Do you drink bottled tea?
Hi, I am a design student trying to design a bottled tea drink for tea drinkers. I would love to learn about your perception about bottled tea. Do you drink it or not? If you do, how often, in what occasion and what do you like about it? If not, why?
Thanks a lot in advance! Any thought would be helpful on my project!
I drink it more in the summer than the colder seasons. I’ll keep 1-3 handy in my fridge just for those times I want something cold, refreshing, and not water. I tend to drink it more on the road than at home. I drink RTDs for their portability and convenience. I like being able to reuse the bottles. In the case of POM tea, I collected those glasses to just use around the house. I’ll make an impulse buy if the bottle or glass is intriguing.
I do that too! Usually what attracts my attention is the shape of the bottle… less often, the labels. If it intrigues me, I will buy out of curiosity, but usually I’m disappointed because it’s too sweet or overly flavored and doesn’t end up tasting like tea at all.
For sure. They usually disappoint. Sometimes I think they disappoint more when the glass is so awesome. I expect awesome tea to come out of an awesome glass.
The bottled tea I could bear with is usually too expensive for me and I am too stingy to buy :-p
Same here! I hate to spend more than $1, $1.50 tops, per unit. So I wind up drinking Diet Snapple – which I don’t consider to truly be tea, but more of a “tealike beverage.” The stuff I buy at the Japanese supermarket (Ito-En, Maeda-En) is decent, but I have to drive a half hour to get it. Gold Peak tea isn’t bad; it tastes more like actual tea. Honest Tea is OK, but most of the flavors have too much sweetener. I’m tired of all the bottled teas that are loaded with sugar and HFCS.
I have seen other brands that are probably better/healthier, but they are too costly.
I echo Infusion_Susan
Another vote for Gold Peak. Wish they made an unsweetened. Also Drink Lipton green tea citrus.
I think most here would agree bottled tea is more of a tealike beverage and a bit pricey for what it is. They are fast, take no effort, and are usually tastier than water.
Personally, I wouldn’t. I love water, and it is my go to cold drink of choice. I don’t really enjoyed iced tea in general (real or fake). The beau does have some Nestea powder that I will occasionally have, but I don’t really like it. As for iced tea (true tea) it’s just never grabbed me. I find the flavours muted and more like watery juice. Also a waste of tea, for me. : )
EDIT: If I were to drink a bottled tea, I definitely wouldn’t want it sweetened. That would be an automatic turn-off for me.
I like water too! When there is water, why put up with any beverage you aren’t 100% satisfied with? ;-)
Sometimes I drink bottled tea/lemonade blends during the summer, but I don’t like plain black iced tea, so I rarely buy just plain bottled tea. The exception is Teas’ Tea from Ito En, which I can find on campus here. They have a variety of flavors and offer a number of them unsweetened and only lightly sweetened, so I enjoy those, but they’re not very prevalent.
If I’m out and about, and thirsty and not in the mood for water, I will buy the occasional bottled tea. Not very often… I would say that I average about 4 – 6 bottled teas per year.
No. Most bottled tea is way too sweet and unpleasant. I like iced tea, but not what typically is sold in stores around here. If I’m out I have a Diet Coke or water, not iced tea. Bottled tea just doesn’t taste right to me. That said, I’m also a sucker for interesting bottles. I’d probably try something if it was a plain unsweet tea (no flavorings) in an interesting bottle. If the bottle was sufficiently interesting for use around the house, I could see myself buying the tea for the bottle and dumping it if it didn’t meet my flavor and sweetener preferences.
Thanks for your reply Camiah. A reusable bottle with certain usage would be interesting from a design perspective. Would you tell me more about what do you use your bottles for in your house?
I’ve reused bottles mainly as things like vases—I remember I once had a pair of wine bottles with a wide mouth (similar in size to a tea bottle mouth) with a flared base that I really liked and used as vases until I dropped one of them and broke it. I’ve also reused interesting bottles for rebottling vodka I flavored with vanilla for gifts, or flavored vinegars.
I’m cheap and carry my drinks from home. If I forget or run out, I get water. Most bottled beverages are huge disappointments to me for a variety of reasons. They are too sweet or taste artificial or like chemicals.
Does kombucha count? =]
Otherwise I just brew my own and put it old GT bottles. I suppose I’m just as bad with coconut water and juice…
To be honest, I only drink one bottled tea because it’s the only one I’ve liked. (Brambleberry by Tazo) Most “tea” in bottles is a step in the juice direction. I’ve tried some brands of bottled plain green teas and such but it’s just not the same as drinking something that I’ve prepared myself. I think a large reason why I also don’t drink bottled tea is because the cost is too high. I’d much rather buy loose leaf tea than pay for one cup at a time.
I love the bottled tea from ITO EN. It tastes great, and there are many non-sweetened varieties. But due to shipping, it is a little expensive. Their rectangular bottles were cool.
I have looked into it, but the price is about the same. I just buy it at the local grocery store or whole foods. But they are available online.
the unsweetened ITO ENs are the only bottled tea I’ll drink. and I’ll only reach for the green, jasmine, oolong, or black. not any with added flavors. i live in NY and just about any corner store carries them, so it is convenient when i am desperate for tea and can’t brew my own.
I prefer Ito En green (the “oi ocha” one) too. That, and Honest Tea’s Honey Green if I want something slightly sweeter, but still a noticable green tea flavor…
Have you also tried the ito en shots? I have tried the sencha shot and the oolong shot. They come in a little pop top can. They are amazing. The oolong one gives me a real energy boost…and I am not an energy drink person.
http://www.itoen.com/ito-en-shot.html
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