Cheribundi - 11 Reviews

When it comes to cherry juice, Cheribundi does not mess around. Those days of thinking that everything cherry either tastes syrupy or medicinal are long gone. It's like walking out into an orchard and filling your stomach with cherries you picked right from the tree. They have tried their hand at mixing cherries with tea, chocolate and other fruits (all with great results), now they are expanding into the world of relaxation drinks. Yet again, they have not failed to deliver.

Did you know that cherries naturally contain melatonin? I certainly did not, but it's good to know. Unlike some relaxation drinks that are just meant to calm you down and focus, this one is more for sleepy time. You've got your specific tea for that when the weather is cold, but in the summer when you don't want a hot beverage you can now reach for a bottle of this.

The only things in this bottle are tart cherry juice, water, L-theanne (tea extract) and reb a (stevia). I honestly had no idea that there was stevia in here at all, and that is saying something since I can normally spot it a mile away. The taste of the cherries completely overpowers it. This is how zero calorie sweeteners should be used. You'll have to excuse me now I can hear my pillow calling.

If someone were to tell me that I needed to try a cherry/cranberry juice I would think, “That sounds delicious, but I bet it's super harsh.” Both fruits are known to be a bit overwhelming in their pure form, so I was fairly shocked at how smooth this juice was. It had no hard edges, and the taste was just ridiculously good. I know this isn't pure juice, as it's part of their Refresh line, but I absolutely loved this. Both flavors are very present but complement each other in a way that I never would have expected. Cheribundi has never been a company to slouch on their quality, but someone must have taken great pride in concocting this mixture.

I saw cherries for the first time at the grocery store this weekend. That means that it's starting: Summertime. I'm not wearing any socks. The only thing that's left is to find someone selling lemonade on a street corner.

This is summer wrapped in a bottle and it's good. Everything is properly portioned and well represented, too. The cherries are tart and fruity and the limeade is slightly tart and sweet. Man. Look, I shared this with a fellow developer and in hindsight, I selfishly wish I hadn't because it's good. Is anything bad? Nope. Not in here. This is all good things. Positive. H.R. from Bad Brains would approve of the PMA of this drink.

Remember when you were a kid and you would be eating fruit and your mom would say, "Don't eat too much fruit or you'll get diarrhea."? If this bottle doesn't lie, it's got fifty cherries in it. Fifty. Mom, I think that if I ate fifty cherries and didn't get diarrhea then I'm probably fine. I know they're small, but fifty is fifty is fifty. That's a buttload of cherries, bruh.

Does it taste like cherry? You bet'cha. It's actually a really good drink. It's cut with apple juice so it's not like you're drinking fifty compressed, concentrated cherries. No. It's calmed down with apple juice. You can't taste apple juice and it's also worth mentioning that it doesn't taste like cough syrup. It just tastes like you drank cherry juice. It's tart, as advertised, and made me thirsty since it properly puckered my cheeks while drinking.
Mom, you were wrong. I can eat or drink upwards and maybe more cherries without getting a loose stool. Take that "wives tales."

Guys/Girls, I have to admit that I am not a big rooibos tea drinker. In fact, I don't know if I've ever had a proper glass of it. I do know that when there is a selection of bottled teas it is one of the last I would choose. I have no good reason for this. I don't dislike the taste by any means; it's just kind of there. I guess I'm just a green tea lover at heart, and it will always be my first choice, especially if it is jasmine related.

Cheribundi has done a good job with a tea that I care very little about. They took the slightly nutty flavored tea and kept its integrity while adding their classic cherry juice to it. The result is like the mullet of beverages, cherry up front, rooibos in the back. You are instantly greeted by a nice, tart cherry flavor that fades into a tea flavor for the aftertaste. If this type of tea is your thing, then jump right on this train. If you're on the fence, maybe you just need to buy a day pass and ride the train for a little bit and see what you think about it. I think you'll come back to ride again.

Cheribundi has cherry juice in excess. They must for the amount of varieties of their drinks that are on the market, and all of them with straight up cherry juice in them. In fact they juice 20 cherries for every 16.9oz bottle of juice they produce. They are also purists and don't deal with concentrate when it comes to this tart little red fruit. The result is they have an entire line of products that taste like the wonderful fruit that is the origin of their company name. Seriously, every beverage of theirs I have tried really tastes like I'm eating a bowl full of cherries. As a professional I can tell you that is most definitely not the norm with cherry flavored, well anything.

