Ranking 18 Bottled Iced Tea Brands From Worst To Best

Iced tea is a quintessentially refreshing beverage. For many, it's the go-to drink during the hot summer months. For many more, it's something to be enjoyed all year round. In fact, iced tea is so popular that it has even been given its own national day in the United States, celebrated on June 10th. While homemade iced tea is widely beloved, many opt to enjoy it out of a bottle. Bottled iced tea is an especially popular choice for those looking for a refreshing and convenient beverage option on the go.

Bottled iced tea has come a long way from being simple steeped tea, mixed with lemon and sugar. Nowadays, you can find countless iced tea flavors and styles available at your local grocery store, from traditional takes your great-grandmother could have recognized to herbal blends bursting with exotic ingredients. In fact, there are so many types of bottled iced tea, it's difficult to figure out which ones are worth the money. Not to worry — we're here to help. We're ranking 12 popular bottled iced tea brands from worst to best, based on flavor, ingredients, and brand profile.

Brisk is a brand that belongs to the iced-tea portfolio of The Pepsi Lipton Tea partnership, an association between PepsiCo and Unilever (two of the largest consumer goods companies in the world). The brand is known for its funky, bold, and original packaging designs created by artists and designers selected from the brand's Creator Class platform.

Brisk iced teas are available in multiple different sizes and flavors, including sweet tea, lemon, strawberry melon, peach, raspberry iced tea, blackberry smash, half and half, and iced tea with watermelon lemonade. In addition, it offers two zero-sugar options in kiwi strawberry and lemon flavors. Nevertheless, this tea ranks last because, aside from water, all of the tea's ingredients are highly processed, including the beverage's source of tea, which comes in the form of black tea powder. 

Black tea powder is made by finely crushing tea leaves until, as its name suggests, it reaches a powdered consistency, and while it is often linked to multiple health benefits, in this case, they are outshined by the rest of the ingredients of the tea. For example, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is listed second on the tea ingredients list. Per Healthline, HFCS has been linked to type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and obesity.

Founded in Pennsylvania in 1947, Turkey Hill is a well-known company that produces a variety of dairy products. However, it is also known for its wide drinks selection, which includes a vast range of iced tea flavors, such as sweet tea, orange tea, green tea, green tea and mango, raspberry tea, lemonade tea, peach tea, and tropical iced tea (some of which are available in decaf version). Plus, the company also offers a line of diet and no-sugar-added iced teas, which are sweetened with non-caloric sweeteners instead of sugar or not sweetened at all.

Turkey Hill ranks toward the bottom of this list due to the high-sugar content of its sweetened teas, which can pack up to a whopping 50 grams of sugar per serving. In fact, these teas' ingredient labels list high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and sugar as the beverage's second and third ingredients, respectively. In contrast, black tea is listed as the sixth of seven ingredients. 

Drinking sugar-sweetened beverages regularly has been linked to an increased risk of chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, obesity, and heart disease (per Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health). Therefore, opting for Turkey Hill's unsweetened iced teas, when possible, would be much better for your health.

Great Value, Walmart's private label, offers both sweetened and unsweetened iced tea. They come in one-gallon plastic bottles that sell for around $2.88, making them some of the most affordable bottled iced teas on this list. However, the brand's impressive value and sugar-free alternatives are pretty much the only good things it has to offer when it comes to iced tea, which is why it comes in last place.

When you examine the nutritional details of Great Value's iced teas, you'll find that both of them mention "caramel color" on their ingredients list. According to Environmental Health Perspectives, food dyes are used to provide comestibles with the colors typically associated with them, or to fix potential color losses. However, caramel color is iced tea's natural color, which makes you wonder why Great Value's teas need it in the first place. Moreover, customers seem to be torn regarding the tea's taste. Some of them describe it as delicious, while others report a poor, mold-like flavor with a bitter aftertaste.

