For being a smaller grocery store, Trader Joe’s, which is a cousin to Aldi, has a large selection of drinks including juice, sparkling beverages, tea, coffee, and alcohol. My husband and I like a lot of their teas, including their Winter Wake Up Tea and their Harvest Blend Herbal Tea. TJ’s sipping chocolate is unique, and we’ve also enjoyed some of their sparkling drinks such as the sparkling strawberry and sparkling watermelon juice beverages.
This year, Trader Joe’s shoppers rated a black tea and peach juice mashup as a runner-up in the beverages category in the Trader Joe’s 14th Annual Choice Awards. I like black tea. In fact, I drink hot tea every day, including several types of black tea. I also like peaches. So when I spotted this beverage at one of my local TJ’s stores, I bought some to try at home.
Trader Joe’s Sparkling Black Tea with Peach Juice Beverage cost $3.99 at the time of publication for a carton that contains four 8.45-ounce cans, or about $1 per can. This is a product of Vietnam.
Ingredients are brewed black tea (water, black tea), peach juice, carbon dioxide, citric acid (acidifier), and ascorbic acid (to maintain color).
This is pasteurized. Once a can is opened, keep it refrigerated and consume within one day.
Nutrition information and ingredients. (Click to enlarge.)
One can has 15 calories, no fat, 15 mg of sodium (1% DV), 3 grams of total carbohydrates (1% DV), 2 grams of total sugars, and no added sugars. I appreciate that this doesn’t have extra sugar.
The box states you can enjoy this “chilled, over ice or straight from the can. Add it to a cocktail or mocktail, garnished with a sprig of mint. Make it the base of a creamy, pitch-perfect peach float.”
As for how this tastes, it’s unique. It has definite peach notes that add a little sweetness, along with bitter notes I’m familiar with in many sparkling drinks, with a hint of black tea flavor. I’m not sure it screams black tea. If I tasted this blindfolded without knowing what it is, I’d guess it is some sort of fruity sparkling water. It’s not bad compared to other sparkling drinks, though. If you’re a fan of iced tea, this could be a fun variation on the popular drink.
The Verdict:
Trader Joe’s Sparkling Black Tea with Peach Juice Beverage takes iced tea to the next level by adding fizz. We like the peach flavor, but the tea flavor seems a little weak. Overall, though, this is decent if you like sparkling drinks, and we like that it doesn’t contain added sugar.
