I Tried All Milo's Iced Tea Flavors And Ranked Them

Is anything more refreshing on a hot day than a cold glass of delicious iced tea? Iced tea is one of my go-to summertime afternoon drinks when I've run out of decaf cold brew; it has enough caffeine to get me through the midafternoon slump without giving me the jitters, and it makes for the tastiest treat when served alongside some high-quality shortbread cookies. But, as with everything, not all iced tea is created equal. 

Enter: Milo's Tea Co., a family-owned producer of tea and lemonade that's been around since 1946. Milo's prides itself on being women-owned, a Platinum-Certified Zero-Waste Manufacturer, and on keeping preservatives and added colors out of its products. All are certainly admirable qualities, but does the resulting product deserve raucous acclaim? Answering that question was the mission of today's piece, and I'm happy to report that I really like what the Milo's lineup had to offer. When ranking these, I took into account how sweet the tea tasted and whether the tea was made better or worse by any additional ingredients (when applicable).

Some recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

You're about to learn that I don't like my iced tea sweet, and your definition of whether Milo's Extra Sweet Tea is actually "good" or not depends on your personal taste. If you prefer to add oodles of sugar to your black tea or coffee, you might want to grab this bottle. But if you prefer your iced tea to have a more neutral sweetness, it's probably best to go with one of my higher-ranked choices.

I found this bottle of tea to be very cloying. It almost tasted like a tea-flavored simple syrup. To that end, I could see using this tea in other beverages for its flavor, but I wouldn't drink it on its own. If you like your tea to taste syrupy-sweet, chances are you'll be a fan of this bottle. 

My next choice was Milo's Famous Sweet Tea, which had the advantage of not being as sweet as the Extra Sweet Tea. On the one hand, I really appreciate that this tea only has three ingredients: filtered water, pure cane sugar, and fresh-brewed tea. On the other hand, a short ingredient list isn't enough on its own to turn me on to a drink; such was the case here.

Again, if you like sweet tea, you'll be into this. I hardly ever have drinks that contain sugar, and I think that's why these tasted especially sweet to me. My palate is more used to artificial sweeteners at this point. As far as sweet teas go, I can say that this one is quite good, especially if you're sensitive to artificial sweeteners. It's clear that real sugar is used, which makes it taste very natural. But, as a girl who doesn't favor sweet tea, I couldn't rank it higher than sixth place. 

Now, this bottle was more up my alley, and while I still thought that Milo's Zero-Sugar Sweet Tea was a little too sweet for my palate, I liked that it didn't taste overly sugary. I could tell artificial sweetener (sucralose) was used instead of regular sugar, but I didn't mind it in the slightest. If you've been drinking Diet Coke rather than regular Coke for years on end, you'll probably have the same opinion of this tea.

I still prefer unsweetened tea, but that didn't stop me from liking this zero-sugar tea. Though still sweet, it was less intense than either of the lower-ranked teas, which endeared me to it a little more. If you're firmly anti-artificial sweetener and can detect it even in the smallest proportions, this might not be the bottle for you; otherwise, uncap and enjoy — or go with one of my higher-ranked selections. 

Tea and lemonade is a classic flavor combo, and for good reason: Bright, zingy lemonade works as a beautiful foil for black tea, which is more on the bitter side. Together, the two are tasty and thirst-quenching, and full of flavor to boot. The only reason I didn't rank this higher than spot number four is that I wish unsweetened tea had been used here. The combo of sweet tea and lemonade messed with the balance of the drink a little, once again making it too sweet for me. 

But still, you can't really go wrong with an Arnold Palmer-esque combo. This fits the bill very well, and the tea and lemonade both came through in equal proportions — I was pleased that neither stood out over the other. If Arnold Palmers tend to be your go-to, you just might find a very suitable dupe in Milo's Sweet Tea & Lemonade. 

By this point, you're probably not surprised to see Milo's Famous Unsweet Tea take the third-place spot on this list. I found exactly what I was looking for in this little bottle: a really good, clearly high-quality iced tea that effortlessly shone in its simplicity. I get why consumers like sweet tea, but if you've ever wanted to try unsweetened tea, I'd recommend Milo's in a heartbeat.

This iced tea avoided a major pitfall that many others succumb to: It wasn't bitter in the slightest but was still plenty flavorful. It'll show consumers that, when an iced tea is really good, it doesn't need to be sweetened. Moreover, when the mood does call for a sweeter offering, you can always sweeten it to your liking. I'd probably dilute honey in a bit of hot water and shake it into the bottle. I won't be doing that often, though. This is plenty good on its own and it will definitely be a go-to for me once summer rolls around. 

If you thought sweet tea and lemonade were a match made in heaven, let me turn you on to something a little different: Milo's Lemon Sweet Tea. I know they sound virtually identical, but while the former is a blend of sweet tea and lemonade, this jug is the brand's sweet tea with some lemon added. I found the Sweet Tea and Lemonade to still be a little too sweet for my taste, as was the Famous Sweet Tea on its own. This offering, though, was just right.

The lemon was the perfect balance to the sweet tea here. It's very zingy, and brightens up the whole drink, making it taste a little less sweet than the standard Sweet Tea. Though the lemon flavor is in abundance, the drink isn't sour in the slightest. It would be another good offering for fans of the tea-and-lemon flavor profile. However, it couldn't usurp my number-one choice. 

Do you prefer your tea to be on the fruity side? If so, I heartily recommend Milo's Blackberry Sweet Tea, and I'm sad that it's a limited-edition product. This was easily my favorite of Milo's iced tea offerings — not because I didn't like the others, but because this one was exceptionally good without being cloying in the slightest.

The blackberry flavor was there in droves, and it almost overshadowed the actual tea flavor a little bit, but I didn't mind in the least. The two flavors blend together absolutely seamlessly. The tea is even a little tart, likely due to the addition of lemon juice. Most of all, though, it screams "summer" in abundance — I can easily imagine biting into a juicy blackberry when drinking this tea, which brings a certain childhood nostalgia I'll never say no to. If blackberry sweet tea is at all of interest to you, do yourself a favor and grab a gallon (or two, or five) of Milo's before it's gone. 

To rank Milo's full lineup of iced teas, I tried them all back-to-back and sipped water in between to cleanse my palate. I found that a large part of my ranking was shaped by my own bias against sweet tea. I'll always get my tea unsweetened when I can, and, being that I'm used to "diet" drinks (and therefore the taste of artificial sweetener), the sugary flavor of the sweet teas was a little too much for me.

Still, I liked it when the sweetness in the tea was balanced out by another component, which is why the Blackberry Sweet Tea and Lemon Sweet Tea ranked at the top of my list. I found these to be especially well-rounded offerings that provide an abundance of flavor to the drinker without being too cloying.