The Possible Reason Chick-Fil-A Lemonade Tastes Different

Our review of 14 popular Chick-fil-A menu items ranked the chain's lemonade 12th because of its intensity, but there's no question that Chick-fil-A's lemonade has plenty of defenders. From the numerous copycat recipes circulating online to the superfans who speculate about how it's made, many folks seem to agree that Chick-fil-A's lemonade is some of the best you can buy. Well, it turns out that filtered water may possibly be the reason why.

Chick-fil-A's lemonade contains just three ingredients: real lemon juice, cane sugar, and water. But the restaurant has confirmed on its website that it uses filtered water to make its tea, coffee, and lemonade. This could explain why Chick-fil-A lemonade hits different compared to other places — many consumers and experts agree that filtered water just smells and tastes better. This is because the filtering process removes impurities typically present in tap water that can affect its texture and flavor.

While using real lemon juice and cane sugar may also make a difference, filtered water is a primary ingredient of Chick-fil-A's lemonade. So, it stands to reason that if it was made with tap water instead, it would not only taste different, but the flavor would also vary by location, as tap water tastes different depending on your region.

Before you take another sip of Chick-fil-A lemonade, you might be wondering about how the restaurant makes this beloved beverage. In addition to filtered water, Chick-fil-A also uses freshly squeezed lemon juice. In comparison, McDonald's, Wendy's, and Arby's all use lemon juice concentrate. According to one person on Reddit, Chick-fil-A employees used to juice the lemons each day in the store, but the company eventually moved this process off-site.

Bay Center Foods, the company that now produces Chick-fil-A's lemon juice, uses technology that replicates squeezing lemons by hand, and the final product is high-pressure pasteurized. Considering the unbelievable number of lemons Chick-fil-A uses each year for its lemonade, it makes sense that the company moved this process to a large-scale production factory with high-tech machines. Additionally, Chick-fil-A uses Sunkist-brand lemons grown on family farms in California and Arizona.

Chick-fil-A also uses cane sugar, which is less refined than other types of sugar. This minimal processing helps it retain some of its molasses flavor, lending the lemonade a deeper profile. While copycat recipes speculate how much sugar goes into this popular drink, Chick-fil-A's nutritional information suggests its lemonade is around 10% sugar.