Brian Nagele
Like a lighthouse beaconing in a world of eternal flux, Arizona Beverages stands out as an anchor of resistance.
Since 1992, Don Vultaggio has been steadfast and stubborn in his insistence that these gloriously generous servings of tea and fruit juice cocktail blends remain a mere $0.99, regardless of rising aluminum costs, transportation costs, and grocery prices.
Arizona is the embodiment of rebellion in a can, with a flair for design and gutsy willingness to remain true to who they are for three decades.
That kind of commitment to customer delight deserves our acknowledgment and to be placed apart from “big soda” brands like Coca-Cola and Pepsico.
To that end, let’s celebrate 9 of the best Arizona Tea we’ve had the privilege of sipping.
Green Tea With Ginseng and Honey
I would be remiss to pretend as if the packaging isn’t what tempted me towards the OG Arizona Green Tea with Ginseng and Honey.
It’s pure eye candy, draped in Japan’s iconic sakura blossoms pressed against a satiny blue sky, altogether too tempting to resist.
The honey is a sweet afterthought that caps off the vegetal grassiness of Arizona green tea and ginseng, an homage to the unoxidized youth of the tea leaves.
If you’re toying with the idea of trying Arizona for the first time, start here. It sets a precedent that’s guaranteed to have you turning your nose up at other iced teas and more willing to branch out into their entire catalog of heavenly flavors.
Arnold Palmer
Iced tea and lemonade are a natural pairing, quintessential as peanut butter and jelly or chips and queso.
Yet, the Arizona Arnold Palmer manages to create a lush, evocative mouthfeel of half iced tea, half lemonade.
The lemonade stickily lingers as the tea washes down easily, not unlike the mighty rivers that once sculpted the Grand Canyon out of limestone, sandstone, and shale.
They sing a bitter-sweet harmony, striking a chord that is both symphonic and discordant but never unpleasant.
All in all, it’s a pleasant contradiction of sharp and sugared that is as addictive as it is perplexing.
Iced Tea With Lemon Flavor
As you would expect, Arizona Ice Tea with Lemon Flavor is a citrusy delight that harkens back to simpler times spent sitting on a porch swing while you listen to starlings and finches hold court in the treetops.
This variety has a quiet pride, stubbornly refusing to posture as anything more than what it is– A cold, refreshing sip of sunshine anchored in a foundation crafted from well-brewed black tea and pure cane sugar.
Iced Tea with Lemon Flavor is the definition of timeless, content to let other, more glitzy flavors take center stage without sacrificing its quiet dignity and comforting tang.
Iced Tea With Raspberry Flavor
Charming and lady-like, Arizona’s Iced Tea with Raspberry Flavor is a sophisticate that demands respect. She won’t stand for slurping, chugging, or frivolity.
Rather, it’s more like a fine wine with an aroma that only enhances the dainty, fresh-picked flavor of ripe berries.
From the first sip, Iced Tea with Raspberry Flavor is deceptively fragrant, teasing a full-bodied experience that will overwhelm the tongue with saccharine, artificial flavor.
Yet, as it tangos over your taste buds, the earthiness of the black tea provides a brawny balance, giving the berries a platform to entice and delight without the need for ostentatiousness.
Peach Iced Tea
Step aside, Snapple. There’s only one grocery store cooler peach iced tea drink I’m interested in letting traverse my tongue.
Cracking into an Arizona Peach Tea is like being party to a heartfelt waltz between two simple, Southern souls under the Georgian sun.
The delicate black tea and real peach juice mingle together into something more significant than the sum of their parts. It’s more than hydration. It’s an experience.
Peach Iced Tea is the quintessential flavor of summer in one charmingly pink package, gracing you with all the joy of letting the juice of a freshly-bit peach dribble down your chin without the mess.
Southern Style Sweet Tea
Unabashedly bold in its syrupy sweetness, Southern Style Sweet Tea is as close to the honeyed accent of a Tennessean car salesman as you can get in a beverage.
Imagine, if you will, the leftover treacle from a piece of peach cobbler or crystallized buttercream melting on your tongue, and you’ll be halfway to understanding the glucose goodness that those billowing steamboat clouds on the sweet tea can signify.
I recommend enjoying it on the rocks alongside a slice of pecan pie or barefooted in the dewy grass of your backyard because this tea tastes like Sunday lunch at Grandma’s house– blissfully simple and comforting to its core.
RX Energy Herbal Tonic
Did you know that Arizona iced tea makes energy drinks?
For those that prefer to keep their energy drink experience a little more grounded, Arizona’s RX Energy Herbal Tonic is herbaceous, crisp, and a welcome departure from the synthetic taste of other pepped-up refreshments.
The potent concoction blends green tea, Panax, guarana, ginseng, Schisandra, vitamins A, C, E, lemon, and mango puree into a delightfully verdant experience that just toes the line of tasting too medicinal thanks to the tropical twist.
While it’s not as lip-smackingly scrumptious as the classic, it’s a fresh take on Arizona iced tea and one that promises a loyal following of caffeine-avoidant night owls in need of a midday boost.
Check out some other healthier energy drinks you can try!
Mucho Mango
Pure indulgence comes in the form of Arizona’s Mucho Mango, a fruit juice cocktail more akin to the ambrosia and nectar enjoyed by the gods of Olympus than any other beverage available here on terra firma.
Some may call it tooth-achingly cloying, and I won’t deny that a single can is more than enough to make me feel like I’m vibrating from the sugar rush.
That being said, the few, fleeting moments of jitteriness are well worth the opportunity to nurse this can of pure, unadulterated magic.
Mucho Mango provides your recommended daily value of joie de vivre for the low price of $0.99, a position that few other material goods can claim.
Arnold Palmer Strawberry
It’s a rare phenomenon when a sequel is better than the original, but the addition of sweet-as-pie strawberry elevates the classic Arnold Palmer to a new plane of existence.
It truly transcends into a new galaxy of bitter, sweet, and tantalizingly tart.
They say space is the final frontier, but I respectfully dissent. Instead, I have strong proof that Arizona has thoroughly explored the quantum realm of flavor by creating something perfectly balanced, refreshingly fragrant, and sorbet smooth.
Excellent, thy name is Arnold Palmer Strawberry.
Change is scary, but Arizona does not. It is ubiquitous in many of our childhoods, a genuine bargain that never disappoints, available at gas stations, corner shops, and grocery stores across the nation.
In their 30 years of service, they’ve proven that brand loyalty is, indeed, worth investing in, and in this case, it comes at the low cost of less than a dollar.
Think you could wax poetic on the joy that a cold, crisp can of Arizona Tea brings to your life? Tell us your favorite flavor and why it stands out from the rest in the comments below!
