Frappes & blended coffee drinks
If you’re a coffee shop owner, café operator, or foodservice professional currently using Big Train’s smoothie base or shopping for an alternative, this guide is for you. The blended beverage space has a lot of noise, and two names that come up frequently in comparison conversations are Big Train and Frozen Xplosion. Both are dry powder bases designed to help you create creamy, blended frozen drinks. But when it comes to flexibility, cost-effectiveness, and the ability to differentiate your business, these two products are not created equal.
This deep-dive comparison covers everything from ingredients and flavor philosophy to storage, customization, and who each product is really built for. By the end, you’ll understand exactly why so many coffee shops across the country have made the switch and why Frozen Xplosion continues to be chosen over Big Train as their go-to blended drink base.
Big Train was founded in 1991 and has grown into a nationally recognized brand in the foodservice and beverage space. Their product line includes chai lattes, blended ice coffees, frappe mixes, and smoothie bases. The smoothie base most commonly referenced is their Blended Crème Vanilla Smoothie Base Mix, a pre-flavored vanilla powder that blends with ice and liquid to produce a creamy frozen beverage.
Big Train’s approach is built on variety: they offer dozens of flavors across their product lines, including mocha, caramel, cookies ‘n cream, taro, and many more. The idea is that operators can pick from a menu of pre-set flavors to build out their beverage program. Their products are widely distributed and can be found on Amazon, restaurant supply stores like WebstaurantStore, and specialty coffee wholesalers.
Frozen Xplosion has been in the blended beverage business since 2003, serving coffee shops across the United States with a fundamentally different philosophy. Instead of dozens of pre-flavored products, they offer just two bases, Original and Vegan, that are completely neutral in flavor. This neutral base becomes whatever you want it to be when you add your own espresso, fruit, chocolate, syrups, or other ingredients.
Made with just eleven ingredients, the Original Frozen Xplosion is free of dairy, gluten, cholesterol, trans fats, hydrogenated oils, and high fructose corn syrup. The Vegan version is free from artificial flavors, artificial colors, and artificial preservatives, while also being trans fat free and vegan safe. Both versions are shelf-stable, making storage a breeze.
| Features | Big Train | Frozen Xplosion | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base type | Pre-flavored (vanilla, mocha, etc.) | Neutral (flavor it yourself) | Frozen Xplosion ✓ | Number of SKUs needed | Dozens of flavored bags | Just 1 to 2 base SKUs | Frozen Xplosion ✓ | Dairy-free | Contains nonfat milk | Yes (dairy free) | Frozen Xplosion ✓ | Gluten-free | Yes | Yes (Original base) | Tie | High fructose corn syrup | Not specified | Free of HFCS | Frozen Xplosion ✓ | Shelf stable | Yes | Yes | Tie | Signature drink potential | Limited (flavor is locked in) | Unlimited (fully customizable) | Frozen Xplosion ✓ | Storage footprint | High (multiple bags needed) | Minimal (one bag does it all) | Frozen Xplosion ✓ | Vegan option | Not prominently offered | Yes (Vegan SKU available) | Frozen Xplosion ✓ | Blends with water only | Requires milk for best results | Yes (creamy with just water & ice) | Frozen Xplosion ✓ | Satisfaction guarantee | Varies by retailer | 100% money-back guarantee | Frozen Xplosion ✓ |
The most common question operators ask when switching is simple. "I pour Big Train vanilla latte and mocha every day. What do I use instead?" The answer is the same bag every time. You add the flavor yourself, which means you control the strength, the sweetness, and the recipe. Here is how the most common builds translate.
Standard ratio is 2 oz of base per 12 oz drink, or 3 oz per 16 oz drink. Blend about 30 seconds. Most drinks go from bag to cup in roughly 60 seconds.
