Anteadote Jasmine Tea

I literally have every variety of Anteadote offered by Adagio and I can’t wait to drink all of them (16.9 fl oz plastic bottles).  I grabbed Ateadote Organic Jasmine Tea to start my reviews.  I had a feeling this was going to be really good.  I’ve had a lot of excellent green teas and oolongs that were infused with jasmine over the years.  Jasmine, to me, is one of the few floral flavors that I absolutely enjoy.  It has a mix between a flower and fruit scent and flavor; therefore, jasmine makes an excellent complement to tea when it comes to my taste buds.  The great/healthy thing about the Jasmine Tea is it is unsweetened.  So, you have a beverage that has zero calories with plenty of flavor.  Trust me, if you enjoy jasmine flavored teas, this will floor you.  I’m talking from the first sip – WOW!  It’s early in the game, but I’m going to say Anteadote Jasmine Tea might be one of my favorite unsweetened teas of all-time.  I can’t get over how well the jasmine flavors explode with a smooth and satisfying freshness.  I sat in the sun for hours before breaking the seal on the bottle.  The unsweetened teas are very refreshing.  My only issue with this tea – I’m not sure what kind of tea was used in the product.  I’d at least like to know if it’s black, green, or oolong.  If I had to guess due to the color (pale brown/yellow) and sweet flavor, I’d say it was an oolong.  Either way, I think this tea will be enjoyed by many.  A fresh jasmine tea with no preservatives and a touch of vitamin c  is much appreciated by this tea drinker.  I’ve been drinking a lot of sweet teas lately, so it’s a great time to start drinking more zero calorie bottled teas (everything in moderation).  This one is simple, if you like jasmine infused teas – this is a must.

Visit Anteadote – Adagio Teas for more information

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Inko's White Peach

Inko’s bottled iced teas are really starting to grow on me.  A product line of bottled white teas is an intriguing idea to me.  Inko’s flavor selections give the consumer a wide variety of familiar flavors (with a few that our slightly out of the norm).  When I tried Inko’s teas last year, I was impressed with the overall flavors and quality of the products.  Inko’s White Peach continues to impress me.  Although the beverages are not labeled as organic, they still have a very fresh and natural flavor.  The bottle label makes a point to stress that Inko’s uses fructose crystals (not corn syrup).  There are only 28 calories and 7g of sugar per 8 fl oz.  That’s not too bad.

As for the flavor of the beverage…The white peach shines through and balances well with the white tea.  That’s what sells me on this product – I can actually taste white tea.  For those new to white tea, it’s a step closer to enjoying organic whole leaf white teas.  This beverage is very easy to drink.  It’s smooth, refreshing and flavorful.  The description of the product closely resembles the flavor.  The beverage is sweet, but it’s not at all overly sweet.  The white peach flavor was natural and inviting.  Inko’s does an excellent job of balancing the dominating flavors of a peach with the delicate white tea flavors.  The sweet white peach flavor makes this a perfect beverage on a hot summer day.

Visit Inko’s

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MaryAnna's Sweet Tea

I’m happy to have the opportunity to try MaryAnna’s Summer Sweet Tea.  This glass bottled RTD is distributed mainly in New Jersey (available in specialty food stores) and it can be ordered online @ maryannastea.com.  I’ve tried many bottled sweet teas and this is easily one of my favorites.  One of the most intriguing stories about the tea industry, in my opinion, are the many entrepreneurial success stories that have given rise to many popular brands.  I’m fascinated at the passion and ambition that people like MaryAnna possess to take the risk and start their own tea company.

To start, MaryAnna’s sweet tea has a very fresh vibe to it.  The scent coming from the bottle is easily recognizable as sweet tea.  From the first drink, you are greeted with a fresh brewed tea flavor that is loaded with a smooth and enjoyable sweetness.  It was so good, I quickly passed it to my wife to try.  This beverage is lemon flavored (100% lemon juice from concentrate), but the lemon flavor is very subtle which I enjoyed because it showcases the key ingredient – sweet tea.  The texture of the tea is very smooth.  I found the tea to be refreshing with a pleasant aftertaste.  I appreciated the attention to detail and the natural flavors that are present throughout the beverage.  Sweet teas are just that – sweet.  MaryAnna’s tea has 80 calories per 8 fl oz – 19g of sugar.  The good news, that’s pure cane sugar.  With sweet tea (RTDs), I typically get a bottle and split it into three servings.  You don’t have to drink the bottle in one sitting – although it’s really hard with a tea this good.

