Crumbl cookies are dessert for the social media era
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Are crumble cookies worth the hype? Hi there, everyone. It's Jeff, and this is Plain English, the podcast that helps you upgrade your English with stories about current events and trending topics. I am not on TikTok, and I don't spend too much time on Instagram, but JR, he's the producer of Plain English, he

He tells me when something is happening on TikTok that I need to know about. And he told me about crumble cookies. These are the hottest dessert in the United States right now. And today you will learn all about them. But who knows? You might know the whole story already from TikTok.

This is episode number 767 of Plain English. You get to listen right here on Spotify or your podcast app. That's great, but there's more to the story on plainenglish.com. That's where you can take a quiz about today's episode, practice your pronunciation, take a listening challenge,

fill in the blanks, and other exercises. That's going to help you become a more active English learner, and it's all for you at plainenglish.com slash 767. Before we start today's story, I'd just like to remind you that the podcast is just one part of how we can help you upgrade your English skills.

At plainenglish.com, you can make faster progress with active learning strategies. You can take quizzes, do activities, listen to the fast version of the audio, watch video workshops, practice what you learn, and even join a live call with JR and me. It's all about helping you build your skills to become a better, more confident English speaker.

Sound good? Go to plainenglish.com to start your free 14-day trial today. Now, let's jump into today's story. Dessert fads come and go. Jell-O was all the rage in the 1960s. Fondue in the 1970s. Then came the low-fat trend, and the 1990s were about frozen yogurt.

Fancy cupcakes dominated the 2000s thanks to Magnolia Bakery and its many appearances on the TV show Sex and the City. Gourmet donuts had a moment in the 2010s. But now we are living in the age of the gourmet cookie, and no brand represents that more than crumble.

Crumble cookies is spelled C-R-U-M-B-L. They make oversized gourmet cookies. Each one is about 11 centimeters in diameter. They're thick and shareable. Many come with elaborate frosting and toppings.

The outside is crusty, but the center is soft and chewy. Crumbles menu features many imaginative flavors that change weekly. On any given day, only six flavors of cookies are available, and it's the same six in every store.

There's usually one chocolate chip cookie and five specialty flavors. Every Monday, the company announces the flavor lineup for the coming week. Some flavors are frequently available. JR's favorite is the pink sugar cookie.

It's a plain white cookie with rich pink frosting spread on top. This one frequently makes it into the rotation. Other common flavors are red velvet cupcake, birthday cake, and s'mores. Some flavors are seasonal. In the fall, you might find a pumpkin cookie,

In the winter, gingerbread. In the summer, lemon blueberry. Other flavors are more experimental, like New York cheesecake, pineapple, maple bacon, and cornbread.

Part of the fun of going to Crumble is that you don't know what flavors are going to be there unless you follow them on social media. One day, you might find two or three of your favorites. Another day, there might be flavors you've never tried before.

But be careful because a visit to Crumble comes at a cost. And I'm not just talking about the $5 price tag. The signature full-size chocolate chip cookie has 730 calories. And that one doesn't even have elaborate toppings or rich fillings.

Crumble says that a typical serving should be 30 grams or 140 calories. But take it from me, it's very hard to eat one-fifth of a crumble cookie.

Crumble does offer miniature versions of its cookies. The smaller ones come in at about 200 calories each and are six centimeters across. It's popular to get those in packs of three or six. If you're on TikTok or Instagram, you may have seen Crumble cookies, and that's no accident.

In 2017, two cousins teamed up to start Crumble. Neither had a background in baking. One was a university student and the other worked in technology. That may have helped them think dispassionately about their creation. They weren't attached to their first culinary vision.

They tried version after version of their chocolate chip cookie, tweaking the recipe in response to consumer feedback, just like an A-B test in digital marketing. The cousins also leveraged recent trends in virality. From the start, they wanted a product that would look good on social media.

Crumble cookies aren't just decadent. They aren't just delicious. They don't just have interesting flavors. They also look really good. The frosting is colorful. There are interesting toppings. There are layers and there is texture. The packaging helps too.

Crumble doesn't put your cookie in a sleeve and they never stack cookies one on top of the other. Instead, the cookies come flat in a bright pink box. The stores don't have any seating, so you always take them to go.

And when you walk home, everyone can immediately see you're carrying one of Crumble's distinctive pink boxes. And when you get home, it's like an unboxing. A lot of people film themselves opening the box and then eating their Crumble cookies. And of course, they share those clips on Instagram or TikTok.

Some people can't even wait until they get home. They film themselves eating the cookies in their cars. All this drives further interest on social media. The rotating menu also borrows from the world of virality. Crumble makes an event out of the menu announcement.

They say new flavors drop every Monday, just like a new season of your favorite show drops on a streaming platform. Crumble was founded in 2017, but it exploded in popularity in 2022 and 2023. Today, there are 1,000 Crumble stores.

You can find them in all 50 U.S. states, Puerto Rico, and several provinces in Canada. They sell 1 million cookies a day. If there's no crumble in your country, you may still be able to enjoy the decadent cookies if you're willing to open your wallet.

In Mexico City, where I live, you can order crumble cookies online for about $10 each. There's free shipping. Get this. There's free shipping for orders over $60. Yes, of cookies.

There are also resellers. South Texas locations are overwhelmed by people buying crumble cookies to resell in Mexico.

In October last year, a few American superfans flew boxes of crumble cookies from Hawaii to Sydney's Bondi Beach and sold them for about $12 each, triple the usual price. Fans lined up to buy them.

Crumble wasn't involved in that pop-up sale, and the superfans probably violated various laws by reselling the cookies there, but they may have done a service to Crumble and all cookie fans down under. The company was so impressed with the success of the pop-up sale that it said it will open a store in Australia.

All right, so JR and I did a taste test in preparation for this episode. I had never had crumble cookies, but JR had been telling me about them for a long time. I was in Chicago for a few months recently, so I decided I had to try them. The first time I went to the store, I made a rookie mistake.

A rookie mistake is like a mistake you make when you don't know what you're doing. I got one full-sized cookie for myself, chocolate chip, and one full-sized cookie for JR, red velvet. What I didn't realize is that these really are meant to be shared.

They're huge, so one person, one cookie just doesn't work. They're also 700 calories, and we had them after dinner, and that was just too much. Well, the next time, JR set me straight.

We got packs of three minis. JR cut them in pieces and we had like a little taste test of the three flavors. And this is how most people enjoy them. You try a variety of fun flavors, cut them up, share them, and compare your thoughts. It's a whole experience.

I was in Chicago for a few months, so we had a chance to do a couple of these. The flavors I liked the best were chocolate chip. I just like a classic chocolate chip cookie. Can't help it. I also liked the St. Patrick's Day green one. JR liked the New York cheesecake flavor, and we both liked the pink sugar cookie.

The one thing we did not do, we did not record or stream ourselves opening the box and eating them. There are some parts of the crumble experience that I'm just not willing to take part in.

Anyway, if you have a chance to try Crumble, don't make my mistake. Don't get a big one just for yourself. Get a variety pack and share them with other people. This episode is making me hungry. I should have created this episode while I was still in Chicago so I could satisfy my craving afterward.

And no, I'm not paying $10 plus international shipping to get one here in Mexico. That's just crazy talk. Well, that's all for this delicious episode of Plain English. If you want to see a picture of crumble cookies, go to plainenglish.com slash 767 and you'll see a picture right at the top of the page.

And while you're there, why not take a quiz about this episode? Why not do some practice exercises while you're there? It'll help you improve a little bit in English, even as you listen to our stories. All that is at plainenglish.com slash 767. We'll be back on Monday with the new story. See you then.

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