Sugar Llamas
By: Amelia Kimberling
Doughnuts, coffee, and ice cream — what else could you possibly want? Sugar Llamas, a new Tulsa-based business, offers each of those treats.
When you walk inside, Sugar Llamas doesn’t miss the mark on aesthetics. The shop is small and quaint, with plenty of spots for great photo ops as well as a full Krispy Kreme-style view of the machine that makes their famous mini doughnuts.
Of course, I had to get as many doughnuts as I could in order to try all the flavors they had to offer.
Every doughnut starts the same — a fried, mini doughnut that you can then customize with an assortment of toppings. A board lists possible drizzles such as chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, orange, marshmallow, and more as well as other toppings like fruity pebbles, cinnamon sugar, and graham cracker. While it’s completely customizable, they have a few popular combinations and flavors they recommend.
I tried six of those combinations — S’mores (graham cracked, chocolate, and marshmallow), Hazelnutty (Nutella and vanilla), Dreamsicle (orange and vanilla), Flintstone (fruity pebbles and vanilla), Strawberry Shortcake (graham cracker, strawberry, and vanilla), and Total Turtle (caramel and chocolate).
The doughnuts themselves are wonderful. Since they are fresh out of the fryer, they are warm and fluffy. The crunch of the outer pastry blends perfectly with its airy center.
Flintstone 3.5/5: Doused in vanilla drizzle and sprinkled with Fruity Pebbles, the Flintstone is extremely sweet. The flavors work well together, but it is almost a tooth-rotting flavor. Personally, I could only handle one, but it was still a delicious treat if eaten in moderation.
S’mores 5/5: Creamy marshmallow topping, rich chocolate drizzle, and a sprinkle of graham cracker crumbs -- a perfect combination for a perfect doughnut. These flavors blended perfectly together to create an imitation of a s’more in doughnut form! This is easily my favorite flavor on the list and I strongly recommend it to anyone indecisive about what to get.
Strawberry Shortcake 5/5: Just like S’mores, Strawberry Shortcake did not disappoint. The strawberry drizzle had a perfect flavor, and it was not at all artificial-tasting like others I’ve tried. The vanilla and graham crackers blended with the strawberry to make another 5/5 combo!
Total Turtle 2/5: My hopes were high for this combo, especially as an avid caramel fan, but the flavors lacked in this combination. The caramel sauce was soaked up by the doughnuts by the time I ate it, and unfortunately, the flavor didn’t carry into the dough either. Plus, the chocolate drizzle completely overpowered any fragment of caramel left. Overall, the caramel flavor could’ve been better achieved.
Dreamsicle 1.5/5: Dreamsicles are one of my favorite popsicles, but they do not work as doughnuts. I am not a huge fan of orange as it is, so this doughnut combo did not work for me. The creamy orange drizzle with the hot doughnut was an off putting flavor to me, so I was not a fan.
Hazelnutty 4/5: It’s hard to go wrong with nutella, and putting it on a fluffy mini doughnut is a perfect balance of flavor! The rich nutty taste was balanced nicely with the vanilla drizzle it was paired with.
Nothing is perfect, and one overall complaint I would give to the doughnuts is they lack sustainability. They are at their best warm, and the drizzles make them soggy within an hour or so. These treats won’t last you a few days, and they’re best eaten as soon as you get them. So keep that in mind when deciding how many you get!
Unfortunately, I can only take so much sugar, so my only time experiencing their ice cream was on my first quick trip to the shop. I got Llamalicious as a shake. Presentation-wise, it was beautiful. The yellow swirled with the blues and reds to create a shake that looked straight off of a foodie tik tok. Flavor-wise, it was extremely sweet. The cookie dough mixed with the sugary ice cream was a bit overpowering, but it is perfect if you have a sweet tooth to soothe. That being said, this particular flavor probably worked better as a scoop rather than a shake.
As for the coffee, I’m not a coffee drinker, so I can not speak on quality or flavor. However, I have heard great things from those who have had it!
For more information about Sugar Llamas, check out the links and social media accounts below!
Website: https://sugarllamas.com/contact/#about
Instagram: @sugarllamastulsa