This New Jeni’s Ice Cream Flavor Is Pitch Black—and It Might Be Their Best Yet

As a recent emigrant to one of Ohio’s least-bad cities, I’ve been deciding which local favorites I will pledge loyalty to and which I will decry as the result of Stockholm Syndrome. One Columbus original that I’m co-signing with my whole chest? Jeni’s Ice Cream..

Jeni’s has a nigh-endless supply of unique flavors, and past collaborations include Ted Lasso, The Hundreds, and more. And today’s review subject was created at the request of Australian artist CJ Hendry to launch alongside her new art exhibition in New York City. “OPAQUE” is a pitch-black ice cream that Jeni’s recommends tasting sans flavor notes to discover every layer for yourself. (If you’re worried about what could be the first ever ice cream flavor spoilers, this is a good time to click to another new product review.) There’s no activated charcoal that’ll screw with your medication; the secret ingredient contributes massively to both the color and the flavor.

So, what does Jeni’s Opaque black ice cream taste like? And is it any good? I headed to my local Jeni’s scoop shop to try this new ice cream the very first day it launched (and to try the limited-time black cocoa waffle cones); let’s find out whether the ice cream is worth all this mysterious pageantry. Read on for a spoiler-filled review. 

New Jeni’s Flavor!

Jeni’s OPAQUE Ice Cream

Jeni’s

Alright, I warned you about spoilers: OPAQUE’s official flavor notes are black cocoa, espresso fudge, and balsamic cherry. 

Pros: Holy cow, this is rich. The chocolate is beyond fudgey, to the point that I had to remind myself this didn’t actually have any hot fudge on it. Black cocoa is often used to build a less bitter dark chocolate flavor and this is a perfect example of that. This tastes like dark chocolate brownie batter (and we don’t need to ask any questions about why I’m super familiar with eating that). This is without a doubt the best chocolate ice cream I’ve ever had, and it might be the best ice cream I’ve ever had.

Cons: The balsamic cherry jam is well hidden to the point that it might as well not be present, but that’s sort of like complaining about the frame on a Van Gogh painting. “Why isn’t this 10 an 11?” is not a sincere complaint.

Credit: Liv Averett / Jeni’s

Rating:

10/10

Sporks

Where can I get OPAQUE Ice Cream for myself?

If you aren’t lucky enough to live near a Jeni’s Ice Cream shop, you can find pints of OPAQUE at select grocery stores that stock Jeni’s. If you aren’t lucky enough to live near any of those, you can order pints for delivery directly from Jeni’s website.