Gold Peak is a brand of iced tea manufactured and distributed by The Coca-Cola Company. The brand offers a wide variety of bottled iced tea, including green tea, California raspberry tea, Georgia peach tea, lemon tea, and lemonade tea, as well as multiple versions of traditional Southern iced tea. These are distinguished by sugar content: You've got your standard sweet tea, unsweetened tea, zero sugar sweet tea, slightly sweet tea, and extra sweet tea. Most of their flavors are available in multiple different sizes.

The brand prides itself on using high-quality tea leaves brewed in filtered water and sweetened with real cane sugar for a rich and authentic taste. But while their unsweetened iced tea is a great option for those watching their sugar intake, their sweet and extra sweet teas pack a whopping 44 and 68 grams of sugar, respectively. This overwhelming sweetness absolutely smothers the natural flavor of the tea. Furthermore, the brand's zero sugar sweet tea (which is sweetened with zero calorie sweeteners) lists caramel color as one of its ingredients. It's not included in any of the other tea varieties, which raises the question of why this artificial ingredient is needed for this one product, but not the others. Ultimately, the high sugar content and mysterious additive push Gold Peak bottled iced teas near the bottom of this list.

Beverage brand Snapple is known for its unique flavors. It offers over 30 varieties of drink, 12 of which comprise their sweetened and unsweetened iced tea offerings. Snapple sells peach tea, lemon tea, raspberry tea, honey sweet tea, and half n' half lemonade iced tea, among other takes on the classic recipe. Some of their flavors get downright wacky, like "trop-a-rocka" iced tea, which combines tropical fruit and cinnamon with the classic tea blend.

In 2018, the company decided to switch from its distinctive glass bottles to plastic bottles made out of 100% recycled materials, which Snapple claims are more sustainable. The change doesn't seem to have been welcomed by some consumers, who argue that their favorite tea's taste has been affected by the switch. Those disgruntled customers claim to detect chemical-laden aftertastes, repellent flavors of plastic, and other icky overtones. Moreover, each bottle packs between 30 and 51 grams of sugar, depending on the flavor. This sugar content doesn't play nicely with such plastic-y flavors. Snapple's iced tea is laid low by this unpleasant taste and high sugar content.

​​Fuze Tea is a brand of bottled iced tea owned by The Coca-Cola Company. The brand's name alludes to its signature fusion of iced tea and fruit juices, which creates unique and refreshing flavor combinations such as lemon sweet tea, pineapple mango, strawberry peach, watermelon lime, and blueberry lemonade. Fuze Tea bottled iced teas are available in multiple sizes, including 12 ounce, 24 ounce, or one liter plastic bottles.

Despite these tasty and fun flavor combinations, Fuze iced teas don't measure up — and it's all down to the fact that they aren't made with the highest quality ingredients. For starters, according to their ingredient list, these teas are made with either black or green tea powders and sweetened with high fructose corn syrup. That cut-rate approach can be detected in these teas' weak flavors. Even more unsettlingly, these teas don't contain any fruit juices that match their purported flavors. Instead, they are created using "natural flavors." What are these "natural flavors," you ask? They're flavoring agents, such as essential oils or extracts, derived from the original natural sources. Though they're meant to provide the desired taste, they don't always nail it — and sadly, that's the case here. These flavors are muted and muddled.

Known for its eclectic, 90's-esque designs and tall, slim cans and bottles, AriZona has offered bottled iced tea since 1992. Their iced teas can be found in a wide variety of flavors, including green tea, sweet tea, lemon tea, and raspberry tea, to mention just a few. The brand's Arnold Palmer collection, which features a variety of half-and-half flavored teas, is also perennially popular. Furthermore, the brand has a cold brew version of its traditional flavor, which is made by steeping the tea in cold water. This allows for a greater purity of flavor to come through.

The brand describes its iced tea as 100% natural: It's created using a premium blend of black teas, sweetened with pure cane sugar, and lacks artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives. But you might find different information included on the tea's ingredient list depending on the website you look at. For example, some retailers mention pear juice concentrate and ester gum, a food additive used as an emulsifier and stabilizer, as part of AriZona's lemon tea. Others state that it is sweetened with high fructose corn syrup instead of cane sugar, and uses citric acid as a preservative. These inconsistencies are what places AriZona iced tea in a relatively low spot in our rankings.

