Respect the Ritual – Drink Tart Cherry Juice

Aug 5, 2025 by Chef David

By Chef David [Updated August 2025]

Athletes drink tart cherry juice as part of their training regimens, finding that it aids in muscle recovery and improves performance. The San Jose Sharks encourage their players to drink chamomile, lavender, and tart cherry juice nightly to get better sleep. Tart cherries, also known as Montmorency cherries, are a stone fruit with a deep red color and sweet-tart flavor, grown primarily in Michigan. You may be more familiar with sweet cherries, which are larger with higher sugar content and are typically eaten fresh. While tart cherries may be smaller, they provide large wellness benefits. Cheribundi tart cherry juice is certified kosher (dairy) by the OU, while their concentrate form is certified kosher (pareve) by the OK. Eden Foods’ tart cherry juice and concentrate are certified by the OK.

The Power of Montmorency Cherries

Montmorency tart cherries are known for their concentration of anthocyanins, a type of polyphenol, which helps fight cellular damage, reduce inflammation, and promote overall health. These bright red fruits also contain carotenoid pigments, including beta-carotene and vitamin C, which have anti-inflammatory properties. The melatonin in cherries helps balance the sleep-wake cycle, making you better rested.

Some benefits of tart cherries include reducing inflammation by 49%, increasing sleep by up to 90 minutes, and aiding in the recovery of muscle function. Cherries are a good source of potassium, an essential electrolyte used for activating cells, muscles, and nerves. Tart cherry juice can help with gout and stiffness associated with arthritis.

Discover Cheribundi

Founded in 2004, Cheribundi has become part of the training regimen of over 350 professional athletic teams. Cherry juice is their secret weapon. Using a proprietary juicing process created by scientists at Cornell University, Cheribundi extracts the most benefit from their tart cherries. The health benefits of cherries come from eating large quantities, which is why juice is recommended as part of your daily routine. They recommend drinking one 8-ounce bottle, the equivalent of eating 60 cherries, after any type of physical activity.

Cheribundi pure tart cherry juice contains just tart cherry juice without any additives or sugar. One 8-ounce container has 100 calories, with 25 grams of sugar (no added sugar) and 1 gram of protein.

For those who prefer a sweeter variation, try the original, which uses apple juice, or light, which uses stevia leaf for additional sweetness.

Cheribundi enhanced the natural properties of tart cherries in Immunity and Sleep.

Sleep promotes relaxation. Cheribundi recommends drinking it 90 minutes before bed to get the maximum benefit. They added valerian root extract, L-Theanine, with stevia leaf added as a natural sweetener. Valerian root is an herb native to Europe and Asia, which helps regulate your sleep and mood. L-Theanine is an amino acid found in green tea that improves mental function.
Immunity is recommended to be taken 20 minutes after waking up. Cheribundi has added echinacea, niacin, pantothenic acid, vitamin B2, thiamine, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12, and maltodextrin. One 8-ounce bottle delivers 100% of the daily value of these nutrients, including vitamin C (which is not explicitly listed). Echinacea is used by Great Plains Native Americans as a traditional medicine for respiratory infections by stimulating a response in the immune system.

Cheribund can be purchased online and at select stores.

Enjoy Eden Foods Organic Cherry Juice and Cherry Concentrate

Eden Foods Cherry Juice and Cherry Concentrate use 100 percent Montmorency tart cherries, grown on family-owned orchards on the shores of the Great Lakes. After harvesting, the cherries are washed and ‘quick’ frozen. This process allows a larger percentage of juice to be extracted from the cherries. After thawing, the cherries are slowly pressed to extract the juice and then filtered. Using a three-step evaporation process, the juice is run through steam jacketed small tubes and heated to reduce the water content and concentrate the cherry essence into a 68 Brix syrup. (Brix is a measurement of the natural sugar content in the concentrate.) The concentrate is then bottled with no added sugar or sweeteners and is sealed to preserve freshness and flavor.

Organic Eden Cherry Concentrate can be stored in the refrigerator, tightly sealed, for up to three months after opening or stored in the freezer for up to two years. The cherry concentrate will not freeze solid during storage. Proper storage is important, as exposure to warm temperatures may cause the concentrate to become discolored or to ferment.

To use in beverages, place 1 to 2 tablespoons of Eden Cherry Juice Concentrate in a 6 to 8-ounce glass of tea, seltzer, or water. It can be used for making smoothies, desserts, pastries, sweet and sour sauces, and glazes. The team enjoyed experimenting, adding a splash of Tart Cherry Juice to add color and nutrition to mocktails, sparkling beverages, and syrups.

Eden Foods uses tart cherries in their organic Cherry Apple Butter Spread. We found it delicious and nutritious. Over four pounds of fruit go into each jar. It is sodium-free, contains no refined sugar or anything else added, and brings a tangy sweetness. Our tasters enjoyed it alone, on crackers, and on bread.

Eden Foods Organic Cherry Juice and Concentrate can be purchased online

Drink Tart Cherry Juice

Cherry juice is packed with nutrition, with an undeniably refreshingly pleasant taste that requires no additional sweeteners. Cheribundi believes that everyone is a work in progress, and recommends making good choices in our daily nutrition. This is why they suggest adding ‘the ritual’ of drinking tart cherry juice.

We agree. We think Montmorency Tart Cherry juice is the perfect taste profile.

Discover the power of red by adding tart cherry juice to your routine.