Lipton Goes Hardcore With Its First Ever Alcoholic Iced Tea
Lipton is one of the most iconic tea brands in the game. It has been around since the 1800s, when founder Sir Thomas Lipton had the idea to purchase a tea farm in Sri Lanka and market his product through his parents' grocery store in Scotland. Today, Lipton is synonymous with home-brewed tea and iced tea, and, all things considered, it's good value for money — Lipton tastes almost no different to the stuff you'd pay a fair few dollars more for at your local coffee shop.
For years, Lipton has made money from its line of teas, including black tea, green tea, and plenty of herbal and fruit blends; the brand even sells matcha tea. Now, it's listening to the trends and taking the tea business to new heights by offering its very first hard tea. This alcoholic beverage is 5% ABV and has launched in four flavors. The best part? It hit stores on National Tea Day 2023, making it a holiday to remember for tea lovers.
Lipton's hard iced tea launched on April 21
If you didn't have a reason to celebrate National Tea Day (April 21, which was chosen because it's the birthday of the late Queen Elizabeth II), now you do. Lipton announced in a press release that its alcoholic iced tea is available in lemon, peach, strawberry, and half & half flavors, the last of which blends the hard iced tea with lemonade to create that perfectly semi-sweet flavor we know and love. The beverage is available nationwide and was designed with Lipton's traditional tea flavor in mind, which means you should be able to taste that distinct Lipton-ness in every sip.
Consumer demand for hard teas has increased in the last couple of years, with canned alcoholic beverages — especially tea-flavored ones — taking over the market. World Tea News reported in 2022 that the hard tea market is at an estimated $19 billion and counting, with people growing increasingly more interested in canned cocktails for their fruit flavor and low alcohol content. Plus, canned cocktails are generally more affordable than a standard cocktail, which certainly doesn't hurt.