Nestea is a brand of pre-bottled iced tea sold by Nestle. It primarily comes in three different flavors: peach iced tea, iced green tea, and lemon iced tea, which is also available in an unsweetened version. Before the brand launched its ready-to-drink iced tea in 1968, Nestea was actually known for its signature instant tea powder. Much like their instant coffee powder, this tea was meant to be a hot beverage up until 1956, when they launched an instant iced tea variety.

Nestea's bottled iced teas are available in a variety of sizes, including single-serve bottles, multi-packs, and larger containers designed for sharing. They're known for their balanced and refreshing taste, and are made with concentrated tea from tea leaves. However, each tea's specific flavor comes from added natural flavors. This means that their lemon and peach teas don't really contain any actual lemon or peach juice. Additionally, they offer up to 43 grams of sugar per serving. This results in an unpleasant aftertaste, and dilutes the already-compromised flavor of the tea in questions. Such confused taste places these teas on the lower end of this list.

Lipton is one of the world's most popular tea brands. It was founded in the 1800s by Sir Thomas Lipton, though the brand is currently owned by PepsiCo. Nowadays, the brand offers a wide variety of tea products, including black teas, green teas, herbal teas, fruity teas, and even latte teas. Said teas are available in multiple forms, such as tea bags and sachets, loose tea, powdered mixes, and ready-to-drink bottled tea products. Additionally, most of their bottled iced teas are available both in sweetened and unsweetened versions, which makes them a solid choice for those with dietary restrictions.

Lipton's bottled iced teas are made from high quality tea leaves brewed in purified water, and customers seem to love their vivid taste. However, some sweetened varieties are made with high fructose corn syrup, which dulls the strength of the teas' flavors. Nevertheless, their teas are also Rainforest Alliance certified, which means that the tea used in their products is grown and harvested in a way that is environmentally sustainable and socially responsible. This makes their teas a popular choice for those interested in a more ethical and eco-friendly beverage option. Overall, Lipton's bottled iced teas are a good choice, though they could've ranked higher if it weren't for their high fructose corn syrup.

Teavana is a brand of teas owned by Starbucks Corporation that offers its products in multiple forms, including loose-leaf teas, tea sachets, and bottled iced teas. The high-quality tea blends and natural ingredients are sourced from ethical and sustainable tea farms around the globe. Among its bottled iced teas (which are available in glass bottles or aluminum cans), the brand has a total of nine sparkling and still craft beverages, all of which are produced with premium teas and herbal and fruit blends to avoid using any artificial flavors.

Teavana's still craft iced teas come in six flavors, including mango black tea, passion tango herbal tea, peach green tea, pineapple berry blue herbal tea, unsweetened Meyer lemon black tea, and unsweetened strawberry apple green tea. Moreover, the brand's sparkling selection adds three more iced tea flavors to the mix, including unsweetened peach nectarine green tea, blackberry lime green tea, and blood orange mango white tea. 

Despite having a wide selection of teas to choose from, the variety of bottled teas is not very easy to find in stores and online (unlike the brand's tea sachets, which are widely available to the public), and for that reason, Teavana ranks in the middle of this list.

Pure Leaf is a premium brand of bottled iced tea. The label rounds up its products into different categories, including brewed iced tea, lower sugar iced tea, and caffeine-free herbal iced tea, which is made with ingredients like dried hibiscus and fruit. Being a premium brand, Pure Leaf prides itself on using only the highest quality tea for its products. It also prides itself on being ethically conscious: Pure Leaf sources tea leaves from Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates and chooses USDA-certified organic loose tea leaves for their organic drinks.

