Just Ice Tea: A Favorite Bottled Tea Returns

June 27, 2023 at 9:39 am · Filed under Coffee & Tea, Product Reviews, The Nibble, Top Pick Of The Week

Bottle Of Just Ice Tea Original Green Tea Unsweetened
[1] Original Green Tea, which along with Original Black Tea are the two unsweetenened, zero-calorie teas in the line (all photos © Eat The Change).

Bottle Of Just Ice Tea Berry Hibiscus Herbal Tea
[2] Berry Hibiscus, one of the two herbal (caffeine-free) teas in the line.

Bottle Of Just Ice Tea Half Iced Tea Half Lemonade
[3] Our personal favorite, Half Tea & Half Lemonade (also known as the Arnold Palmer).

3 Bottles Of Honest Tea - Just A Tad Sweet
[4] A tribute to the OG line of premium bottled teas, Honest Tea.

Thank goodness for Just Ice Tea. We just returned from the specialty food industry’s big annual trade show, showcasing some 2,000 food producers who sample their wares. It’s hard work, going up and down the aisles tasting chocolate, then barbecue sauce, then pepperoni, then hot sauce…after just two rows (out of 70+ rows) one can get a bit woozy.

So after 10 rows, staggering under all of the carbs that had broken down into sugar in our bloodstream, we came to the booth of Just Ice Tea. A bottle of Just Ice Tea refreshed us so much, that it is deservedly our Top Pick Of The Week.

It turns out that Just Ice Tea is a rebirth of a Nibble favorite that had been acquired by Coca-Cola: Honest Tea.

Honest Tea was founded in 1998. In 2011, the brand was sold to Coca-Cola. Goldman served as “TeaEO” of Honest Tea through 2015 and stayed closely involved with the brand through 2019. He then shifted to launch his new food company, Eat the Change*, with chef Spike Mendelsohn.

Last year, Coca-Cola decided to discontinue Honest Tea—a pricey product that didn’t give them the margins they were seeking. Based on the terms of the purchase, the original founders of Honest Tea were able to go back into the iced tea business. They just couldn’t use the name Honest Tea.

The new brand, Just Ice Tea, officially launched on September 20, 2022. We would have called it Just Iced Tea, i.e. tea that is iced.

However, founder Seth Goldman noted that the name “Just Ice Tea” also sounds like “justice,” following the “honesty”-inspired Honest Tea.

Whether ice or iced, the brand is part of founder Goldman’s larger company, Eat the Change.

JUST ICE TEA FLAVORS

As with Honest Tea, Just Ice Tea is “just sweet enough.” It uses as little sweetener (organic agave syrup†) as possible.

The brand is USDA Certified Organic, Fair Trade Certified, and OU Kosher.

There’s something for everyone in this line, each refreshing and low in calories.

Berry Hibiscus Herbal Tea (60 calories per bottle, 16g total sugars)

Half Tea & Half Lemonade (90 calories per bottle, 23g total sugars)

Honey Green Tea (70 calories per bottle, 16g total sugars)

Lemon Ginger Herbal Tea (60 calories per bottle, 16g total sugars)

Mango White Tea (60 calories per bottle, 16g total sugars)

Moroccan Mint Green Tea (30 calories per bottle (9g total sugars)