We Style-Examined Eight Manufacturers of Iced Teas—Right here Are Our Favorites

On a scorching scorching summer season day, you may seemingly discover me sipping a glass of iced tea. Though I favor to brew my very own tea once I solely must make sufficient for myself and my household, I nearly at all times select store-bought iced tea when internet hosting a gathering, which implies there is not any have to brew and chill gallons of tea.

To search out the easiest unsweetened iced tea, our editors sampled eight totally different manufacturers of nationally obtainable bottled iced tea that you just’re prone to discover at your native grocery store and on-line. We caught to plain iced tea, with none added flavors, corresponding to peach or different fruits. We poured every into cups, then sampled them chilled in random order with out figuring out which tea was which. After sipping our means via all of the iced teas, we tabulated the outcomes and topped an total winner, in addition to two different worthy contenders that we might be pleased to serve at our potlucks, picnics, and barbecues.

The Standards

Unsweetened iced tea ought to be easy and balanced. It ought to style like tea: There ought to be some bitter, tannic notes, however not a lot that your mouth puckers. Fruity notes, corresponding to these of peaches or nectarines, are welcome, as are honeyed and floral notes; nonetheless, the dominant taste ought to nonetheless be that of tea.

General Winner

Uncle Matt’s Natural Brewed Unsweet Tea

Although I discovered this iced tea to be fairly bitter, all our different tasters loved it. Working example: our affiliate culinary editor, Laila, famous: “May be too tannic for some, however I preferred it!” Our editorial director, Daniel, thought it had “traditional black tea taste,” and our senior social media editor, Kelli, described it as “very drinkable.” Our visible editor, Jessie, preferred that it was “gentle and straightforward” with a slight tannic taste. Amanda, our affiliate visuals director, is a lady of few phrases and easily enthused: “Not dangerous!”

Runners-Up

• Pure Leaf Unsweetened Black Tea
• Dealer Joe’s Black Tea Unsweetened Beverage

Whereas we didn’t benefit from the different teas fairly as a lot as our winner, all our editors preferred the iced teas from the 2 manufacturers talked about above and can be pleased to serve and drink both. Daniel liked the “clear, refreshing” taste of Pure Leaf Unsweetened Black Tea, and famous that it “tastes like actual tea.” Equally, Jessie and I assumed Pure Leaf was easy and balanced, with a crisp taste that wasn’t overly bitter or tannic. 

Kelli loved the floral notes and slight trace of sweetness in Dealer Joe’s Black Tea Unsweetened Beverage. Daniel loved the tea’s acidity and thought it was one other good classic-tasting iced tea.

The Contenders

• Arizona Actual Brewed Unsweetened Simply Tea
• 365 by Entire Meals Natural Unsweetened Black Tea
• Gold Peak Unsweetened Black Tea
• Simply Ice Tea Unique Black Tea, Unsweetened
• Pure Leaf Unsweetened Black Tea
• Delicate Tea Craft Brewed Natural Tea, Sweetless
• Dealer Joe’s Black Tea Unsweetened Beverage
• Uncle Matt’s Natural Brewed Unsweet Tea

Key Takeaways and Conclusion

Though our editors had totally different preferences for the way tart or bitter they needed their iced tea, we typically loved all of the teas and can be pleased to serve any of them at our cookouts. All of the iced teas we tasted have water and black tea and/or black tea focus as the first substances. Many store-bought iced teas comprise citric acid or phosphoric acid, which are sometimes used as preservatives and provides meals and drinks a kick of acidity. Our winner and runners-up are all made with citric acid or phosphoric acid, and one in all our runners-up, Dealer Joe’s, contained pure flavors. Although these teas are high-quality served plain, all of us agreed that they’d be higher with a contact of lemon juice, recent mint, easy syrup, or possibly even a touch of bourbon. So if you happen to’re serving bottled iced tea at a celebration, take into account setting out a station with add-ins for visitors.

Our Testing Methodology

All style exams are carried out with manufacturers utterly hidden and with out dialogue. Tasters style samples in random order. For instance, taster A could style pattern one first, whereas taster B will style pattern six first. That is to forestall palate fatigue from unfairly giving anybody pattern a bonus. Tasters are requested to fill out tasting sheets rating the samples for varied standards. All knowledge is tabulated and outcomes are calculated with no editorial enter in an effort to give us probably the most neutral illustration of precise outcomes doable.