Ten jogurt jest trochę kwaśny, ale z miodem smakuje lepiej.

Ten means this.

It is the masculine singular nominative form of the demonstrative pronoun, and it agrees with jogurt.

Compare:

• ten jogurt = this yogurt
• ta kawa = this coffee
• to mleko = this milk

So English this has one form, but Polish changes it depending on gender.

In Polish, every noun has a grammatical gender. Jogurt is masculine.

A very common pattern is:

• nouns ending in a consonant are often masculine
• nouns ending in -a are often feminine
• nouns ending in -o, -e, or -ę are often neuter

Since jogurt ends in a consonant, it is masculine, and that is why you get:

• ten jogurt
• kwaśny, not kwaśna or kwaśne

Kwaśny means sour, and it has to agree with jogurt in gender, number, and case.

Because jogurt is:

• masculine
• singular
• nominative

the adjective is also:

• kwaśny

Compare:

• ten jogurt jest kwaśny = this yogurt is sour
• ta zupa jest kwaśna = this soup is sour
• to mleko jest kwaśne = this milk is sour

Trochę means a little, a bit, or somewhat.

Here it modifies the adjective kwaśny, so:

• trochę kwaśny = a bit sour / somewhat sour

It softens the statement. Compare:

• jest kwaśny = it is sour
• jest trochę kwaśny = it is a bit sour

So it works much like English a little in a little sour.

Because the preposition z meaning with requires the instrumental case.

The noun miód changes in the instrumental:

• nominative: miód = honey
• instrumental: miodem = with honey

So:

• z miodem = with honey

This is a very important pattern in Polish:

• z cukrem = with sugar
• z mlekiem = with milk
• z cytryną = with lemon

Also notice the stem change:

• miód → miodem

That kind of vowel alternation is common in Polish inflection.

Smakuje is the 3rd person singular present tense of smakować.

In this sentence, it means:

• tastes

So:

• smakuje lepiej = tastes better

The subject is still ten jogurt, even though it is not repeated.

Literally, the second part is something like:

• but with honey it tastes better

Because Polish usually uses smakować when talking specifically about taste/flavor.

• smakuje lepiej = it tastes better
• jest lepszy = it is better

These are similar, but not identical.

Smakuje lepiej focuses on the flavor experience.
Jest lepszy is broader and could mean better in general quality, not only taste.

So in a sentence about yogurt and honey, smakuje lepiej is the natural choice.

Because lepiej is an adverb, while lepszy is an adjective.

Here, the word is modifying the verb smakuje:

• smakuje jak? → lepiej
• how does it taste? → better

So Polish uses the adverb:

• lepiej = better

Compare:

• To smakuje lepiej. = This tastes better.
• To jest lepsze. = This is better.

In the first sentence, you need the adverb. In the second, you need an adjective.

In standard Polish, when you say X is Y with an adjective, you normally use jest.

So:

• Ten jogurt jest kwaśny. = This yogurt is sour.

Leaving out jest would sound incomplete or very colloquial in this kind of sentence.

Polish sometimes omits elements that are understood from context, but here jest is the normal standard form.

Not completely. Polish word order is fairly flexible.

This sentence could also be said as:

• Ten jogurt jest trochę kwaśny, ale smakuje lepiej z miodem.

Both are natural.

The version:

• ale z miodem smakuje lepiej

puts z miodem earlier, which gives a bit more emphasis to with honey.

So the meaning stays the same, but the focus can shift slightly depending on word order.

No. Z can mean different things depending on context and case.

Very commonly:

• z + instrumental = with
• z + genitive = from / off / out of

In your sentence:

• z miodem uses the instrumental
• so it means with honey

That is why the case matters so much in Polish: it helps show the meaning.