REVIEW: McDonald’s McCafe Cherry Berry Chiller

McDonald's Cherry Berry Chiller

McDonald’s has always helped customers beat the heat during the summer months. For example, they’ve always filled three-fourths of their soft drink cups with ice before they add any beverage. If that’s not the definition of generous, then I don’t know what is.

This time last year McDonald’s rolled out their frozen strawberry lemonade to help cool us down. This year, the Golden Arches have a new frozen beverage, the Cherry Berry Chiller.

Rhyming AND alliteration? That’s a good start in my book.

The Cherry Berry Chiller, which sounds like something Care Bears would drink to keep cool in Care-a-lot and the Forest of Feelings, is made by blending ice with 100 percent fruit juice. Think of it as a 7-Eleven Slurpee for adults. Oh wait, I forgot, margaritas are Slurpees for adults. Okay, think of it as a better-for-you Slurpee.

At this point, I would like to say I really love the blenders at McDonald’s. They do an awesome job of crushing ice into fine crystals that I enjoy crushing even more between my teeth. I wish my $30 off-the-shelf blender from Target could do a comparable job.

The Cherry Berry Chiller uses cherry and raspberry juice, but I could taste other fruits, like a little bit of grape. (The ingredients list also includes apple juice concentrate.) Thanks to my stereotype of cherries, my mouth expected a very tart beverage, but instead it had a very mild tartness. The cherry stands out at the beginning of each slurp and the raspberry becomes more noticeable towards the end, but in between, there’s a good balance of cherry and raspberry. The combination tastes like a slightly watered down POM Wonderful pomegranate juice. While I have enjoyed McDonald’s other fruity blended beverages, I have to say that the Cherry Berry Chiller is the best tasting of the bunch.

McDonald's Cherry Berry Chiller Closeup

However, all is not perfect with it. Because it’s pretty much just fruit juice and ice, I noticed it tends to melt a bit faster than McDonald’s smoothies, which has yogurt to help prevent it from turning into liquid. Also, it’s a horrible source of vitamin C. Actually, according to the McDonald’s website, it has no vitamin C, which is strange because cherries and raspberries are good sources of the vitamin that prevents scurvy.

Overall, I have mixed feeling about McDonald’s Cherry Berry Chiller. It’s sweet, damn tasty, and refreshing, but by saying it’s made with 100 percent fruit juice, McDonald’s is giving me the impression that there’s some nutritional benefit from drinking it. But it turns out that’s not really the case since it doesn’t provide any vitamins, which is, you know, one of the benefits of consuming fruits.

(Nutrition Facts – 22 ounces – 330 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 grams of carbohydrates, 40 milligrams of sodium, 81 grams of carbohydrates, 81 grams of sugar, 1 gram of protein, 4% calcium, and 2% iron.)

Item: McDonald’s McCafe Cherry Berry Chiller
Price: $3.99
Size: Large
Purchased at: McDonald’s
Rating: 7 out of 10
Pros: Sweet, Damn tasty. Refreshing. Pleasant tartness. Made with 100 percent fruit juice. McDonald’s blenders. Rhyming. Alliteration.
Cons: Provides no vitamin C. My Care Bears knowledge. Appears to melt faster than McDonald’s smoothies. Drinking too many Slurpees for adults. McDonald’s being generous with the ice in their soft drink cups.

16 thoughts to “REVIEW: McDonald’s McCafe Cherry Berry Chiller”

  1. I saw on TV that McDonald’s is going to be selling those for 25 cents tomorrow (May 3rd).

  2. My McDonald’s lets people add their own ice and drink when it’s a tea, or sofr drink beverage.
    I always appreciate that

  3. These are absolutely DELICIOUS. I am seriously addicted to these, which is dangerous. I don’t really do fast food, but I was drawn to try one and I am not hooked. SO REFRESHING, SO YUMMY! Mmmm! I want one NOW!!!!!!

  4. They are sooo good! Become my latest addiction!!

    I would rate them a 10/10! I love that once you get to the bottom, it still taste like juice, not ice ala Sonic and 7-Eleven.

    I do have one question to the author of this article? Where do you live that you pay $3.99 for a large. I’m in the Dallas area and a large is $2.48, including tax!!

  5. In my opinion, the Cherry Berry Chiller tastes too much like a Juicey Juice drink.

  6. I think that McDonald’s “100% fruit juice” claim is misleading. The actual ingredient list includes “natural flavor (botanical source)”, which likely refers to high fructose corn syrup or another sweetner. The Cherry Berry Chiller is 100% fruit juice in the same way that soda pop is 100% water. I could get past that except that I find it really unethical the way that the company attempts to hide the added sweeteners from their customers.

    1. They are not artificial sweeteners they are actually chemicals extracted from plants that make it taste however it tastes.

  7. I tried this overrated kool-ade slushie— what a rip off!
    can I get a refund?

  8. Why are people so offended by McDonald’s misleading them?

    Never assume anything from a fast food chain is healthy. I can’t stand people who don’t do research, go by what’s only in front of them and then later on cry about why they’re fat.

  9. Due to FDA regulations high fructose corn syrup MUST be labeled as such and nothing else..Supreme court ruling states so. Makers of higj fructose corn syrup tried to allow for it to be stated as otherwise but lost.

  10. The reason it has no vitamin c is because it probably contains very little cherry or raspberry juice. It probably really is 100% fruit juice but it’s probably MOSTLY apple & white grape juice and they add flavoring to give it the “cherry berry” taste. A lot of the different fruit juices in the grocery store are the same way, mostly apple & white grape. It’s the same way with flavored oatmeal. “Strawberries & cream” is actually apple bits with red food coloring and strawberry flavor. “Peaches & cream” is also apple bits colored to look like peaches with peach flavoring.

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