Name: MaryAnna’s Summer Sweet Tea
Brand: MaryAnna’s Tea
Type: Black tea, iced tea
Form: Bottled, prepared tea
Cost: $32.95 for a case of 12
Review: First things first. I am not overfond of sweetening in my tea, and for some reason, really don’t care for sweetened plain iced tea (aka sweet tea), though I do enjoy the occasional bubble tea or Thai iced tea. So when Mary Ann Rollano asked me if I would consider reviewing her bottled sweet tea, brewed from Nilgiri tea leaves and sweetened with pure cane sugar, I squirmed a bit.
But I said “yes” anyways.
The carefully packaged bottle of tea arrived in the mail a few days later. After letting it cool in the fridge, I poured some over ice and began my review.
The tea’s nose was of black tea and lemon (the Summer Sweet Tea is flavored with a bit of lemon juice concentrate), the lemon dominated, but was not overpowering. The tea’s color was a pretty, medium amber.
Finally the time came to drink the stuff: I braced myself and sipped.
(Gosh. This stuff was actually good !)
Now I am not going to trade in my Ti Kuan Yin anytime soon, but I did enjoy this tea. It lacked the funky-fake taste that plague most prepared teas, and while sweet, was not overly so. The mellow fullness of Nilgiri meshed well with the natural lemon juice flavoring, creating some rather interesting peach-like notes.
Most refreshing.
Incidentally, while I still prefer unsweetened tea, I applaud Mary Ann’s use of cane sugar in this brew. The sweetness was not overpowering, and there was none of the disagreeable aftertaste that is so common when drinking bottled teas.
Recommendation: Great for drinking on its own, or for a picnic or barbecue. If you can’t make your own sweet tea, this is an option that you should consider!
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