Finding the best Arizona flavor wasn’t easy, and that’s coming from someone who tastes things for a living. First of all, there are a lot of flavors. For this taste test, I sat down to two dozen hulking 23-ounce cans of sugary, gas station teas and fruit juice bevs, which is a daunting experience in itself. Secondly, most of these taste pretty f***ing good. In my youth, when I didn’t care how much sugar I consumed and spent a lot more time popping into convenience stores because I smoked a pack of grits every couple of days, I drank a good amount of Arizona. In 2001, I was incapable of passing up 23 ounces of green tea (with ginseng) or grapeade for a mere 99 cents. Now I am old and fusty, and drinking 50-plus grams of sugar in one sitting isn’t something I do unless I’m feeling self-destructive. Or, you know, I’m being paid to. 

When I set out to taste and rank the best Arizona tea flavors, it came down to both flavor accuracy and overall drinkability. I wanted the teas to taste like tea, and the ades to taste like the fruit they were ade-ing. Flavors that were inaccurate, unremarkable, or inscrutable lost points. I know there’s a whole fandom around Arizona, so I’m curious what you people (hi) think of this ranking of the best Arizona flavors. Feel free to comment, but remember that being hopped up on sugar isn’t an excuse to be agro.

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Arizona!

Okay, this one just tasted bad to me. The generic, artificial “tropical” flavor overwhelmed any hint of tea, even though tea should account for half its flavor, right? One Arizona flavor had to come in last place. This is the one.

Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon

Rating:

5/10

Sporks

Arizona!

When lemonade is bad, it’s really bad. This one isn’t bad, it’s just not good. To me it tastes like a sweeter version of the juice in that little, squeezy, lemon-shaped bottle you keep in the door of your fridge for lemon juice emergencies. I wouldn’t buy this again. 

Credit: Liv Averett / Arizona

Rating:

5.5/10

Sporks

Arizona!

This bills itself as tea “with raspberry flavor,” but the raspberry flavor overwhelms the tea. This may be the best Arizona flavor for people who want some caffeine from tea but actually want to drink candy-sweet fruit juice, but it’s a no for me. I’ll admit my aversion has at least a little to do with the raspberry aroma, which gave me stomach-churning flashbacks to nights spent drinking way too much Raspberry Smirnoff.

Credit: Liv Averett / ShopRite

Rating:

5.5/10

Sporks

Arizona!

An herbal tonic, eh? It smells like passion fruit bubble tea, but tastes like a shelf-stable passion fruit juice (and I don’t mean that in a good way). This is described on the can as “an invigorating blend of green tea, tropical & citrus fruits, panax ginseng, eleuthero root, guarana, schisandra, and vitamins A, C, E.” I don’t know who schisandra is, but maybe I don’t want to know? Anyway, I resent that this presents itself as a health bev but contains 71 grams of sugar. 

Credit: Liv Averett / DoorDash

Rating:

5.5/10

Sporks

Arizona!

Fake watermelon flavor is good for candy, but less good for beverages. This tastes like a mediocre fruit punch—their actual Fruit Punch (see number 10) is much better. 

Credit: Liv Averett / DoorDash

Rating:

6/10

Sporks

Arizona!

This is good, but the peach green tea (see number 7) is better because it has more tea flavor. It smells like peach rings and tastes a bit like peach juice concentrate, but it’s got a little tang, too. Totally inoffensive, but not one of the best Arizona flavors.

Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon

Rating:

6.5/10

Sporks

Arizona!

This mangoade really isn’t bad, but if someone handed me this can in a paper bag and made me identify the flavor, I don’t think I could. It’s like a nondescript tropical flavor.

Credit: Liv Averett / DoorDash

Rating:

6.5/10

Sporks

Arizona!

I used to love Arizona Grapeade. Now, it’s just too sweet and artificial tasting for my grown-up palate. 

Credit: Liv Averett / DoorDash

Rating:

7/10

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Arizona!

This actually contains more fruit juice than other Arizona ades (10% versus 5%), but it’s still pretty water-and-corn syrupy. It has a pretty mild tangerine flavor. I do appreciate that it’s not overly sweet.

Credit: Liv Averett / Arizona

Rating:

7/10

Sporks

Arizona!

I hate myself for thinking this is kind of good. It’s really, really juicy and tasty, albeit cotton-candy sweet. I can’t see an adult wanting to consume this, but you are a bad teen who is skipping school so you can smoke cigarettes outside of the convenience store, this will really hit the spot! 

Credit: Liv Averett / Arizona

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Arizona!

This is a sip of the ‘90s and I love it. I think we all agreed a long time ago that strawberry-kiwi-flavored things don’t have to taste like actual fruit, so this works. It’s sweet, but in my opinion, it’s less cloying than Snapple Kiwi Strawberry. If you want actual fruit flavor, look elsewhere! 

Credit: Liv Averett / DoorDash

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks

Arizona!

