Dr.B's Teas

Product Type:Tea: Sweetened; Container: 16oz Plastic Bottle
BevNET Review: Lemon and tea is a pretty easy concept to explain and one that, at least in a good percentage of the population, instantly whets the appetite. At least that should be the case. For Dr. B’s Premium Microbrewed Tea, they’ve created somewhat of a roadblock to that, which is an overly aggressive emphasis on health. We don’t believe that most consumers go to the beverage cooler with their doctor in mind (the very thought of it probably quells the enjoyment that they are actually seeking from their beverage choice). But Dr. B’s is betting the opposite, with the name, the tag line (“healthy tea made by a health professional”), and even the visual treatment on the front of the label (which looks like warning text from a container of medicine) all trying really hard to sell you on the benefits of a doctor-created beverage. Given what this product is, xylitol and monk fruit sweetened tea flavored with lemongrass, there’s really no benefit to a health professional being involved. We’re not saying this to be harsh -- there’s definitely an opportunity here for this type of product -- but the branding is selling something that isn’t overly appealing. Inside the bottle, there’s still some work to be done with this flavor. The combination of rooibos (an herbal tea), lemongrass flavor, xylitol, and monk fruit has a heavy sweetener taste to it, although it keeps the product at 10 calories per bottle. This is an issue with most of the Dr. B’s flavors, but it’s one that can likely be addressed (and should be). Overall, the concept for this product (low calorie, all natural tea) definitely has potential, but the execution of the flavor and, more importantly, the brand itself, need to be reconsidered. Reviewed on: 10/10/2012

Product Type:Tea: Sweetened; Container: 16oz Plastic Bottle
BevNET Review: Of the Dr. B’s flavors that we sampled, this is the best flavor that they’ve created, hands down. Blending coconut water, rooibos tea, coconut flavor, pineapple flavor, xylitol, and monk fruit, the flavor actually works pretty well, especially for a product that has only 10 calories per bottle. The coconut flavor in particular does a great job of helping to cut down the amount of sweetener flavor that you can taste, which was an issue in the rest of the flavors that we sampled. Plus, the use of coconut water is a timely and marketable ingredient to use. Unfortunately, our feelings about the brand and design are the same: too much emphasis on the doctor origins of the product and too little emphasis on making this a pleasant experience for the drinker. That, regardless of how good they make the flavor, is something that urgently needs to be addressed for this product. Overall, the best of the bunch, but still in need of improvement. Reviewed on: 10/10/2012

Product Type:Tea: Sweetened; Container: 16oz Plastic Bottle
BevNET Review: Having an “Original” variety that is prominently labeled “unflavored” seems like a mistake for a brand of “premium microbrewed tea.” What type of tea is it? Does it really have no flavor? What does that mean? Ultimately, these are the things you’d want to know when a tea says that its “unflavored.” And it certainly does have flavor, which, in this case, is that of rooibos tea, xylitol, and monk fruit (a sweetener). The lack of flavoring is not really a good thing in the case of this formulation, with the sweeteners getting more prominence than they really should. Honestly, we think that they should focus on nailing their Lemongrass variety and consider eliminating this flavor. Lemon flavored tea is a much more appealing product and one that has better chances for success when it comes to using the sweeteners that they’ve chosen.Reviewed on: 10/10/2012