One drink to dominate them all.
I’ll always defend sweet tea: Just one taste of this golden drink instantly takes me to roadside diners, backyard barbecues, and late-night meals during the humid weather. I appreciatebrewing my own teabut for the sake of ease and convenience, I’ll take a bottle forpicnics, barbecues, or whenever I’m craving a sweet treat.
To identify the top bottled sweet tea, our team tested seven different brands of sweet tea that are commonly found in local grocery stores or online. We selected plain sweetened teas without any additional flavors like peach, lemon, or other fruits. Each tea was cooled and poured into cups, then tasted in a random order without knowing the brand. After trying all the sweet teas, we compiled the results and named an overall winner, along with two other excellent options that we would be pleased to serve at our gatherings.
The Criteria
Like its unsweetened counterpart, sweet tea should be smooth and well-balanced. It should have the flavor of tea: there should be some tannic texture and mild bitterness, but not so strong as to dominate. A hint of sweetness is necessary—itis sweet iced tea after all—but it shouldn’t be overly sweet or have a synthetic flavor.
Overall Winner
Milo’s Famous Sweet Tea
This sugary drink narrowly defeated the second-place finisher.Milo’s Famous Sweet Teahas only three components: purified water, sugar derived from cane, and tea.Kelli, our senior social media editor, appreciated the “tannic notes” and “slight viscosity,” andAmanda, our associate visual director, felt it was “pleasant and mild without being overly sweet.”Laila, our food editor, was pleasantly surprised by its aroma: “I can actually smell the tea. The tea flavor is noticeable, which is nice.” Like Laila, our senior editor,Genevieve, sampled the tea—but found it slightly overly sweet.
Runners-Up
- Gold Peak Sweet Tea
- Pure Leaf Sweet Tea
Although we didn’t like these teas as much as our top choice, our editors considered the iced teas from the two brands mentioned above to be acceptable. Our editorial director,Daniel, liked the tastes ofGold Peak Sweet Tea“No complaints, perhaps a slight sweetness that is harsh but very minor and mild.” This tea, however, was somewhat too sweet for many of our editors, including Genevieve, our visuals editor,Jessie, and our associate editor-in-chief,Megan, who believes she may have lost her Southern preference for sweet tea after spending many years in New York City.
Both Jessie and Kelli noticed a trace of lemon inPure Leaf Sweet Tea, even though it wasn’t an official ingredient—this is likely because of the citric acid mentioned on the label. Genevieve and Amanda both noted that they could detect the tea, but Daniel thought it was a bit too acidic.” I found it neither too tart nor too sweet, and well-balanced in comparison to other teas.
The Contenders
- Arizona Tea Southern-Style Naturally Brewed Sweet Tea
- Gold Peak Sweet Tea
- Milo’s Famous Sweet Tea
- Pure Leaf Sweet Tea
- Trader Joe’s Sweet Tea
- Turkey Hill Sweet Tea
- Uncle Matt’s Organic Naturally Sweet Black Tea
Key Takeaways and Conclusion
Although our team didn’t fully agree on the perfect amount of sweetness, we always preferred options with few ingredients and a stronger tea taste. Our top choice, Milo’s, contains only three components and was praised by our testers for its robust brewed tea flavor, mild sweetness, and gentle tannins.
Our second-place finishers also only have three ingredients. Pure Leaf is composed of brewed black tea, sugar, and citric acid, whereas Gold Peak includes brewed tea, cane sugar, and phosphoric acid. Both citric acid and phosphoric acid are widely used as flavor enhancers and preservatives, and they can add a tartness that some people find unappealing. Although we still prefer to make our own sweet tea to have full control over factors like sweetness and additions such as fresh lemon juice, we would be satisfied serving any of these on their own or using them as part of other beverages. Mix in lemonade to create aArnold Palmer, add a few sprigs of mint, or enhance it with rum for a backyard drink.
Our Testing Methodology
All flavor evaluations are carried out with the brands kept unknown and without any conversation. Participants taste the samples in a random sequence. For instance, taster A might try sample one first, while taster B starts with sample six. This approach is used to avoid taste exhaustion that could unfairly benefit a particular sample. Tasters are required to complete evaluation forms, rating the samples based on different factors. All information is compiled and results are determined without any editorial influence to ensure the most neutral depiction of the outcomes achievable.
Read the original story onSerious Eats
