This is a question that I’ve always thought about but never really pursued. Say we’re talking about Arizona iced tea specifically. Why does the original flavor taste so different from Sweet Tea? They have almost the same sugar, so where does the huge taste difference come from? Same can be said about Arizona iced tea and getting iced tea at a restaurant, and sweetening it yourself. Where does the taste difference come from?
In: Other
Sweet tea of any kind is just black tea, water, and some form of sweetener.
Strength of tea – Some people/brands let the tea steep in the water longer, so it brews stronger tea. This affects flavor.
Sweetener – The amount of sweetener added changes the flavor (southern style iced tea is usually much sweeter than other alternatives). The type of sweetener matters too. Arizona uses high fructose corn syrup because it’s cheap in the US and shelf stable for a long time. Traditional southern style sweet tea made at home uses granulated sugar. These taste different. Lots of other products use stevia, aspartame, sucralose, etc. These all taste different.
Type of tea – black teas aren’t all the same. Ones grown/processed differently will taste different. Just like coffee from different parts of the world tastes different, but it’s all coffee.
Anything else – lemon will change the flavor, but is a common addition. Some places add fruit flavorings like peach or raspberry. Mint isn’t unheard of. All these will affect flavor.
Tl;DR: Sweet tea is a big category with many variables that affect how it tastes.
Latest Answers