie filled with strawberry and dipped in chocolate,” and it is delicious.
Sweet Memory is a flavor Scharon created in honor of her late father, Juan. As a girl, Scharon accompanied her father after church every week to get strawberry ice cream and coconut cake. He would give her a bit of each, which she’d mix together before enjoying. The ice cream flavor is a play on this dear memory with its blend of strawberry shortcake and coconut ice cream.
Scharon also invents new flavors based on demand. When one person asked for salted caramel, she made a peanut butter caramel pretzel flavor. “We take customer requests,” she says.
A variety of homemade sorbets, water ice and popsicles are also available at Tropical Homemade in a rainbow of flavors, including the “eskimo” popsicle dipped in chocolate sprinkles and filled with caramel. Homemade vanilla and chocolate waffle bowls are big selling ice cream vehicles, and the pretzel cones add a welcome salty note to the sweet treats.
Scharon’s own favorite flavors are strawberry ice cream, passionfruit water ice and rice and tamarind popsicles. Despite making a living producing ice cream, she says she eats it all the time.
Sweet & Sour Delights
What further sets Tropical Homemade Ice Cream apart is the incredible dash here and there of unexpected sour, spicy and savory flavor accompaniments.
Take chili powder, for example, which sits in shakers next to the napkins and spoons and is available for clients to sprinkle on their ice cream. “A lot of people are hesitant,” Scharon explains, “and once they try it, they come back in to put more on.” It’s a remarkable combination, particularly atop one of the mellow, creamy flavors like corn or rice pudding. There’s no wonder the chili powder shakers are often seen passed along from one customer to the next.
Hot sauce and sorbet? You bet. The Tropical Homemade signature Chamoyada is a blend of sorbets and mango chunks splashed with chamoy hot sauce and garnished with chili and a tamarind candy straw. Every sip and spoonful is a tidal wave of sweet and sour working at an extreme level of harmony. On a hot day, it’s sensationally refreshing.
Sweetness Inside and Out
Look for indoor seating coming soon to Tropical Homemade, where they’re adding a few small tables and benches just inside the storefront.
The sweet treats of Tropical Homemade and Michoacana can also be enjoyed off location at your next catered event.
Scharon says that she’s often booked for private events, including birthday parties and fundraisers. She brings a pushcart, which is most frequently filled with a variety of popsicles.
What better way to make a sweet day even sweeter?
Find Tropical Homemade Ice Cream at 125 N. Church Street in West Chester; phone: (610) 696-4027.
- Happy kids photo: Katie Ziegler
- Remaining photos: Leigh Green
