Although the average Brit would balk at even the thought of drinking sweet tea, if you are from the south of the United States, you would know that this popular drink has been the go-to beverage to alleviate southern folk from the inferno-like heat during many summer months.

When alcohol became outlawed in America during the infamous Prohibition in 1920, drinkers needed another refreshing beverage to curb their alcohol cravings. Sweet tea quickly became a popular replacement until 1933 when the Prohibition ban on alcohol was lifted. However, sweet tea had secured its position as a popular form of libation, with Dolly Parton’s character from the movie “Steel Magnolias” famously declaring sweet tea as the “house wine of the south.”

As a popular beverage, there is no lack of variety of sweet tea offerings on the market. Canned or bottled, you can have your ready-made sweet tea beverage on the go, without having to brew a pitcher yourself. 

But as with any mass produced and marketed product, sweet tea has also slipped down the totem pole of quality, with producers desperate for market share, resorting to false advertising and the use of questionable ingredients, rendering this popular beverage to an unhealthy one. With more consumers becoming more health conscious and looking for more “natural” ingredients, sweet tea companies would do well to follow this shift in consumer preferences.

For now, here is a list of seven of the unhealthiest sweet tea brands to avoid, based on a variety of different journalists that have either conducted taste tests or simply read the labels of these sweet tea products currently on the market. 

1. Pure Leaf Lemon Flavored Tea

 

• Producer: PepsiCo
• Main Ingredients: Black tea, sugar, citric acid, natural flavor, citric pectin

No Lemons Were Harmed in the Making of This Tea 

Although the front label prominently touts “Lemon” as the flavor of this tea, the ingredients found in Pure Leaf’s Lemon flavored tea simply indicate that it contains “citric pectin”. Whether this citric pectin is from the actual pith of a lemon is unclear. What’s more, the ever ubiquitous flavor enhancer “Natural flavor” is also listed. This highly suspect and mysterious ingredient is known to contain 100 chemicals which can include emulsifiers, flavor enhancers, solvents, and preservatives. If the aforementioned are not your cup of tea, my suggestion would be to keep on walking. 

2. Fuze Tea Pineapple + Mango

• Producer: The Coca-Cola Company
• Main Ingredients: tea (water + green tea powder), high fructose corn syrup, natural flavors, citric acid, sodium hexametaphosphate (to protect taste)

Sustainably Sourced Tea Leaves Overshadowed by HFCS

Fuze Tea, owned by soft drink behemoth Coca-Cola, may seem forward-looking with its green efforts, including sustainably sourced tea leaves in its drinks. However, it’s ironic to see that what follows these sustainable tea leaves is something not so sustainable for our bodies, and that is high fructose corn syrup. High fructose corn syrup (HFCS)  has been linked to weight gain, obesity, high blood pressure, insulin resistance, and eventually type 2 diabetes. Worse, the excessive consumption of HFCS has been attributed to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. How’s that for sustaining your health?

3. Brisk Lemon Flavored Iced Tea

• Producer: Pepsi Lipton Partnership
• Main Ingredients: Water, HFCS, Citric Acid, Sodium Polyphosphates (to Protect Flavor), Black Tea Powder, Natural Flavor, Phosphoric Acid, Sodium Benzoate (Preserves Freshness), Sucralose

The Liquid Sweetener That Just Won’t Quit

Let’s face it, HFCS has made its way in just about every food product imaginable: juices, sodas, cereal baked goods, and other processed foods. Teas have certainly fallen under this questionable form of sugar and it has certainly been the case with Brisk Lemon flavored tea. 

What’s surprising about this product list is that the tea ingredient itself is featured as the fifth product on the list, making you question the quality of this beverage. Sodium Polyphosphates, the fourth ingredient on the list, act as emulsifiers, stabilizers, and thickeners. Furthermore, this preservative is known to disrupt the absorption of key minerals such as magnesium, calcium, and iron. Also, in high doses, sodium polyphosphate can cause stomach cramps, diarrhea, and nausea. 

