Get them while you can!

Jonathan Vega may have the best job in Boston. As assistant production manager at J.P. Licks, he’s at the forefront of developing new ice cream flavors for the beloved local chain and he’s recently turned his talents to a trio of Latin American-inspired flavors: Tres Leches, Spiced Plantain and Xtabentún Coffee ice cream will be on the menu as supplies last through the end of September.

Vega is Puerto Rican and was inspired to create these flavors because of the large Latino population of both the J.P. Licks staff and the clientele.

“We all miss our homes,” said Vega. “If you’re from Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic or Colombia, you can come into a local ice cream shop and taste a little bit of home.”

The ice cream king has been working on these flavors since February. Quality was important to Vega, which means the preparation is labor intensive. For the Tres Leches ice cream, the team makes a full dessert using five yellow cakes soaked in evaporated milk and condensed milk for 48 hours, then mixes it in with ice cream. It takes 24 pounds of plantains, mixed with brown sugar, spices and a few secret ingredients, to make the base for the Spiced Plantain flavor. And it took time to find just the right water-to-bean ratio for the Mayan coffee brew.

Tres Leches has been the most popular of the three. The flavor was released at the end of July and became an unexpected bestseller of the summer.

Though there’s no way of knowing if or when the flavors will come back, Tres Leches would be the most likely to reappear on the menu in the future.

Though the trial-and-error process of crafting new ice cream flavors does require a lot of taste testing, it’s not all fun and games. Vega speaks to the science behind the frozen treat, noting that a flavor can taste completely different when it’s first made vs. after it’s been frozen.

“It almost didn’t work,” he said. “I probably had 10 prototypes of the plantain, and I honestly lost count of the prototypes of the Tres Leches. It was a very difficult process.”

The team persevered and Bostonians can enjoy the new flavors for the start of Hispanic Heritage Month, which began Sept. 15.

Vega says the best part of his job isn’t actually the tasting, it’s seeing the smiles on customers’ faces.

“Ice cream is one of those foods that you can eat as a baby and you can eat as an elder,” he said. “It brings joy to everyone.”

ON THE WEB

Learn more and find locations at jplicks.com