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Honest Tea: (Fit) Bottoms Up for a Tasty Surprise

I’ve lived in Florida for nearly 14 years, and I’ve acclimated to a lot of changes. I might gripe about the stifling summer heat, but I can bear it. And I’m A-okay with being able to wear shorts and flip flops on Christmas.
But there are a couple of things I just cannot get on board with. Like boiled peanuts. And sweet tea. Did you know you that, when you order iced tea in Florida, you have to specify unsweet in order to avoid getting a cup of syrupy sweet tea-like drink? Well, you do. ASK ME HOW I KNOW.
honest tea review
Anyway, because of this, I’m always on the lookout for delicious teas that offer plenty of flavor without being so sweet or artificial tasting they make my teeth hurt. Honest Tea is one brand I tend to keep an eye out for — they offer a boatload of lightly sweetened real tea flavors. Not drinks flavored to resemble tea, but actual tea with just a hint of something else.
So, when they asked if I was interested in checking out a few samples, that was just about the biggest no brainer I’ve had since I started writing for Eats. I CAN HAZ ALL UR TEAS? Um, sure, send ’em over.
Spoiler alert: I liked them. A lot. But, I was actually surprised by which flavors I liked over others, which is a good reminder to not judge a book — or a tea — by its cover.

Heavenly Lemon Tulsi

This caffeine-free tea includes tulsi, an herb from India known as “holy basil.” It’s revered for its healing properties, and I was pretty geeked because lemon and basil is one of my favorite flavor combos. (In fact, I made a lemon basil cake earlier this year, but it ended up looking like a disaster so I didn’t cover it here. Even as a crumbly, unsightly mess it was delicious, though!)
I had expected a stronger lemon flavor, but it was really just a hint, letting the tulsi take center stage. I can understand why it’s considered healing and soothing — it was an unusually but wholly pleasant flavor profile.

Unsweet Lemon Tea

I was sure this would be my favorite since I almost always add just a small squeeze of lemon to my unsweet iced tea. And it was delicious, to be sure. The organic black tea was a stronger tea flavor than many bottled, unsweet iced teas you might find, but, well, if you like tea for its own flavor and not for the things it’s flavored with, this will be right up your alley. It’s exactly what it says it is, and once again, the lemon flavor is nice and subtle.

Honey Green Tea

I was also pretty confident about this one, since, when it comes to hot tea, green tea with honey is my go-to. However, I was left a bit unimpressed. It’s not that it wasn’t good, because honestly, it was — it just didn’t blow me away. I didn’t get as much honey flavor as I’d expected, I guess. Don’t get me wrong — I would still totally drink it any day and be happy about it. But, if I have some of these other options on hand, I might go with them first.

Moroccan Mint Green Tea

This was the big surprise of the group. I’ve never been much for minty teas — as a matter of fact, I once brewed some peppermint tea and thought it tasted like feet — but I was willing to give this a go, and I’m glad I did. I think it’s the most unusual of the bunch — I’ve definitely never tasted a tea like this, especially not out of a single serving bottle — but it was light, crisp, refreshing … and gone way too soon. Believe it or not, this is the one I’m tracking down and stocking up on.
If you love lightly flavored, unsweet teas, this whole line up is sure to please your palate, but keep an open mind because you just might be surprised at which ones you like best. What’s your favorite iced tea flavor? —Kristen

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