Pure Leaf iced teas are available in a variety of flavors, including unsweetened black tea, green tea, sweet and extra sweet tea, lemon tea, raspberry tea, peach tea, honey green tea, and a tea and lemonade mix. Their brewed iced teas are free of artificial colors and flavors, and contain only brewed tea, real sugar, and citric acid as a preservative. Yet they pack up to 42 grams of sugar per serving, which makes the nuances of the tea's flavor hard to discern. However, their lower sugar teas (also called subtly sweet) only provide five grams of sugar per serving, and are sweetened with a mix of cane sugar and stevia. The only Pure Leaf products that contain artificial sweeteners are the diet versions of their teas, but their flavored teas get their taste from the ever-enigmatic "natural flavor." All in all, Pure Leaf is a good bottled iced tea brand that offers high-quality products. If you avoid the most sugar-laden options, you're in for a good experience.

Milo's is a family-owned and Certified Women Owned company based in Alabama that puts the quality of its products and the well-being of the planet at the forefront of its business. It produces a wide variety of teas, including its famous sweet tea (which is also available in extra sweet, low-calorie, decaf, and unsweetened versions), peach sweet tea, raspberry sweet tea, and sweet tea with lemon. Milo's has a short list of all-natural ingredients, is non-GMO, free of preservatives and added colors, and is made with tea leaves that are freshly brewed daily for an added homemade feel.

Yet, what grants Milo's a spot on this ranking is its commitment to the planet as well as its initiatives to help different communities across the country. For starters, when it comes to its sustainability efforts, the company is a Platinum-Certified Zero Waste Manufacturer, which means that it looks for ways to reduce or eliminate the waste it creates (a practice that has led the company to recycle 96% of its manufacture waste). 

In addition, Milo's has a water conservation initiative that is said to save millions of gallons of water from its manufacturing operations. Lastly, the company has a 1% Profit Pledge initiative to donate 1% of its yearly profits to support communities nationwide.

Liquid Death is a beverage brand known for its edgy aesthetic, which is designed to appeal to those who are looking for a more unconventional drink. It sells mountain-derived and sparkling waters and iced tea in 100% recyclable aluminum cans, which are decorated with bold, eye-catching graphics that tend towards the goth side of things. Liquid Death offers three different iced tea varieties: a classic black iced tea called Grim Leafer, a peach-flavored iced tea called Rest in Peach, and a half-and-half iced tea and lemonade mix called Armless Palmer.

Liquid Death's iced teas are premium stuff, made with natural ingredients. Notably, all three varieties serve up just six grams of sugar per can, and are fortified with B vitamins — namely B6 and B12. Moreover, these iced teas are sweetened with real agave nectar instead of cane sugar. While agave is praised by health enthusiasts for being a natural sweetener with a low glycemic index — which means it doesn't spike your blood sugar levels — some research suggests that it's still a high fructose sweetener. That's definitely something to bear in mind, but at just six grams of sugar per 19 ounce can, it shouldn't pose a major danger to your health. Overall, Liquid Death's low sugar content, quality ingredients, and sustainable packaging — which promotes options beyond single-use plastics — lands their iced teas near the top of our list.

Organic Sweet Leaf Tea Company is an organic iced tea brand founded in 1998 by Clayton Christopher in Austin, Texas. As the story goes, he used his grandma's original recipe to create the brand's first products, and as a way to pay homage to her, he made her a part of the teas' original label. Sweet Leaf has been around for over 20 years and nowadays, it offers a variety of iced tea flavors, including original sweet tea, mint and honey green tea, half and half, raspberry tea, and peach tea.

What sets Sweet Leaf apart from other iced tea brands is that all the teas are made with organic ingredients and natural sweeteners. Plus, they are also non-GMO, BPA-free, and gluten-free, which has made them popular among health-conscious consumers. Nutritionally speaking, these teas contain either zero or 10 mg of sodium per serving, depending on the flavor, which represents less than 1% of your daily sodium intake per the Food and Drug Administration's recommended daily nutrient values. And since you don't usually find such low sodium levels in packaged drinks, this quality puts the brand in sixth place on this list. However, note that the teas may pack up to 165 calories per serving due to their sugar content.

