Eat Athens: We tried the limited edition Baja Blast-flavored gelato. Here's how it tastes.

After more than a year of Eat Athens articles for the Banner-Herald, we've covered everything from gas station biscuits and concession stand candy to luxury hotel restaurants and decades-old local favorites. There is no dish we won't try, no new business we're not interested in visiting, and no cuisine we aren't excited to explore. With that in mind, we present this week's food story in honor of an even bigger anniversary.

Baja Blast, a flavor of Mountain Dew that has been sold exclusively at Taco Bell fast food restaurants for more than 20 years, is celebrating this cultural milestone by offering a limited-time gelato inspired by the ever-popular turquoise-colored soft drink. Though Baja Blast gelato is available at all five Taco Bell locations in Athens, there's more involved in getting ahold of it than merely driving through or walking in.

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Though cans and bottles of Baja Blast can be purchased at convenience stores, grocery stores and other places where soda is sold, that hasn't always been the case. In an effort to boost sales of fountain drinks, Taco Bell partnered with Mountain Dew in 2004 to create the Baja Blast flavor exclusively for sale in their fast food locations. Over the past two decades, the lime-forward beverage has garnered a massive fan base complete with tie-in merchandise.

Baja Blast became available in stores in 2014, a themed frozen slushy was introduced to the Taco Bell menu in 2019, and energy drink and "hard" alcohol versions were released to retail outlets in 2022. After a successful test of Baja Blast gelato last year at a Taco Bell location in Irvine, California, the company rolled out the experimental confection nationwide earlier this month, sparking curiosity beyond the cult fandom.

Priced at $3.99 for a 3.6 fluid ounce cup, Baja Blast gelato looks like a container of mini Play-Doh. But after opening it and using the purple spoon-like utensil found under the lid to scrape out the gelato, it was apparent that a small amount is all anyone is going to want. The low-fat milk added to give the gelato its smooth-ish texture dulled the familiar Baja Blast flavor to basically nothing, leaving just the color to identify it as the novelty merchandise it is.

That's not to say Baja Blast gelato has no value beyond the fun factor of its existence. When enjoyed after eating one of Taco Bell's savory menu items, especially anything that was dressed with the chain restaurant's variety of hot sauces, the gelato was a more refreshing palette cleanser than its larger fountain soda or frozen counterparts. Though we don't see pint-sized cartons coming soon to Kroger, we will be back to sample the upcoming Baja Blast pie.

Baja Blast gelato can only be purchased by joining the Taco Bell rewards program, which can be done via the Taco Bell mobile app or by visiting tacobell.com/rewards. It is available for pick-up order only for a limited time.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Eat Athens: We tried Baja Blast gelato