Some people may consider LaCroix the “champagne” of sparkling water, while others may call it “gas water” and say it tastes like TV static. I personally am a fan and have been drinking it for years. I recently tried the new Limoncello flavor and was not sure how I felt about it. At first taste I enjoyed it, but I found myself not wanting to finish a can. Over time it grew on me, but it made me wonder how many other strange flavors there were and which ones were the best.
I scoured Amazon for all of the common flavors and the weirdest limited edition packs. I was able to find every flavor except for Hibiscus, so it will not be included in my ranking. Without further ado, here is every flavor of LaCroix ranked from worst to best.
25. NiCola Mojito from the LaCroix Cubana Collection
Score: 5/100
This is the worst LaCroix flavor hands down. Upon cracking open the can, I was hit in the face with the smell of a sweet child’s toothpaste, like that Orajel Training Toothpaste with the bear on it that we all used as a child. I was excited for a LaCroix with refreshing lime and mint, but it tasted like toothpaste. This was the only LaCroix that made me immediately want to spit it out. It tastes like a spearmint toothpaste and had absolutely no lime. Would not recommend it.
24. NiCola Essence of Sumatra Coffee and Cola Coffea Exotica
Score: 10/100 (maybe 40/100 if you are addicted to coffee?)
This LaCroix is weirdly accurate to coffee. It smells very strong like a dark coffee, with a hint of funk. The smell lingers around you after opening, so if you want to drink this you have to commit. It tastes surprisingly close to coffee and has a lot more flavor than the other LaCroix. Usually, LaCroix tastes like sparkling water with a hint of flavor, but this tasted like carbonated coffee. It is bitter and strong, and I definitely did not want to take a second sip.
23. Kiwi Sandia (Kiwi Watermelon)
Score: 13/100
Upon opening, I got a whiff of sour watermelons like the Sour Patch Watermelon Candy, and a hint of pickles. Not something I want in a LaCroix. It tasted like bitter watermelon rind, and a bit like pickles. There was no kiwi flavor at all, and after trying so many other LaCroix it made me feel a bit nauseous.
22. Peach-Pear
Score: 15/100
This one tastes like a weirdly sour pear, with very little peach flavor. This flavor also made me want to spit it out. It smells like a peach with a hint of pickle. My dad tried it and really loves pears, so he ended up drinking the rest of the can.
21. NiCola
Score: 17/100
This flavor smells weirdly like a mix of cinnamon, coke, and chemicals. It tastes like off coke, with a strange stale flavor on the back of my tongue and a hint of cinnamon. I’m not sure what I was expecting but this was not it.
20. NiCola Coconut Cola
Score: 18/100
This flavor smells like coconut and weirdly like my old gymnastics gym from when I was in kindergarten? Tastes like coconut and the weird cinnamon/coke flavor from before. It’s weirdly sweet but mild and I wish it had more flavor. I got a hint of the weird coca-cola flavor, but it was much stronger with the coconut flavor. The coconut made it only slightly more tolerable than the plain NiCola. So far the NiCola collection has been a letdown. They also are all very hard to find, so it is not worth the effort.
19. Passionfruit
Score: 19/100
This flavor is one of my least favorites, but I put it higher than the Peach-Pear because many people seem to enjoy it. In my opinion, it is overly fruity to the point where it somewhat reminds me of body odor. It also reminded me of the smell of the Bath and Body Works cranberry soap that everybody has at Christmas- not something I want in a LaCroix. It tastes like what I assume that soap would taste like and weirdly lingers in your mouth.
18. Pomme Baya (Apple Cranberry)
Score: 20/100
This flavor does not taste like cranberry at all, it tastes like sour apple-flavored candy minus the sugar. I reluctantly took a second sip to try and figure out what exactly I was tasting, but would not recommend. It has a strange aftertaste of chemicals but has a nice smell like granny smith apples.
17. Apricot
Score: 21/100
This flavor tastes like Trident Tropical Twist gum minus the sugar and tartness. It weirdly reminded me of the passionfruit flavor with that weird scent that I disliked. The strong apricot scent lingers after you open the can much to my dismay. Honestly, for a LaCroix, I think it is trying too hard to have too much flavor.
16. Pamplemousse (Grapefruit)
Score: 29/100
This flavor is very popular, but frankly, I did not enjoy it. It had that same strange smell and taste that the passionfruit and apricot have. It is too sweet to be grapefruit-flavored and like the apricot, it is too strong.
