This Sparkling Trader Joe's Beverage Has Shoppers Picking Sides

If you follow Trader Joe's news, you'll know that the store has a devoted following. Sometimes, that devotion can border on obsessive. If customers aren't convinced Trader Joe's employees are flirting with them when they're just doing their dang job, then they're compiling detailed lists of things they hate about the grocery store. What's next, you may ask? It's a spirited debate about a drink, of course — the Sparkling Lychee Juice Beverage, to be specific.

TJ's new product was announced in the May 2026 Fearless Flyer, and it will be available from May through August. According to the brand, the sparkling juice drink has zero added sugar and tastes like grape, pear, and watermelon. Presumably, it also tastes like what Trader Joe's describes as the "joyously juicy tropical fruit." Either way, the drink sounds pretty good — and at $3.99 for four cans, it seems like a pretty good deal, too.

Among TJ's customers, opinions are wildly divided on the drink. On Reddit, some posters are raving about how good it is, while others complain that it's too floral — or, according to one poet, "It tastes like how I imagine grandma's perfume tastes." Another Redditor clears up the perfume comparison by writing, "Lychee smells like perfume which is why they often show up as 'olfactory notes' in fragrance and wine!" While this explains the flavor, it probably won't change the mind of the sober Reddit user who finds the booze-like notes in this nonalcoholic drink to be triggering.

Trader Joe's regulars on Reddit who approve of the Sparkling Lychee Juice Beverage note that if you like lychee in general, you'll probably like this canned drink, too. The fruits, which originated in China, have a unique taste and can be hard to find in the States, so not everyone is used to the flavor. Just like their close relations, rambutans and longans, lychees are tropical, peachy, and, yes, somewhat floral and perfume-y. Not even a shared love of the drink can stop TJ's fans over-investing, though. On one appreciation thread, a rather catty fight broke out about the correct way to pronounce the fruit's name.

Whether you call it "lie-chee" or "lee-chee," TJ's sparkling drink is 50% juice, with nothing added but sparkling water and a little citric and ascorbic acids to balance things out. It's no surprise that its tasting notes don't stray far from lychee fruits. In fact, Redditors debating the flavor get a little frustrated with folks questioning the drink's accuracy, with one defending the floral refresher by asking, "Have you eaten lychee before?"

To be fair, we don't all have access to tropical fruit! If you don't but have tried other lychee drinks, you should know that, "These are a dupe for the ORIGINAL Sanzo Sparkling Lychee Drink," according to a r/traderjoes poster. Sanzo's lychee sparkling water has been much mourned on Reddit after the brand added monk fruit and cane sugar to the formula.