We Style-Examined Seven Manufacturers of Candy Tea—Right here Are Our Favorites

I’ll go to bat for candy tea any day: Only one sip of this amber-hued refresher immediately transports me to roadside diners, yard barbecues, and late-night meals within the sticky warmth. I get pleasure from brewing my very own tea, however for ease and comfort, I’ll seize a bottle for picnics, barbecues, or at any time when I’m craving a candy deal with.

To search out the easiest bottled candy tea, our editors sampled seven totally different manufacturers of nationally obtainable candy tea that you just’re prone to discover at your native grocery retailer or on-line. We selected plain sweetened teas with none added flavors, comparable to peach, lemon, or different fruits. We chilled and poured every into cups, then sampled them in random order with out realizing which model was which. After sipping our manner by means of all of the candy teas, we tabulated the outcomes and topped an general winner, in addition to two different worthy contenders we would be pleased to serve at our get-togethers.

The Standards

Like its unsweetened counterpart, candy tea must be easy and balanced. It ought to style like tea: There must be some tannic construction and mild bitterness, however not a lot that it overwhelms. At the very least a contact of sweetness is crucial—it is candy tea in any case—nevertheless it shouldn’t be cloyingly candy or style synthetic.

General Winner

Milo’s Well-known Candy Tea

This candy tea simply eked out a win over the runners-up. Milo’s Well-known Candy Tea incorporates simply three substances: filtered water, cane sugar, and tea. Kelli, our senior social media editor, loved the “tannic notes” and “slight viscosity,” and Amanda, our affiliate visuals director, thought it was “good and lightweight and never too candy.” Laila, our meals editor, was pleasantly stunned by its perfume: “I can truly scent the tea. The tea taste is detectable, which is good.” Like Laila, our senior editor, Genevieve, tasted the tea—however thought it was only a contact too candy.

Runners-Up

• Gold Peak Candy Tea
• Pure Leaf Candy Tea

Whereas we did not get pleasure from these teas as a lot as our winner, our editors discovered the iced teas from the 2 manufacturers above to be advantageous. Our editorial director, Daniel, loved the flavors of Gold Peak Candy Tea: “No complaints, possibly a bit sweet-tea harshness however very minor slash gentle.” This tea, nonetheless, was a bit too candy for a lot of of our editors, together with Genevieve, our visuals editor, Jessie, and our affiliate editorial director, Megan, who thinks she will need to have misplaced her Southern style for candy tea after a few years in NYC. 

Each Jessie and Kelli detected a touch of lemon in Pure Leaf Candy Tea, regardless that it wasn’t a listed ingredient—that is virtually definitely as a result of citric acid listed on the label. Genevieve and Amanda each commented that they might style the tea, however Daniel discovered it barely too acidic.” I discovered it not too bitter, not too candy, and fairly balanced in comparison with the remainder of the teas.

The Contenders

• Arizona Tea Southern-Model Actual Brewed Candy Tea
• Gold Peak Candy Tea
• Milo’s Well-known Candy Tea
• Pure Leaf Candy Tea
• Dealer Joe’s Candy Tea
• Turkey Hill Candy Tea
• Uncle Matt’s Natural Candy Brewed Black Tea

Key Takeaways and Conclusion

Whereas our workforce did not unanimously agree on the perfect stage of sweetness, we persistently gravitated towards picks with minimal substances and extra pronounced tea flavors. Our winner, Milo’s, has simply three substances and stood out to our testers for its robust taste of brewed tea, mild sweetness, and delicate tannins.

Our runners-up additionally solely include three substances. Pure Leaf is made with brewed black tea, sugar, and citric acid, whereas Gold Peak incorporates brewed tea, cane sugar, and phosphoric acid. Citric acid and phosphoric acid are each frequent taste enhancers and preservatives, and might impart a sourness that not everybody likes. Whereas we nonetheless desire to make our personal candy tea so we will management all of the variables, comparable to sweetness stage and additions comparable to recent lemon juice, however in a pinch, we would be pleased to serve any of those on their very own or to make use of them as a part in different drinks. Add lemonade to make an Arnold Palmer, drop in just a few sprigs of mint, or spike it with rum for a yard cocktail.

Our Testing Methodology

All style checks are performed with manufacturers fully 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 numerous standards. All information is tabulated and outcomes are calculated with no editorial enter as a way to give us probably the most neutral illustration of precise outcomes doable.