15. Melón Pomelo (Cantaloupe Pink Grapefruit)
Score: 30/100
This flavor smells very strongly, but I could not figure out what it was. I thought it smelled faintly like orange, but my mom said licorice. It tasted somewhat like pickles and like what watermelon chapstick literally tastes like-somewhat stale and weird. Thankfully it doesn’t taste like grapefruit.
14. Mango
Score: 50/100
This flavor tastes like mango with a hint of passionfruit. It lacks the tang of real mango and smells more like a berry and mango mix. Like the passionfruit, the smell lingers weirdly in the air, but it is fairly popular in my family so I put it higher on the list.
13. Piña Fraise (Pineapple Strawberry)
Score: 55/100
This can smelled like tangy pineapple or a pineapple-flavored candy. It tasted surprisingly flavorful with a sweet pineapple flavor and a hint of pear in the back of my tongue. The strawberry came through as an aftertaste and provided even more sweetness.
12. Lime
Score: 60/100
This flavor tastes a bit like lime-scented cleaner; it’s not as sweet or true to life as key lime. It has very little smell and reminds me of Pledge floor cleaner. Overall it is not horrible but I prefer key lime. The lime flavor is mild and refreshing, but not nearly as good as some of the other flavors. If somebody gave me one, though, I would drink it.
11. Berry
Score: 65/100
Berry is sweet, almost like bubblegum, and has hints of raspberry. I’m not sure what types of berry this is supposed to taste like, but to me, it did not taste very much like strawberry or blueberry. It also has a nice, sweet smell like raspberries.
10. Orange
Score: 70/100
This flavor tastes exactly like you would expect an orange LaCroix to taste. It is not as crisp or tangy as tangerine, but milder like Sunny-D. It has that usual artificial orange flavor from many other flavored drinks, which can be somewhat pleasant, but not as good as tangerine.
9. Lemon
Score: 72/100
This is a very popular flavor, probably because it is kind of mild and flat. It tastes a bit like Minute Maid lemonade minus the sugar. It has little to no smell, and would taste good mixed with something else, but doesn’t shine on its own. It is refreshingly simple and light, just like LaCroix should be.
8. Limoncello
Score: 73/100
This flavor was not photographed because I couldn’t find it, but I have drunk it many times and do enjoy it. It tastes like lemon with a hint of vanilla. It does not taste like real limoncello, but it is refreshing and sweet.
7. Cerise Limón (Cherry Lime)
Score: 74/100
This flavor smells generically fruity, but I can’t pick out one specific smell. It tastes lovely, like sweet, aromatic cherry and tart lime. It tasted pretty sweet and flavorful and made me want to take more sips. Cherry Lime is the perfect mix of sweet and tart and stands out on its own.
6. Pure
Score: 75/100
This can obviously tastes like basic sparking water, so there is not much to judge it on. It has no flavor but it is crisp and refreshing. It was nice to have a plain one after so many different bold flavors. It was perfectly bubbly and would be great mixed with anything, or even by itself.
5. Múre Pepino (Blackberry Cucumber)
Score: 82/100
This flavor smelled surprisingly good like lavender and blackberry. It tasted much better than I expected, because the watermelon flavors tasted weirdly like pickles, and cucumber didn’t sound like a good flavor. It ended up being very mild and floral like blackberries and very pleasant.
4. Tangerine
Score: 85/100
This flavor is tangy, citrusy, and has a front of the tongue flavor. It tastes pretty close to an actual tangerine and is delicious. It also smells like a tangerine, and tastes more like a sour tangerine does than the orange LaCroix does.
3. Coconut
Score: 87/100
This flavor is very controversial, but I loved it. It was sweet and very flavorful, like a coconut popsicle. Upon trying it, I wanted to drink the whole can. It has almost no smell, just slightly sweet. The taste reminded me of a piña colada.
2. Razz-Cranberry
Score: 89/100
This flavor was sweet, but not much different from berry flavor. It does have a bit more tang and raspberry flavor and smells like cotton candy with a hint of berry. It is sweet, bold, and refreshing.
1. Key Lime
Score: 95/100
This is my personal favorite flavor, it tastes like key lime pie, like a key lime with a hint of sugar or cotton candy. It smells sweet and crisp, like sweet, refreshing lime. It is very flavorful with the sweet lime flavor and is the best LaCroix Flavor hands down.
The LaCroix Lowdown
After trying so many flavors of LaCroix, I learned that I am fairly particular about which flavors I enjoy. There are so many strange flavors that I never knew about, but after trying every possible flavor available to me, I am comfortable in my decision about which flavor is the best. Please take into account that this ranking is solely my opinion and everybody has different tastes, so people may feel differently about my ranking.