Chick-Fil-A Is Loading Up On Peach Flavored Drinks For The Summer

While there are certain fruits that just seem summery to us — lemons and strawberries come to mind — the truth is, many of them can be found in supermarkets year-round. Fresh peaches, however, are generally only available in the warmer months, so when you start seeing peaches popping up all over, you know that summer is truly here. This year, Chick-fil-A's menu is extra peachy, as the chain will have five different peach-flavored drinks.

Of course, the Chick-fil-A peach milkshake is back on the menu as it simply wouldn't be summer for the chicken chain without it. The white peach Sunjoy, too, is returning after a five-year absence. (Chick-fil-A's Sunjoys, if you are not familiar with these, are the same lemonade-slash-iced tea blend that most of us know as Arnold Palmers.) Customers can also order white peach-flavored iced tea, lemonade, or frosted lemonade, should they prefer one of these beverages instead. As to why CFA is using white peaches instead of yellow ones, they're less acidic and tend to be sweeter. Therefore, they pair better with the tart flavors in peach-flavored tea and lemonade drinks.

If you're excited about the return of the peach milkshake, you're not alone, as this seasonal specialty has been a fan favorite for 14 years and counting. So popular is it that people get excited for its return year after year even if the cup size shrinks and the price tag continues to climb. If you're wondering why the peach milkshake is only a summertime item and not part of the regular menu, it turns out that the reason is not just because Chick-fil-A is playing "now-you-see-it, now-you-don't" games a la McDonald's McRib. Yes, this does play a part in the item's seasonality, but the chain also wants to make sure that the fruits it uses are at the peak of peachiness. (Of course, one could say that peaches are in the Chick-fil-A spotlight year-round, as its "Heritage Design" locations use peach baskets as lampshades.)

In a number of ways, the offerings are steeped in heritage. The restaurant was not only born in the Peach State but one of its peach-based items was inspired by an employee's family recipe. The milkshake, for instance, was created by one particular Chick-fil-A chef, a woman named Angela Canada. Her inspiration? The old-fashioned homemade peach ice cream that her family used to crank out by hand. So dedicated was Chick-fil-A to crafting the peachy treat, though, that it made 15 different versions before settling on the one that was added to the menu back in 2009.