Some cool treats to cure your Orlando summertime phews

Have you ever run an ice-cold soda can down your neck in the middle of a sultry Sunday afternoon? Or licked an ice cream cone while writhing on the hood of a car in short shorts? Then consider the following roundup of cold treats a print and digital cure for your summertime phews. From frozen treats on a stick to chilled quaffs to icy sculptures of snow and syrup, these cold treats are coming in hot. Take them all in, then take a cold shower.

Koko Kakigori

If ever "the good things come to those who wait" adage rings true, it's at this little shop of frozen treats behind Kaya where lines are an absolute given, and justifiably so. They come for the frozen, airy confection known as kakigori — a Japanese summertime treat of shaved ice that takes on the texture of freshly fallen snow, a mouthfeel those of us who grew up in northern climes are quite familiar with. "It's sooo fluffy!" is a common refrain heard at the standing tables beneath the bodhi tree where scores have enjoyed Koko Kakigori's kakigorgeous snow sculptures. I can honestly say the pillowy snowball dubbed the "Strawberry Dream" ($18) is one that's frozen in my memory ever since indulging in the soft ice drizzled in condensed milk, homemade mascarpone cream and strawberry puree. It's then sprinkled with peanut butter shortbread cookies and fresh strawberries and wowza, what a treat. The "Yuzu Orange" ($10) comes with a straw to sip up the sweet melt — it's a proper brain wash, but without the brain freeze. Check the calendar on their website to see whether they're open; it's usually a Friday-through-Sunday operation, but sometimes they take a weekend off. (620 N. Thornton Ave., kokokakigori.com)

Sampaguita Ice Cream

"The Ube Latte and Buko Pandan," says the pleasant girl behind the counter at Sampaguita Ice Cream when I ask what her go-to flavors are when the weather turns from bearable to downright brutal. No question — the swirl of sweet purple yam and French roast of the former, as well as the vanilla-coconut bomb of the latter, can dulcify in more ways than one. But I'd argue that the halo halo ($10), most traditional of frozen Filipino treats, out-cools and out-refreshes anything else served on the menu. Shaved ice is the chilling agent, but a textural whirlwind of ingredients ranging from cornflakes and toasted rice to squishy layers of scratch-made coconut-pandan jellies, jackfruit, palm nut fruit and coconut strings give the swirl of ube and vanilla ice cream an unmatched flavor vibrancy. Condensed milk, ube jam, flan and ube sauce lend the colorful cooler its characteristic sweetness and cold comfort. (1233 E. Colonial Drive, sampaguitausa.com)

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photo by Rob Bartlett

Sampaguita

Tsaocaa

The burgeoning Chinese chain has a mind-boggling array of teas from which to choose, so it's no surprise its name, Tsaocaa, translates to "The Holy Land of Tea," gives cause for many to make a pilgrimage out to Winter Springs. Patrons spend a fair bit of time staring into the cutesy store's ordering kiosks, given the astounding number of choices and options. But quantity doesn't always equate to quality. In fact, most of the beverages here are crafted from pre-made mixes. I tried the very Instagram-able "Coconut Blue" ($6.25) with its blobs of blue coconut jelly, whipped cream and garnish of teeny-weeny macarons. I even added some brown sugar jelly ($1), 'cuz why not? The coconut, however, had a burnt sort of taste I didn't care for. I also wanted to try the dragon fruit tea ($7.50) with sweet jelly "crystal pearls" and milk foam, but they ran out of dragon fruit tea. So, I got the lychee green tea ($6.25) with the same ingredients instead. It was a bit too sweet for my liking, even at 70 percent sweetness. (Yes, you can control the sugar and ice levels of your drinks here too.) With more than 100 beverage options on the menu, though, I'm sure I'll find liquid salvation in this Promised Land of tea soon enough. (5892 Red Bug Lake Road, Winter Springs, tsaocaaflorida.com)

Crispý Cones

What does a Shark Tank-approved dessert look like? It looks like a chimney cake filled with soft-serve ice cream sprinkled with toppings and drizzled with syrup, that's what, and Crispý Cones has the goods. The doughy treats are based on European spit cakes — Czech trdelníks and Hungarian kürtőskalács. And that's "spit" as in the dough is rotisserie-grilled on a tabletop spit, though it certainly made the lady on the TV show drool. The dough is then covered with cinnamon and sugar and its hollow interior anointed with a spread (Nutella, cookie butter or peanut butter). I had my crispy cone ($8.19) spread with the latter, filled with a vanilla-chocolate swirl, topped with strawberries and walnuts and drizzled with caramel. Only the crispy cone wasn't as crispy as I thought it would be — the dough was just, well, doughy. It was placed into a small cup, which made for a wobbly lick. The strawberries weren't fresh but, rather, half-frozen, and the whole thing turned into a goopy mess. Not my idea of a fun frozen fad, but with six locations around the country and counting, it seems others would disagree. (2415 Curry Ford Road, thecrispycones.com)

Morelia Gourmet Paletas

Deep within the retail caverns of the Florida Mall sits a popsicle shop worth seeking out during the summer swelter. They offer paletas, Mexico's answer to Fudge Pops and Creamsicles, and the frozen treats truly pack a punch. The mango sorbet bathed in puckery chamoy sauce and rolled in sweet-and-spicy Miguelito chamoy sugar ($8.19) is a dessert-on-a-stick of the highest order. There are also a couple of options — pineapple-mint sorbet and passion fruit sorbet — with no sugar added, and, best of all, there's actual fruit inside these fruit pops. But there are rich and creamy options too — strawberry cheesecake, Belgian chocolate, Oreo cookies and cream, to name a few, as well as assorted dips and toppings to make them all the richer. "What's your favorite paleta?" I ask the gentleman behind the counter. "Sicilian pistachio dipped in white chocolate and rolled in more pistachio," he advised and paying $8.19 for a popsicle still seemed like a pretty good deal, given all the pistachios rolled onto this paleta. I enjoyed every creamy, crunchy bite — consider this one the king of pop. (8001 S. Orange Blossom Trail, paletasmorelia.com)