If you like really sweet iced tea, opt for the Southern Style Real Brewed Sweet Tea (number 6 on this list). This tastes a lot like that, but with a little bit of an acidic tang that honestly just makes it harder to drink—especially if you plan on downing all 23 ounces.

Credit: Liv Averett / Vons

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks

Arizona!

I actually drank this whole can because it’s diet! As in actually “diet” and not “lite”—in Arizona parlance, lite just means lower sugar, but diet is actually zero sugar. That said, this does not taste excellent at all. All of the flavors sort of just mush together and I don’t get a lot of lemony tartness. Nothing that feels genuine, anyway. But, you could certainly do a lot worse for a sugar-free bev! 

Credit: Liv Averett / Arizona

Rating:

8.5/10

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Arizona!

I ranked the “lite,” non-pink version of this higher (see number 9) because it has a much more reasonable amount of sugar (38 versus 68 grams), although both taste quite good. This one also gets bonus points for its absolutely beautiful can. If he wasn’t dead, I’d love to join Arnie on that porch!

Credit: Liv Averett / Arizona

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks

Arizona!

Hey look, we’ve made it to the top 10! This Arizona flavor has a very classic “fruit punch” flavor—that tart blend of cherry, pineapple, and whatever else. When it comes to the fruity beverages, this is the best Arizona flavor because it only had to taste like “punch,” not like a specific fruit. It works!

Credit: Liv Averett / Wikimedia

Rating:

9/10

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Arizona!

This one strikes a pretty good balance. It’s a little more tart than the diet Arnold Palmer, but it’s not as sugary as the Sweet Tea & Pink Lemonade (also, it has 38 grams of sugar versus 68 grams in the pink). Anyway, it tastes kind of like tea, kind of like cheap lemonade, and a lot like gas station pit stops in the middle of nowhere. 

Credit: Liv Averett / Arizona

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

Arizona!

Wouldja look at Jack Nicklaus horning in on Arnold Palmer’s turf? Sorry, Arnie, but this strawberry lemonade named after another golf man is very good. It’s “lite,” which means it’s reduced sugar, plus it’s really tangy and has a good strawberry flavor. Nice one, Jack.

Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon

Rating:

9.5/10

Sporks

Arizona!

Spoiler: Arizona Green Tea with Ginseng & Honey is the best of the Arizona green teas (and the best Arizona flavor overall), but if you are into peach tea, this is good! It’s peachy but not in an icky peach rings way. Pretty mild and pleasant. Not bad!

Credit: Liv Averett / Wikimedia

Rating:

9.5/10

Sporks

Arizona!

Southern-style sweet tea is sweet as hell (at one point, I was responsible for making the tea at an Applebee’s in Jacksonville, Florida, so I consider myself an authority on the subject). This is so, so sweet, but that’s how it should be. I do wish the black tea flavor was a little bolder, but this benefits from not having added lemon or fruit flavor. It goes down real smooth. 

Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart

Rating:

9.5/10

Sporks

Arizona!

Usually, a diet bev leaves you with an artificial-sweetener aftertaste in your mouth. This one brings faux sugar up front, and then mellows out a lot as you sip. I think this is a great option if you like Arizona tea, but don’t want to drink buckets of sugar. 

Credit: Liv Averett / Arizona

Rating:

9.5/10

Sporks

Arizona

We’re here to have fun, though, right? Honestly, this extra sweet version of Arizona’s iconic green tea tastes very good. It says extra sweet and it is extra sweet. That said, I don’t think the extra sweetness really enhances the green tea flavor, so the original is still king.

Credit: Liv Averett / eBay

Rating:

9.5/10

Sporks

Arizona!

I didn’t love most of the sun brewed teas with juice, but this was an exception, as you can tell from its position in this ranking. This was the only one that lived up to its billing: tea, first and foremost, with added fruit flavor. Cranberry juice is a secondary flavor and it adds just a little bit of tang, without tasting too citric acid-y. It’s so good! 

Credit: Liv Averett / Wikimedia

Rating:

10/10

Sporks

Arizona!

Because Arizona bevs aren’t usually carbonated, I wasn’t sure if this one would be, even though carbonation is an essential part of a Rickey. Good news: It is! Good news pt. 2: It’s really good! There’s something delicious about this cherry flavor. It’s juicy and cherry pie-like rather than medicinal. The lime flavor is less prominent, but I think that’s okay. The fizz is great. This is super refreshing and tasty, and it would be extremely good with vodka or gin if you’re up for it. 

Credit: Liv Averett / Arizona

Rating:

10/10

Sporks

Arizona!

We did it! We made it to the best Arizona flavor! I mean, Arizona Green Tea with Ginseng and Honey is just such a classic, and it still tastes as good as you remember. According to the can, it’s America’s best selling ready-to-drink green tea, and I believe it. (The can also says it’s GREAT HOT. Who woulda thunk?) Anyway, this is still the perfect drink to pick up at a gas station—whether or not you need a pack of smokes.

Credit: Liv Averett / DoorDash

Rating:

10/10

Sporks

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