Summer just ain’t summer without a bit of brain freeze.

Fortunately, Kiwis are pretty talented in the ice cream department. Hence, the mind-boggling array of quality options up and down the motu/country.

Stuff has put together this list of some favourite spots to help you decide where to get your frozen sugar rush this summer.

Sea People Ice Cream, Mt Maunganui

Made with a blend of cashew and coconut milk, the plant-based ice creams at Sea People are as rich and decadent as their non-vegan counterparts.

The gingerbread cookie ice cream flavoured with cinnamon, clove and nutmeg is a festive favourite, while the double chocolate cookie, espresso brownie, and vanilla and almond butter are favourites year round.

This summer, try the ruberry sherbet, a sorbet and ice cream hybrid with raspberries, strawberries and organic coconut milk with a hint of hibiscus.

Zelati Dessert Cake, Wellington

Tucked away in Left Bank Lane, just off Cuba Street, this dessert café turns out sundaes, ice cream sandwiches and gelato-topped brownies and baklava that are nothing short of edible works of art.

The mango float sundae is a swirl of mango sorbet, vanilla gelato, crushed malt biscuits and whipped cream, while the fudgy “ube” (purple kumara and yam) brownie topped with a frozen dessert of your choice is a decadent deep purple dream.

Italy-trained master gelato and sorbet maestro Alberto Tuason ensures the ingredients are top quality, turning out a rotating array of flavours. The gelato folded with Fix & Fogg Peanut Butter is a winner, as is the plant-based chocolate fudge sorbete​ made with 72% cacao Belgian chocolate, and passionfruit sorbeto.

Scrunchy Millers, Auckland

Opened by a former flight attendant and his wife after he was made redundant, Scrunchy Millers offers real-fruit ice creams in more than 10 different flavours, including kiwifruit, passionfruit, mango and various kinds of berry, blended with Oreo cookies if you like.

Big fans of the also highly recommended Charlies Gelato in Matakana, Mike Kitching and Hayley McRae also offer dozens of varieties of its gelato and sorbet in flavours which range from kiwiana – think jaffa, pineapple lumps and goody goody gum drops – to raspberry panna cotta topped with slivers of coconut and almond and frozen versions of Snickers bars and Ferrero Rocher.

You can get them turned into sundaes, banana splits, ice cream sodas and affogato if a simple cone or cup doesn’t quite cut it. With three layers of ice cream, gelato or sorbet topped with the likes of Lindt chocolate, scorched almonds, freeze-dried raspberries and marshmallows, the cakes are well worth trying too.

The Gelato Lab, Christchurch

Made from scratch by an Italian gelatiere and a Kiwi scientist who attended a “gelato university” in Bologna, it’s no wonder the gelato at this Opawa “lab” is ultra authentic. Look forward to classic and seasonal flavours, including dairy-free options.

Patti’s & Cream, Dunedin

So good you’ll find Dunedinites queueing for it even on a frigid grey day, the handmade ice creams at this St Clair Beach food truck have something close to cult status.

The retro Bedford truck, open on sunny weekends, has a whiff of Mr Whippy about it, but the flavours are often anything but old-fashioned. Think pear and blue cheese, lemon curd and marshmallow, and coffee and cream.

The truck, named Betty, proved such a hit that Patti’s now also has two brick-and-mortar outlets: The Scoop Shop in Mornington and an American-style diner, The Diner, in George St.

The Village Berry, Gisborne

Real-fruit ice cream rarely tastes so intense. Most of the produce sold at this family-run grocery and ice cream shop is grown in sunny Gisborne, ensuring it’s full of flavour.

Get it in a waffle cone if you’re feeling fancy, or opt for frozen yoghurt if you’re watching your waistline. There’s also a dairy-free version, and toppings include the likes of chocolate flakes, chocolate sauce, and brownie bits.

I Scream for Ice Cream, Feilding

There’s a good chance you could have to queue for this family-run joint with more than 60 flavours on offer.

With something of a retro, ice cream parlour/milk bar vibe, I Scream offers traditional favourites, wacky combos, and plenty to keep vegans and those with food allergies and intolerances happy. You’ll also find sundaes, milkshakes, cakes, fudge and pick ‘n mix lollies.

Fuse Real Fruit Ice Cream, Christchurch

A back injury that forced Logan Whyte to give up his job as a landscaper saw him embark on a mission “to take real fruit ice cream to another level”.

Finding a food truck with a bright orange, cone-shaped sign on Trade Me back in 2017, Logan and his partner Tahlia began experimenting with flavours such as peanut butter, Nutella and sour cherry yoghurt, replaced the traditional chocolate flake with a berry and biscuit slice, and developed their own quickset sauce using Whittaker’s chocolate.

It worked wonders. So much so that Logan now runs the food truck, parked by the Port Hills at 73 Cashmere Rd, full-time and Tahlia lends a hand when she clocks off from her day job as a high school science teacher and at weekends.

Customers can build their own dream frozen dessert, choosing a base of vanilla or chocolate ice cream or frozen yoghurt, another flavour (with options including mixed berry, mango and passionfruit), toppings such as Oreos, sprinkles and peanuts, and dark, milk or white chocolate sauce.

-Lorna Thornber/Stuff.