Teas' Tea Naturally Sweet

Product Type:Tea: Sweetened; Container: 16.9 fl oz
BevNET Review: Mixing blueberry flavoring and sugar with green tea is something that’s surprisingly simply yet extremely enjoyable. Of course, this being a Teas’ Tea product, the base of tea is really what gets the emphasis, with a slightly grassy base of tea that’s been cut nicely by the blueberry flavor and touch of sweetness. The resulting mix is very smooth and balanced, with just the right amount of each flavor hitting the palate. At 80 calories per 16.9 oz. bottle, the product has a decent amount of sweetness (more than an Honest Tea), but not enough that you’d classify it as sweet. That seems like an okay approach to this crowded category, especially since it’s also far enough away from Teas’ Tea’s core unsweetened brand. On the outside, it looks very much like the flagship brand, which might make consumers familiar with the brand overlook this product as the “Naturally Sweet” text is quite subtle. Otherwise, they’re sticking with what works – a sleeve wrapped square shaped bottle. The fruit callout is simple, but easy to find -- to the point that we’d doubt that anyone will have a hard time identifying this as a blueberry flavored drink. Overall, an enjoyable product that’s quite clean in both flavor and visual execution. Reviewed on: 7/6/2009

Product Type:Tea: Sweetened; Container: 16.9 fl oz
BevNET Review: Citrus Black is Ito En’s spin on the classic combination of tea, sugar, and lemon. In this case, they’ve gone with bergamot, a citrus flavor that tastes like lemon zest with a hint of orange to it. This actually pairs quite nicely with the base of black tea that they’ve used which, like the other Teas’ Tea products, is a relatively full bodied brew. The result is a drink that’s big on tea flavor with more of a “splash” of fruit flavor and sweetness. As the label suggests, the flavor of bergamot actually does complement the black tea flavor quite nicely, with typical black tea finish disappearing into a pleasant note of citrus. From a sweetness point of view, the product fits in between the sweet mainstream players and the “slightly sweet” premium brands. That seems like a decent place to be, although the branding of the product is definitely going to have more appeal with the tea snobs of the world, who are likely already familiar with the Teas’ Tea brand. That being said, we’re not sure if this is really going to add many new drinkers to the lineup, especially since they’ve done little to differentiate the two lineups. Still, we think that this is the best thing to hit the Teas’ Tea brand to date – although it still needs a bit of visual refinement if it’s going to compete with the established sweetened brands.Reviewed on: 7/6/2009

Product Type:Tea: Sweetened; Container: 16.9 fl oz
BevNET Review: Ito En is just a bit late to the sweetened tea game, but their entries do a great job of blending appealing flavor and the high quality tea that the company is known for. This mildly sweetened mixture has a full bodied brew of oolong tea as its base, complete with a grassy note and a slightly bitter finish. The addition of sugar and mango flavoring help cut the bitterness and add an additional level of flavor to the mix. There’s a light aftertaste from this product, which is likely from the tea, but otherwise the product has a rather smooth tasting body. Like the other varieties, this variety looks very much like the unsweetened Teas’ Tea line, which might create somewhat of an identity crisis for this product. Otherwise, it’s hard not to like the clean and sophisticated look of this 16.9 oz. bottle. It’s appealing to the eye and gives off the vibe that the tea masters were hard at work when crafting this product. Overall, a satisfying and enjoyable product that’s cleanly executed, but it’s going to be hard for this product to compete with the more established and personable brands that are already out there.Reviewed on: 7/6/2009