This Is Why People Think Chick-Fil-A Lemonade Tastes Different

What's more refreshing than a cold lemonade drink on a hot summer's day? It's also a rather nifty solution if you need a quick hydration boost, especially after a long party when you're battling a difficult hangover and need a small pick-me-up to get you through the day. Chick-fil-A's classic lemonade is a popular option among fans of the drink. According to the brand's official website, their lemonade is pretty straightforward and minimal, made with juice squeezed from real lemons, water, and cane sugar. You can also opt for the diet version, which is sweetened with Splenda instead of sugar.

However, one Reddit user recently pointed out that the brand has begun to do something different to its lemonade, and it doesn't taste the same as it used to. The post read, "What has Chick-fil-A done to their lemonade. It is now so nasty tasting and full of pulp. What have you done. I use to buy it buy the gallon every five days. Not anymore." Other comments by the original poster continued with this thought, stating that the drink now feels "pre-processed" and they think the price should be lowered to make up for the change in quality. Another user said that they always order the lemonade with their food at Chick-fil-A, but when they got a glass recently, the drink reminded them of a cleaning product — yikes. Reddit users speculated that the company has stopped freshly squeezing the lemons in stores, which is why the taste has changed.

We decided to clear the air, and reached out to Chick-fil-A to find out exactly what is going on and hear their side of the story. Chick-fil-A, Inc. sent a statement to Mashed that read, "To help ensure our lemonade is always available for our guests, we recently started to extract lemon juice outside of the restaurant using state-of-the-art equipment, which helps operators and their team members not only keep up with demand, but also have more time to focus on what they do best — serving guests."

They added that the company doesn't intent to compromise the drink's quality or taste in any way, and have been testing the lemonade made with pre-squeezed lemon juice since the summer of 2018. The product was officially introduced across all Chick-fil-A's outlets nationwide this fall. Furthermore, Chick-fil-A claims that they've received positive feedback from customers ever since they first began the test the product. The person who responded to our request wrote, "We are excited to continue offering guests our same, signature Lemonade recipe that they know and love."