Jeni’s New Gray Ice Cream Actually Tastes Like “Sunshine on a Cloudy Day”

You know that sensation you get when you’re watching TV now — not the news — and you see crowds of people hanging out? It might give you a brief wave of anxiety until you realize that it was filmed in the Before Times? I like to think that particular feeling is the impetus behind Jeni’s new ice cream flavor “Sunshine,” which looks like a sad gray cloud, but tastes like a tropical vacation. In other words, the exterior of the ice cream matches the collective mood of the world right now, but it still tastes great. It would be like if everyone in Hulu’s Normal People was practicing social distancing and wearing face masks.

Jeni’s said they were in the process of making this flavor before the global pandemic to honor Mental Health Awareness Month (which is in May). They decided to continue the release because they realized that “while the world has changed, the message is still the same. That when gray clouds descend on our lives, the sun always shines again.” The ice cream might be sad-looking, but it’s supposed to feel hopeful.

According to Jeni’s, they get that natural gray color for the “Sunshine” ice cream with a combination of “natural fruit and vegetable juices — namely carrot, pumpkin, and spirulina.” And apparently the ice cream tastes like “sunny citrus and tropical fruit.” The ingredient list includes passion fruit juice, lemon oil, and tangerine oil — just to give you some idea of what “tropical” might taste like.

I don’t know about you, but ice cream is definitely one of the ways I’ve been coping during the last couple months, and I’m very excited to try this strange flavor trip. The new ice cream launched today (May 11) and is available for delivery and local pickup around the country for $12 a pint.