We tried Tyra Banks’ ‘revolutionary’ hot ice-cream, and colour us confused

‘Thicker than a flat white, thinner than a milkshake,’ says one of the tasters of Hot Mama ice-cream. Photograph: Blake Sharp-Wiggins/The Guardian

I’m at Smize and Dream, the ice-cream shop founded by supermodel, Harvard alumna and entrepreneur Tyra Banks. There is a steady stream of customers for a weekday afternoon in Sydney’s Darling Harbour. I’m here for the Hot Mama, which Banks debuted in September, and claims is the world’s first hot ice-cream.

According to its creator, the new dessert is neither a latte nor a hot chocolate and certainly not melted ice-cream. But if it’s none of these, then what is it?