I tried the new limited-edition Coke flavor made with AI. I was surprised by the taste.

• Coca-Cola released a new limited edition flavor in the Creations lineup called y3000.
• The soda's supposed to be inspired by an "optimistic future" and was created with the help of AI.
• The flavor tastes like a mixture of a bunch of different sodas but has a sweet, vanilla aftertaste.

Time travel has still not been invented, annoyingly – but Coca-Cola may have come up with the next best thing.

Coca-Cola y3000 is a new, limited edition flavor that promises to transport your taste buds into the next millennium.

It's the latest in the Coca-Cola Creations lineup, a series of limited edition flavors that push the boundaries of flavor and branding. This flavor, which Coca-Cola launched on Sept. 12, was made with the help of AI. Apparently, AI helped create the branding and the flavor of the drink. 

"We hope that Coca‑Cola will still be as relevant and refreshing in the year 3000 as it is today," said Oana Vlad of Coca‑Cola.

The concept for y3000 was created by asking fans how they'd imagine a futuristic utopia where humans are connected with both technology and the planet, according to Coca-Cola. It comes in two variations, original and Zero Sugar.

The packaging on the Coca-Cola freestyle is light blue and pink with purple and red accents. The regular Coke has a red cap and white text. The Zero Sugar has a black cap and black text. The text is made up of dots that blur and fade, which according to Coca-Cola is meant to represent "the human connections of our future planet."

The regular y3000 has 240 calories and is made with high fructose corn syrup. The Zero Sugar has zero calories and contains aspartame. 

So, what exactly does the "flavor of tomorrow" taste like? Will it taste like crickets? Lab-grown meat? As a journalist, it can be hard to feel optimistic about the future sometimes. Maybe this sweet sugary drink will help change my mind. 

On the first sip, I struggled to tell the difference between Coca-Cola Y3000 and regular Coke. I did notice it was very fizzy, like almost McDonald's Sprite level. Its flavor reminds me of when you mix all the drinks together at a soda fountain. It's artificially fruity, like a gummy bear or a lollipop. The aftertaste is more of a caramel, vanilla flavor. 

One thing that surprised me is that I enjoyed the Zero Sugar version more. I usually am not a diet soda fan, but Y3000 Zero Sugar was sweeter than the original and its flavor was more caramel-vanilla and less fruity. 

There doesn't seem to be a consensus on social media about the flavor. I saw Reddit users say it tastes like yogurt, jelly beans, cherries, strawberries, alcohol, and even vinegar. One quirk I noticed after the drinks sat out for a couple of hours was that I liked how they tasted more at room temperature than they did straight from the fridge. 

I also noticed that plenty of people said they didn't like it. It wasn't my favorite soda ever, or even my favorite out of the Creations lineup – that honor goes to Coca-Cola Starlight. I didn't hate it though. I was a little underwhelmed, but if someone offered it to me again, I wouldn't say no.