The downfall of this drink (extremely slight as it may be) is that with all of their diligence on their money maker, the blueberries in here did not receive as much attention as they should have. They in fact came from a concentrate, but hey at least it's real juice and not some artificial flavoring made to taste like blueberries. I don't know if it is due to the concentrate, or just the amount used, but the blueberry is losing the war against the cherries. There is not a harmony shared between them, and the strong flavor of the cherries overpowers the tiny blueberries. The blue fruit is most apparent in the aftertaste and even then the lingering tartness of the red is still highly present. That being said, this is by no means a bad drink. In fact it's on the greater side of the scale. I'm simply dreaming of ways to push it to the “Gotta have it now or I may explode category.”

Cheribundi continuously walks the line between being great and being amazing. They use real cherry juice that is not from a concentrate in all of their beverages, which is great because that means there are cherry drinks out there that don't taste like cough medicine. Who decided to call that flavor cherry anyway? The fruit tastes nothing like that sugary monstrosity that has usurped its name.

This is very similar to the Jasmine Tea version I had a little ways back, minus all traces of anything floral. It has a classic sweetened green tea base that is amplified by the cherry juice. That juice is just great. Anytime a drink has a taste to it that makes me think about eating fruit, I know I have a winner on my hands.

My only complaint is that I could do with a little less sugar, but I prefer unsweetened teas, so this will probably be just right for those of you who drink the sweetened stuff on the regular.

No longer a one trick pony, Cheribundi has turned the world of cherries on its head yet again. Yes, they started with cherry only drinks. Then they had that little chocolate number that was pretty good. Now they've crossed the lines into the world of "regular" juices.

Drinking this makes me wonder why more companies don't use cherries. Cheribundi claim that each bottle of this stuff has twenty cherries in it. That's a lot of cherries. I don't think that I would eat twenty cherries in one sitting if I had a bushel of cherries at my disposal. This spoils me with its cherry intake.

How does it taste? It tastes like tart cherries but is "cut" with apple juice and sugar so it's not too tart. The raspberry is still in the mix even with the often overpowering cherry juice. If you are at all wondering, no, this doesn't taste like cough syrup so don't even think about that entry level cherry drink nonsense. Cheribundi has been consistently "Luden free" since I drank my first drink. They prove that it is possible to tame that wild beast and add a little raspberry pizzazz while they're at it.

Cheribundi has expanded their line and is stepping up their game. First off that is one great looking packaging. Sure the bottle itself is really nothing too crazy, but everything from the colors to the typeface to the tasteful picture of cherries is absolutely perfect. It's so simple and esthetically pleasing. Lucky for us the taste of the liquid it contains is also just as pleasing.

The jasmine tea base in here is not as floral as others I've tried, and I think that is for the best. Don't get me wrong, I love a nice floral jasmine, if that is all that it is, but once you add other flavors to that, a toned down version works much better. Since this is a company who is known for their cherry juice, I had expected this to be exploding with cherry flavor. A lot of companies overdo things that way, but just like with the design, they knew that less would be more with this. There is a nice cherry flavor that is a little tart, but overall it's pretty subtle in the mix, and it intermingles nice with the tea. The one thing I would change about this is that it is a little sweeter than it needs to be. I personally enjoy my jasmine tea unsweetened, but I understand that the tartness of the cherry also has to be taken into consideration. It is my opinion that if the amount of added sugar were cut in half the drink would have greatly benefited and would have earned a full five bottles. Hey, four bottles on Thirsty Dudes is nothing to scoff at, but I always hope drinks will win the whole pot.

What a wonderful treat. The regular Cheribundi is a tart little number. This was a great step in the right direction. I'm not saying that I didn't like the previously mentioned variety, but this one is like a dessert. It's a little like a chocolate covered cherry, yes. I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that anything that is chocolate and cherry must taste like cherry cordials. It does but with less sweetness. It's still tart but still retains that awesome chocolate taste. If you are into that type of thing, dessert at all hours of the day, this could be the drink for you. A delicious little surprise strategically placed in the "nature" or "organic" or "whatever" section of the store. Now that you've read this, you know where to find it. People who haven't read this will be looking in the regular drink section or the dessert section. Idiots. You are now smarter for having read this than everyone else. Congratulations.

I was scared to try this drink. I was in fear that taking a sip would feel like someone is stabbing my cheeks with sharp spears like that scene in Ace Venture 2 when Jim Carrey had those spears in both his legs. Great scene. Great drink. It's sweetened with apple juice so there are no additional sweeteners. The cherry is the definite showman in this drink. It's tart, but deliciously tart, like a real cherry.

No lies, just juice.