The One Fast Food Sweet Tea You're Better Off Skipping
Sweet tea is a staple in Southern cuisine (despite its not-so-Southern origins), and you'll often find it on the menu of many well-loved fast-food chains. For instance, you can snag a delicious sweet tea at places ranging from McDonald's to Starbucks, each bringing its own unique flavor to the table.
However, there's one fast food chain whose iced tea really just isn't worth picking up – Chipotle. Chipotle's sweet tea isn't offered at all locations, but you'll typically find it in chain stores across the American South. But, if you were thinking of something you're grandmother might have brewed for you, you'll have to think again. Daily Meal tasted and ranked 15 fast food sweet teas and unfortunately, Chipotle's scraped the bottom of the barrel. The tea didn't have the same punchy flavor that you might be used to, and pair that with the fact that it can be hard to find and a bit pricey, it's just not worth spending your money on.
The flavor of the tea leaves much to be desired
When you sip on a tasty cup of freshly brewed sweet tea, you want a balance of rich flavors from the tea as well as a strong gulp of sugar to balance out the tannins. Unfortunately, this tea fails on both fronts. For starters, the tea is quite weak, which means you won't get that same dark, robust flavor that you might be used to from a black tea.
At the same time, the beverage is lacking sugar. Pair that with the weakness of the brew and you wind up with a combination that feels more like lightly flavored water than a strong cup of sweet iced tea.
Chipotle's iced tea also commits the crime of being overly tannic. This creates an astringent flavor, and can also dry your mouth out — not exactly what you want when you're sipping a drink to cool you down and quench your thirst.
Even if you want Chipotle iced tea, you'll have to hunt high and low
Beyond the flavor of the tea being a problem, the availability of this beverage is also an issue. While Chipotle iced tea might be easier to find in the Southern United States, it's still not a guaranteed menu offering then. Within the same city, you may have to go to several different locations before you find it on the menu.
Once you do get your hands on it, you'll have to be a bit flexible with the sizes and your budget, too. The company currently offers a regular size, which holds 22 fluid ounces, and a large, which holds 32 fluid ounces. If you're looking for anything smaller, you're out of luck. Now, while the sizes may not be an issue, because both options hold quite a lot of liquid, they also come with a higher cost, with some drinkers reporting the price to be over $3 before taxes. For an iced tea that just doesn't cut it in terms of flavor, that seems like a bit much. So, next time you've got a hankering for iced tea, make sure you don't look for it at Chipotle. Instead, try another fast food chain, such as Daily Meal's personal favorite, Popeye's.