Bai is a popular beverage company known for its antioxidant-rich drinks, unique flavors, and low calorie content. It offers a wide range of products, including still and sparkling drinks, infused water, energy boosters, flavored coconut water, lemonade, and, of course, bottled iced tea. Bai's antioxidants are its calling card; these beneficial compounds help fight the damaging effects of free radicals in your body, such as premature aging and cell mutations.

Bai earns the third place on this ranking thanks to the healthy and delicious qualities of its iced teas. The brand's Superteas are available in four different flavors: peach tea, raspberry tea, lemon tea, and sweet tea. These all clock in at a mere 10 calories per serving (except for their Socorro sweet tea, which contains just five calories per bottle). As those with relevant dietary restrictions know, this is very unique. The brand sweetens its teas with a combination of stevia and erythritol, which keeps it calorie-light. There's one potential pitfall here: Excessive erythritol intake can cause digestive discomfort. You shouldn't go overboard with these teas, but you should absolutely give them a try.

Steaz is a company that specializes in organic and fair trade-certified functional beverages, meaning that it ensures that the farmers and workers who grow the tea and other ingredients are paid fair wages and work under safe and healthy conditions. Plus, the company also donates a portion of its profits to sustainable and social responsibility programs through its partnership with 1% for the Planet. 

When it comes to its drink portfolio, it is comprised of three main products, including 12 different iced green teas, six sweetened and unsweetened yerba mate, and four sparkling yerba mate varieties, an herbal tea commonly consumed in South America. Steaz's drinks are available in numerous flavors. They are also certified vegan, kosher, and fortified with vitamin C (from organic acerola cherry extract) due to their powerful antioxidant properties, which are known to help fight the harmful effects of free radicals in your body. 

The company's green teas are available in sweetened, unsweetened, and zero-calorie options. The sweetened and zero-calorie varieties get sweetness from organic cane sugar and organic Stevia extract, respectively. Steaz iced teas are described by customers as "refreshing," "tasty," and "delicious," which, together with its functional ingredients and a wide variety of flavors, grants the company the third place on this ranking.

Tazo is a renowned tea company that offers numerous products, ranging from K-cup pods to bottled iced tea. All of them are made following a series of high-quality standards. Its iced teas are USDA-certified organic and available in multiple flavor combinations, such as lemon ginger, black tea, or a blend of hibiscus, orange, and cinnamon, to mention just a few. One of the key features of Tazo iced teas is that they are free of artificial colors and sweeteners. Instead, they're sweetened with organic cane sugar. Their organic iced black tea contains 15 grams of sugar per 14 ounce bottle, which is more than you'll see from certain other brands. But it doesn't detract from the taste, nor does it contain the unpleasant undertones found in high fructose corn syrup.

Tazo is also distinguished by their committment to sustainability. In 2021, the brand launched the TAZO Tree Corps, a tree-planting initiative that aims to employ people from disadvantaged regions and reforest vulnerable communities. This ethical action, combined with their great-tasting tea, lands Tazo near the top of our list.

Tejava began with a mission: To show the world that iced tea can be flavorful and delicious, even without added sugar. Its teas are made with carefully selected tea leaves from the island of Java, which is where the brand's name comes from. Teajava iced teas are available in a range of flavors, including classic black tea and green tea varieties, as well as specialty flavors like peach, lemon, raspberry, mint, pineapple-mango, Fujian oolong tea, and Hojicha green tea. They also come in multiple forms, including glass and plastic bottles, pyramid bags, and Keurig pods, which can be enjoyed hot or cold.

But beyond all of these qualities, Tejava's iced teas are distinguished by their lack of added sugar. The teas are similarly free of artificial colors or preservatives, though they do use natural flavors. Now, added sugar isn't necessarily a bad thing. But Tejava's eschewal of sugar allows the excellent quality of their tea to take center stage. Moreover, the brand sources its tea leaves from Rainforest Alliance certified farms. As if that were not enough, their plastic bottles are recyclable and BPA-free. For all these reasons, Tejava iced tea takes the top spot on our list.