Review of Arizona Iced Tea with Natural Lemon Flavor

So I recently picked up the twenty three ounce tall can of Arizona Iced tea with natural lemon flavor. The enticement of paying a buck for almost a double sized portion beverage made this an easy choice.

Here is my quick breakdown on this beverage:

Positives:

•  The price. At ninety nine cents this is a steal of price that can be beat by other beverages. Even a twenty ounce soda is more expensive.
•   Less heavy than soda. This is a sweetened beverage but has only slightly fewer calories than a soda. The tea comes off lighter due to the absence of carbonation and thus is more refreshing.
•   Quantity – This tall can will easily pour over two to three glasses of ice and serve more than one person. While it is a large can, it still magically fits in my car cup holder.

Negatives

• Too much citrus flavor. Though the first ingredient is tea, I felt like the strongest element of this beverage was lemon flavor. I really only refer to this as iced tea because that is what the label shows.
•  Corn syrup is the sweetener. Arizona does not hold back on its use of corn syrup in this drink. I would have preferred cane sugar for a lighter finish. I wish more beverage companies would resort to using cane sugar instead of syrups.
•  Calories – Though this drink is only slightly lighter than calories of a coca cola or sprite, I still think the calories are way too high for an iced tea beverage.

Overall

The return on one dollar spent is good considering you get almost three servings in this tall can. The quality leaves a bit to be desired since I really enjoy true iced tea, and the tea flavor is definitely lacking here. This drink could be more passable with more tea flavor and less lemon and syrup. Still I would consider this 23 ounce drink much more refreshing up against a soda. A Lipton Pure leaf or Snapple tea beverage has Arizona beat in flavor, but they are also way more expensive. I would consider this drink an average buy at best.