| If you currently pour | Build it with the Everybase |
|---|---|
| Vanilla, Vanilla Bean, Vanilla Latte | 2 oz base, vanilla syrup, ice. Add a shot of espresso for a vanilla latte freeze. | Mocha, Kona Mocha, Heath Mocha | 2 oz base, 1.5 oz chocolate syrup, one shot espresso, heaping 12 oz ice. | Blended Ice Coffee | 2 oz base, one shot espresso or 3 oz cold brew, heaping 12 oz ice. | Spiced Chai, Vanilla Chai | 2 oz base, your own chai concentrate, ice. Use the chai you already stock. | Java Chip | 2 oz base, chocolate syrup, chocolate chips, one shot espresso. | Cookies and Cream | 2 oz base, vanilla syrup, cookie pieces blended in. | Horchata | 2 oz base, cinnamon syrup, ice. | Taro | 2 oz base, taro powder or taro syrup. | Matcha | 2 oz base, matcha, ice. | Caramel | 2 oz base, caramel syrup, one shot espresso. | Strawberry and fruit smoothies | 2 oz base, 1.5 oz Real Fruit Concentrate or real fruit, 3 oz water, ice. | Frozen lemonade and fruit tea | 2 oz base with lemonade or fruit concentrate for a creamy frozen slush. | Hot chocolate | Base plus chocolate syrup with hot water for a hot drink build. |
One bag covers every row in that table. That is the practical difference between a pre-flavored system and a neutral one. See more builds on our recipes page.
A note on reduced sugar builds. The Everybase is a sweetened base and is not a sugar free product. Operators running a lower sugar menu typically pair it with sugar free syrups and unsweetened add-ins to control the finished drink. If you need help dialing in a specific build, our team will work through it with you.
Here’s the core tension between these two products. Big Train gives you flavors out of the bag. Frozen Xplosion gives you a canvas.
When you use a pre-flavored base like Big Train’s vanilla or mocha variety, you’re locked into that flavor profile. Your mango smoothie will always taste like vanilla-mango. Your frappe will have Big Train’s signature flavor baked in. That’s fine if consistency is all you want, but it also means the coffee shop down the street using the same Big Train product is serving essentially the same drink.
With Frozen Xplosion, there’s no flavor baked in. The base is neutral and creamy, designed to let your added ingredients shine. Whether you’re blending in fresh espresso, a house-made lavender syrup, mango purée, or matcha, those flavors come through clean and bright. The result is signature drinks that are genuinely yours and genuinely different from what your competitors are serving.
For any operator looking for a Big Train alternative that gives them more creative control, Frozen Xplosion is the obvious answer.
One of the underappreciated costs of a pre-flavored base system is storage. If you’re using Big Train products to build a diverse menu, you’ll need multiple bags. One for vanilla, one for mocha, one for strawberry, and so on. In a typical coffee shop or drive-thru, back-of-house storage space is precious. Every additional SKU you carry is another bag to store, track, and reorder.
Frozen Xplosion cuts through this complexity dramatically. You carry one base, and that base handles your entire blended drink menu. Want a vanilla frappe? Add vanilla syrup. Want a tropical smoothie? Add mango concentrate. Want a mocha freeze? Add your espresso and chocolate sauce. One bag. Unlimited outcomes.
Another area where Frozen Xplosion outperforms Big Train is in liquid requirements. Big Train’s pre-flavored mixes often work best with milk, adding an ongoing cost and a cold-chain management requirement to every beverage you produce. Frozen Xplosion, by contrast, is designed to blend up sweet and creamy with just water and ice. No milk required. That’s a meaningful reduction in cost-per-drink, and it simplifies operations considerably during a rush.
Frozen Xplosion’s Vegan base gives operators a cleaner-label option for health-conscious customers. With no artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives, plus being trans fat free and vegan safe, it fits naturally into a menu positioned around better-for-you ingredients. This is an area where Big Train’s pre-flavored line simply does not offer a direct equivalent.
Sugar, Coconut Oil, Corn Syrup Solids, Nonfat Milk, Maltodextrin, Sodium Caseinate (a milk derivative), Natural and Artificial Flavors, Silicon Dioxide, Salt, Dipotassium Phosphate, Propylene Glycol Esters of Fatty Acids, Mono and Diglycerides, Carrageenan, Soy Lecithin, Guar Gum, Xanthan Gum, and Annatto Extract.
Contains Nonfat Milk, not suitable for dairy-free customers.
Sugar, Dextrose, Corn Syrup Solids, Coconut Oil, and less than 2% each of Maltodextrin, Sodium Caseinate (a milk derivative), Salt, Guar and Xanthan Gum, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Mono and Diglycerides, Dipotassium Phosphate, Sodium Aluminosilicate, Annatto Extract, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6.
Free of dairy (lactose-free), gluten, cholesterol, trans fats, hydrogenated oils, and HFCS.
The Vegan version takes a different route to a clean label, leaving out artificial flavors, artificial colors, and artificial preservatives entirely for operators who want the cleanest possible ingredient statement.
The key difference: Frozen Xplosion is built to be a neutral vehicle, so the ingredient profile stays clean and intentional rather than loaded with flavor-specific additives.
