Two If By Tea

Product Type:Tea: Sweetened; Container: 16 oz PET
BevNET Review: The flagship flavor of Rush Limbaugh’s “Two If By Tea” is this flavor, Original Sweet Tea. While it’s not an original flavor per se (you can find this in many other tea brands), the execution is consistent and enjoyable. The product is made with black tea, sugar, water, natural flavors, and phosphoric acid (a preservative), which impart 120 calories and 30 grams of sugar per bottle. That said, the flavor is on par with other mainstream sweet tea beverages, so it’s certainly a viable alternative if that’s what you are in the mood for. Packaging is a stock 16 oz. PET bottle with a white cap that features a label around its midsection. If it weren’t for strong design execution, we’d probably think differently about this product. They’ve done a really nice job of creating something that looks professional and polished. However, it fails to whet the appetite, with a clever play on “Paul Revere’s Ride” (complete with Rush Limbaugh as a tea-drinking version of Paul Revere). The one thing that it does lack is a connection between the image (which almost looks like something you’d see on a book cover) and the fact that this is a food product that must ultimately appeal to the consumer’s senses. Finally, we think that the in-your-face approach of this product will result in a potential market that is limited to some subset of Rush Limbaugh’s existing fan base. Making it less about Rush Limbaugh and more about the quality of the product (a la Newman’s Own) might help this brand realize its full potential. Overall, a good entry, but it could still be improved upon. Reviewed on: 6/23/2011

Product Type:Tea: Sweetened; Container: 16 oz PET
BevNET Review: The Diet Original Tea is a black tea that has been sweetened with sucralose and ace-k to achieve a zero calorie, sugar-free formulation. From a flavor perspective, it’s drinkable, but there is a noticeable artificial sweetener flavor to it. Really though, our issues are not with the flavor – it’s with the packaging. First, it looks way too similar to the non diet Original Sweet Tea, with only a difference of words and silver instead of gold accent colors. Simply put, it’s hard to tell the difference between the two from anything but up close. Second, we take issue with the “Naturally flavored with other natural flavors” claim that is made on the front of the label. This is not an all-natural product (it contains artificial sweeteners and preservatives). The wording, which seems rather redundant (wouldn’t “naturally flavored” suffice?) will certainly lead some consumers to believe that these products are all natural. While we cannot say that it was done to intentionally mislead or simply a rookie mistake, it’s something that should be addressed. Otherwise, this product is certainly a viable option when it comes to sugar free sweetened tea. Reviewed on: 6/23/2011

Product Type:Tea: Sweetened; Container: 16 oz PET
BevNET Review: The Raspberry Tea flavor of Two If By Tea is a sugar sweetened mixture of black tea, raspberry flavoring, natural flavors, and citric acid. It’s an enjoyable product to drink (it’s our favorite of the bunch), although the calorie conscious consumer might be wary of the drink’s 160 calories and 40 grams of sugar per bottle. Visually, the red background on the label has a much more appealing presence than the blue used on the original, with our eyes definitely gravitating towards this product. The parody of Paul Revere is clever and well executed, but there’s still something missing from it to better connect it with the fact that it’s being placed on a bottle of iced tea. Specifically, there should be something that says to the consumer that this is a good product because Rush Limbaugh is involved. As it stands now, that’s not the case, leaving it as something that feels like it’s trying to make an abstract political or ego statement. Overall, a nice tasting product, but we feel as though more could be done to improve upon this drink’s marketability – especially if they take this product beyond mail order.Reviewed on: 6/23/2011