As the Natural Food & Beverage category grows and consumers believe that “natural” is a key indicator for health and wellness,iced tea drinkers will find the new 100% Natural Lipton Iced Teas – which are made up of the finest-quality Lipton teas, real sugar and natural flavors – on shelves in 20-ounce bottles.
“We know tea, and our new 100% Natural Lipton Iced Tea line, which includes refreshing new flavors, offers yet another way for people to enjoy tea…”
If this is the new tea, does that mean the old tea wasn’t natural?
What you need to know:
It’s all about marketing, as you probably know. The new Lipton iced tea isn’t very different from the old one. And it’s nothing to brag about.
Here is the ingredient list:
Tea (Water, Tea Extract from Tea Leaves), Sugar, Citric Acid, Natural Flavor, REB A (Purified Stevia Extract)
Notice that the second ingredient is sugar. There are 13 grams (just over 3 teaspoons) per serving. But the bottle has 2.5 servings, or over 8 teaspoons!!
And if this amount of sugar does not sweeten the drink enough, processed stevia is added as well (REB A).
Citric acid is a naturally found chemical that is responsible for the tart flavor of lemons. However, the citric acid found in beverages is manufactured through the use of Aspergillus Niger, a mold that feeds on cheap corn syrup glucose.
And where do the blueberry and pomegranate flavors come from? The mysterious ingredient know as “Natural Flavor”.
Obviously there is no nutrition value here, natural or not, just 125 empty calories.
What to do at the supermarket:
The best natural hydration you will ever find is water. Iced teas drinks usually mean a lot of sugar added. Best to stay away or find brands that are unsweetened.
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