Visit MaryAnna’s Tea

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Snapple | Lemon Iced Tea

I’ve been excited for the weather to warm up so I could start enjoying iced tea.  RTDs are a huge part of the tea industry.  The convenience, potential health benefits, and delicious flavor are just a few of the reasons why ready-to-drink teas are so popular.  Unfortunately, Snapple’s Lemon wasn’t a good start for me this year.  I noticed when I popped the lid on the bottle that the scent wasn’t as lemony or pleasant as I anticipated.  It had a vague bitter/sweet scent to it.

With 23g of sugars per 8 fl oz, I was hoping for a more pleasing flavor.  I’m not tasting a natural black tea flavor nor am I picking up on a natural lemon flavor.  The flavors just do not blend well for me.  Lemon is obviously a strong flavor, so I was anticipating a mouth puckering sour blast.  Having said that, the odd flavored sweetener just didn’t taste very pleasing to me.  If the black tea pulled its weight against the sweetener, this would have been 100 times better.  I don’t think this one has been perfected yet.  I definitely recommend trying one of Snapple’s other bottled teas over this one.   If you want to give it a try and you like it  – let me know  – twitter.com/organictea.

Visit Snapple to see all they offer

If you are looking for a bottled iced-tea, try some of these:

marTEA.com ready-to-drink blogs

I’ve had fun drinking them.  Hopefully, you’ll find one that sounds good to you.

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I’ve done a few blogs about The REPUBLIC of TEA’s ready-to-drink beverages.  I’m very impressed with their attention to detail. The curvy bottles are not only stylish, they contain a beverage that is fresh, flavorful, and refreshing.  The glass bottled teas make excellent gifts. I think they’re great to serve during a formal dinner with family or friends.  It’s a premium product.  In my stocking this past Christmas, I found my first plastic bottled RTD tea from The REPUBLIC of TEA.  It’s smaller than the glass bottles.  The glass bottles contain 16.9 oz, and the plastic bottles contain 12 oz. If you’re watching calories, you’re in luck. These beverages are totally unsweetened.

The Raspberry Quince was a flavor that I didn’t personally pick-out. So I wasn’t sure I would like it as much as the other teas. When I opened the bottle, I could smell the natural sweetness coming from the fruit and tea combination. The water that is used for this tea is so pure. The raspberry flavor was subtle yet present in every drink. The black tea flavor balanced the beverage. The black tea had a classic Ceylon flavor to it. I really couldn’t detect the quince flavor and to be honest I haven’t had many foods or beverages flavored with quince. The Raspberry Quince was just another excellent selection offered by The REPUBLIC of TEA.

Moving on to the Acai Green Tea…The aroma of the acai hits you immediately. The berry flavor was both sweet and slightly bitter. Acai reminds me of a mix between a blueberry and a grape. The color of the green tea was a bright red-violet. Although I found this beverage to be refreshing, it did lack a tea identity. I could not detect the green tea. The berry flavor was welcomed, but I was looking forward to at least a hint of green tea.

It’s amazing how these beverages taste so good without any sweetener. The beverages may not be as authentic as a homemade iced tea made from loose leaf tea, but the beverage certainly has its place in the RTD market. The premium product demands attention and delivers with its quality.

Visit The REPUBLIC of TEA

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I’m very impressed with Inko’s white tea beverages.  I started to drink the blueberry flavored ready-to-drink iced tea yesterday, and it was easily one of the best blueberry flavored RTDs I’ve ever tried.  This flavored (glass-bottled) beverage actually tastes like fresh blueberries with a splash of white tea.  Some blueberry beverages taste like candy – not this one.  It has just the right amount of sweetness to pull it all together – 56 calories per bottle.

Inko’s describes the tea as: Blueberries ain’t just for baking pies folks. Who knew those plump little guys tasted so good when you combine them with rare white tea? Inko’s Blueberry gives you that beautiful berry taste mixed with just a tiny bit of tartness.and it won’t stain your fingers purple!

Visit HealthyWhiteTea.com

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My wife found this tea at our local grocery store.  She grabbed a couple of flavors for me to try.  I’ve never seen or heard of Inko’s until I opened my refrigerator this morning.  It’s a glass bottled ready-to-drink white tea. There are only 56 calories and 14 grams of sugar per 16 FL OZ.  That’s not bad at all compared to many other bottled tea selections.  The tea itself has a very subtle white tea flavor.  There are no bitter or grassy flavors derived from this beverage.  In fact, there’s a touch of organic ginger to add some value and flavor to the delicious white tea.  Although it’s not packed with sugar, it still has a very enjoyable sweetness about it.  The bottle states its ingredients are 100% natural.  Inko’s white tea (original) is very refreshing.  I do recommend trying this tea if you see it in your local grocery store.  You’ll be pleasantly surprised.

To learn more about Inko’s white tea, visit HealthyWhiteTea.com

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