4. Gold Peak Tea

• Producer: The Coca-Cola Company
• Main Ingredients: Brewed tea (filtered water, black tea leaves), cane sugar, phosphoric acid.

Might as Well Reach for a Coke

Back in 2021, The Coca-Cola Company rebranded and reformulated their Gold Peak Real Brewed Tea product. Instead of concentrate, the drink now uses 100% real brewed tea leaves and also uses real cane sugar. 

Although the taste of this tea might be more natural, and kudos to the company for rolling out more natural ingredients, the fact remains that the amount of sugar, real cane, or not, is exorbitantly high. Their 16.9 fl oz bottle of Gold Peak Sweet Tea comes in at a whopping 44 grams of total sugar. Their iconic 12 oz can of Coca-Cola comes in at 39 grams a sugar. One can argue that the larger size of tea would mean more grams of sugar, however, it remains to be said that it’s more sugar than a can of Coke. So what health benefits, if any, should a consumer expect?

5. Arizona Iced Tea with Lemon Flavor

• Producer:  The Arizona Beverage Company
• Main Ingredients: premium brewed blend of black teas, high fructose corn syrup (glucose-fructose syrup), citric acid, ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), natural lemon flavor

Natural Lemon Flavor?

Founded in 1992, The Arizona Beverage Company has featured popular tea drinks such as their Arizona Green Teas. Although their aim is to include real tea in every body, they ultimately fall short by including the artificial liquid sweetener HFCS. 

Along with a synthetic form of Vitamin C as ascorbic acid, Arizona Iced Tea also features a “natural lemon flavor”. The word natural has been used ubiquitously in a plethora of food and drink products. But don’t be fooled. Within these natural flavors are over 100 chemicals that also serve as preservatives, emulsifiers, solvents, flavor modifiers. 

6. Great Value Sweet Iced Tea

• Producer: Third-party company (part of Walmart’s private label strategy)
• Main Ingredients: Filtered water, sugar, brewed black tea, caramel color, potassium sorbate (to preserve freshness)

Great in Value and Carcinogens

Caramel color may enhance the look of tea, but it is a known carcinogen.

 

For many consumers fighting the effects of inflation, everyone is looking to get their biggest bang for their buck, and buying tea is no different. With Walmart’s Great Value Sweet Iced Tea, a 128 fluid ounce bottle will only set you back $2.98. 

But if you look closely at the ingredients, you might want to reconsider this purchase. Although containing filtered water, sugar, and brewed black tea seem to be a fairly safe foundation in which to build a more natural sweet iced tea, the next couple of ingredients should give you pause. 

Although the FDA has approved the use of “caramel color” as a safe ingredient for food and beverages, class III and IV caramel colors could be potentially harmful to humans. It was found that the caramel found in beverages can contain 4-methylimidazole (4-MEI), which is a potential carcinogen.  Potassium sorbate doesn’t seem to hold a clean record either, as high intake could result in kidney damage. 

7. Nestea

• Producer: The Coca-Cola Company
• Main Ingredients: Filtered water, sugar/glucose-fructose, citric acid, concentrated tea from tea leaves, potassium citrate, natural lemon flavor

The Usual Suspects

Nestea is considered a market leader in the ready to drink tea market. With its presence in over 130 countries around the world, it demonstrates a robust presence. But just because this tea brand is one of the most recognizable tea brands in the world, it is always wise to see beyond the successful marketing efforts and peer into the contents of this popular beverage. 

As the third ingredient listed, the consumption of glucose-fructose has been discovered to produce more storage of fat. Furthermore, just 500 ml of the Nestea Lemon Iced Teas was found to have 43 grams of total sugar, an excessive amount. More than a can of Coke as documented previously. Another reason to steer clear of this brand is the mysterious, “natural lemon flavor” ingredient. 

Don’t fall for the marketing gimmicks. For a quality beverage, using the finest ingredients is paramount. And for those who love their whiskey, the same applies. Want to learn more? Read on about the 9 Irish whiskey brands to avoid.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.