Chobani's Worst Greek Yogurt Flavor Tastes Oddly Medicinal

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What do Luxardo maraschino liqueur and Chloraseptic throat spray have in common? They both (technically) taste like cherry. Cherry-flavored foods (Luxardo notwithstanding) often carry an unflattering tendency toward a cough-syrup-esque taste — which was the chief sin with Chobani's Fruit Punch flavor. In Tasting Table's definitive ranking of Chobani Greek yogurt flavors, this offering fell to last place. But, thankfully, this flavor is only available for a limited time. We were "overwhelmed with that medicinal, almost alcohol-forward cherry flavor, and the pineapple and citrus sat in the background, refusing to temper it in the slightest."

The official Chobani website describes its fruit punch Greek yogurt flavor as "a melange of real orange, pineapple, and cherry." We appreciate Greek yogurt as a protein-forward snack, and we also appreciate that Chobani is made with all-natural ingredients. Indeed, the fruit punch yogurt's ingredients list includes milk, cane sugar, water, oranges, cherries, pineapple, natural flavors, fruit pectin, lemon juice concentrate, guar gum, turmeric (for color), vegetable juice concentrate, and locust bean gum. It all checks out in the nutrition profile. However, the flavor profile is another story.

An Instagram post from Chobani announced its new summertime flavor release in April. The comments section is filled with stoked foodies writing "Yumm" and "I've never been more excited for a yogurt." Alas, in execution, this would-be "refreshing" fruity flavor dashes any optimism on the weirdly medicinal rocks. Although we can't dog this snack's price point: $1.34 per 5.3-ounce cup at a Walmart in Chicago.

Chobani's fruit punch Greek yogurt isn't just limited-time, it's also "limited" beyond enjoying it with a spoon straight out of the cup. That distinctive fruit punch taste is tough to pair with parfait-building ingredients, and even trickier to incorporate into recipes. Good luck finding flavors that complement rather than clash with this uniquely "fruity" flavor — unless a strong, unbalanced fruit punch taste is your thing.

Herein lies this yogurt's silver lining: Quoth our review, "[T]he yogurt did taste undeniably like a fruit punch juice pack (which I also never was fond of, perhaps not a coincidence), so if you have some fond nostalgia for the childhood lunchbox staple, you may quite like this flavor." While it wasn't our thing, the potentially redemptive nostalgia factor remains.

Upon Chobani's release of its fruit punch Greek yogurt, two other limited-time summer products also made their debut: Confetti birthday cake-flavored coffee creamer and a "Red, White, and Poppin'" Chobani flip cup, featuring lemon yogurt and multicolored popping candies. All three products in this seasonal trio are playful and notably geared toward a particular palate. Chobani is clearly not aiming for universal appeal here, which is arguably where the creative liberty comes in a "limited-time release." Prefer to stick to the classics? We recommend Chobani's vanilla Greek yogurt, and looking to summertime cocktails for a dose of seasonal flavor instead.