If you run an independent coffee shop, a drive-thru café, or any beverage-focused concept that values differentiation, Frozen Xplosion is built for you. Here’s why:
Big Train works fine for operators who want a plug-and-play solution with no customization. But in today’s competitive coffee market, “plug-and-play” is often the path to looking exactly like your competition.
One of the biggest advantages Frozen Xplosion holds over Big Train as a smoothie base alternative is sheer versatility. While Big Train is primarily positioned for smoothies and frappes, Frozen Xplosion is genuinely multi-application:
That’s a remarkable range for a single product. Coffee shops looking to expand their revenue streams without multiplying their SKU count will find Frozen Xplosion to be an incredibly efficient investment.
One area where Frozen Xplosion shines beyond the product itself is customer support. As a specialty company focused exclusively on blended drink bases, their team offers direct, personalized guidance to help operators build their beverage programs. They’ll assist with recipes, machine recommendations, and granita setup. That’s the kind of hands-on support you simply won’t get from a large brand like Big Train that sells through mass distributors.
Frozen Xplosion also offers a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Return any unopened products for a full refund, no questions asked. That’s a risk-free way to trial the product and see how your customers respond.
Free shipping is included on all orders of one case or more, which further reduces the total cost of ownership compared to sourcing Big Train through third-party distributors.
If you are searching for where to buy a frappe and smoothie base, here is exactly how it works. Frozen Xplosion sells direct and ships across the United States. There is no distributor hunt and no minimum account setup to get started.
Every order is backed by a 100% satisfaction guarantee. Return any unopened product for a full refund.
Coffee shop owners who have made the switch from Big Train (or similar pre-flavored bases) to Frozen Xplosion frequently highlight three things. The creaminess, the clean flavor delivery, and the operational simplicity. When the base is truly neutral, fresh additions like espresso, real fruit, and quality syrups don’t have to fight through a pre-baked vanilla or mocha flavor. They burst through clearly. The result is a brighter, fresher-tasting drink that customers notice.
Operators also consistently note that barista training is faster and simpler with a single universal base. Instead of memorizing which pre-flavored bag goes with which drink, staff just grab Frozen Xplosion and add what the recipe calls for. Consistency improves. Waste drops.
For blended and frozen applications, yes. Because the base is flavor neutral, you create the flavor with syrups, concentrates, espresso, or real fruit. That covers frappes, blended coffee, smoothies, granitas, frozen cocktails, and dairy free soft serve from a single bag. The one thing it will not do is replicate a pre-flavored powder without you adding anything.
No. The base blends up sweet and creamy with just water and ice. That removes a per drink dairy cost and eliminates a cold chain requirement during a rush. You can still use milk or an alt milk if you prefer that texture.
The Original Frappe Base and Smoothie Mix is gluten free and kosher certified. The Vegan base is not gluten free. Both products contain ingredients derived from milk and soy, and are manufactured in a facility that processes Milk, Soy, Wheat, and Eggs. Check the product page for the full statement before serving customers with allergies.
About two square feet. One base replaces the shelf of pre-flavored bags you would otherwise carry, and it is shelf stable so it does not need refrigeration before use.
It works with any blender. It also runs in granita machines, and our team will help with setup if you are adding a granita or frozen program. If you want a recommendation for your volume, get in touch and we will point you at the right machine.
When you set the Frozen Xplosion vs. Big Train debate side by side, the picture becomes clear for operators who want to build something distinctive. Big Train delivers pre-packaged flavor profiles that are consistent and convenient, but they lock you into a one-size-fits-all model that limits creativity and mirrors what your competitors are likely already serving.
Frozen Xplosion takes a fundamentally different approach. A clean, neutral, highly versatile base that transforms into whatever your imagination creates. It’s dairy-free, gluten-free, free of high fructose corn syrup, available in a vegan formula, and designed to work with just water and ice. It’s shelf-stable, requires minimal storage, and comes with the kind of direct customer support that helps your business grow.
For independent coffee shops, drive-thrus, bars, and restaurants that want to differentiate their blended beverage menu without the overhead of managing dozens of flavored bags, Frozen Xplosion is the clear choice.
One neutral-flavored base, unlimited drinks. Add your own ingredients and create a menu your competitors can’t copy.
Make drinks your way, with endless possibilities! Frozen Xplosion Original Frappe & Smoothie Base mixes with just about anything: coffee, espresso and cold brew, fresh fruits and veggies, flavored syrups, alcohol and even donuts!
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