Bottled Tea: Taste Test

2023 Author: Cody Thornton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-24 11:20

Scrambled by snobs, suspected of not containing the same amount of antioxidants as the homemade version, the bottled tea, especially in the lemon or peach variants, remains one of the most consumed drinks in our country.

Good is good (because deprived of polyphenols, notoriously bitter?), Refreshing, welcomed by many who do not like carbonated drinks, it carries a bad reputation in terms of sugars and therefore calories.

To clarify, we decided to submit to our Tasting test 5 of the most popular brands in supermarkets.

CONTENDENTS

• Estathè
• Lipton ice tea
• Nestea
• San Benedetto Thè
• Santhè

CRITERIA

Color

Scent

Taste

# 5 San Benedetto Tea

Non-alcoholic lemon tea drink with sugars and sweeteners

Ingrediants: natural mineral water (80%), sugar, fructose (0.5%), flavors, acidifier: citric acid, tea leaf extract (0.1%), lemon juice (0.1%) from concentrate, antioxidant: ascorbic acid, sweetener: sucralose

San Benedetto mineral water, produced in the plant in via Kennedy 65, SCorzè (VE)

– Judgment: the least expensive tea of the lot does not convince, it is above all sweet to the detriment of every other aroma.

- Packaging: plastic bottle with bright colored label

- Color: the clearest of the lot

- Scent: hints of lemon

- Taste: at first you can feel the lemon, immediately dominated by an exaggerated sweetness that on the finish leaves room for a bitter note

- Price: 0, 62 € - 0, 5l

- In short: for those who are not afraid of calories

VOTE: 6-

# 4 Estathè - lemon

True tea infusion - Lemon tea drinks

Ingrediants: tea infusion (water, tea), sugar, dextrose, rehydrated lemon juice powder (0, 2%), flavor enhancer (ascorbic acid), flavors, acidifier (citric acid)

Ferrero spa, p.le P. Ferrero 1, Alba (CN) - Facchini San Nicola plant, Sulmana (AQ)

– Judgment: sales record holder, produced by the giant Ferrero, does not satisfy in the rather bitter taste, from which the lemon seems excluded. Curiosity: among the many production plants indicated on the label there is also that of San Benedetto

- Packaging: plastic bottle with a yellow label, lively but not intrusive, with the classic Estathè identification signs

- Color: medium-toned yellow

- Scent: slight hint of tea

- Taste: the bitter note dominates everything, even the sweetness - however perceived - that remains on the bottom

- Price: 0, 91 € - 0, 5l

- In short: the bitterness that many like

VOTE: 6

# 3 Nestea Action - lemon

30% fewer calories - Non-alcoholic lemon tea drink with sugar and sweetener

Ingrediants: water, sugar, fructose, acidifier: citric acid, natural tea and lemon flavors with other natural flavors, tea extract, lemon juice (0.1%), acidity regulator: trisodium citrate, antioxidant: ascorbic acid, sweetener: steviol glycosides

Produced under the authorization of beverage partner worldwide, Coca Cola HBC Italia srl - Nogara plant (VR)

– Judgment: good and with a lower than average sugar content due to the use of stevia

- Packaging: plastic bottle with colored transparent label

- Color: very dark

- Scent: there is a scent of tea

- Taste: pleasant taste: lemon feels and sugar does not invade

- Price: 0, 83 € - 0, 5l

- In short: balanced

VOTE: 7-

# 2 SanThè - Sant’Anna with lemon

Lemon tea drink

Ingrediants: Sant’Anna Rebruant source natural mineral water, sugar, tea infusion (water, tea), dextrose, lemon juice (0.2%), antioxidant: l-ascorbic acid, flavorings

Produced by Fonti di Vinadio spa - factory in the Roviera district, Vinadio (CN)

– Judgment: the list of ingredients, quite short, leads to a successful product

- Packaging: brick joined in packs of 4 pieces, with straw glued on the side

- Color: light color

- Scent: lemon cake

- Taste: pleasant taste of tea, with lemon in the background. Balanced sweetness

- Price: 1, 48 € - (trio of 200ml bricks, 3 + 1 free)

- In short: simplicity pays off

VOTE: 7

# 1 Lipton - lemon ice tea

Lots of taste, few calories

Ingrediants: water, sugar, black tea extract (0.12%), flavors, acidifier: citric acid, concentrated lemon juice (0.1%), antioxidant: ascorbic acid, acidity regulator: sodium citrate, sweeteners: steviol glycosides

Pepsico beverage italia - produced by ASM San Benedetto, in the plant in viale Kennedy 65, Scorzè (VE)

– Judgment: the bouquet of aromas, in which black tea peeps out, beats the competition. Again, as for Nestea (owned by Nestlè, while Lipston Iced Tea belongs to Unilever / Pepsi), it benefits from the use of stevia as a sweetener to decrease the sweetness of the drink

- Packaging: half-liter bottle

- Color: darker color of the lot

- Scent: slight hint of lemon

- Taste: round, full, the most interesting

- Price: 0, 75 € - 0, 5l

- In short: intriguing

- VOTE: 7 and 1/2

THINGS YOU LEARN FROM THIS TASTE TEST

It is not an easy product, forced to sacrifice the content of antioxidant polyphenols with an astringent flavor to favor the pleasantness of taste, even when the labels advertise the opposite.

However, the balance often takes its toll and bottled tea seems especially sweet, even in the case of well-established brands.

Lemon theme: Santhè stands out among rehydrated or concentrated juices, where the presence of the latter is slightly higher. The Sant’Anna product is doing well, confirming that a contained list of ingredients pays off (almost) always.

With regard to sweeteners, the often controversial stevia, a sweetener with a reduced calorie intake, is present in two of the best-ranked bottled teas in this tasting test.