New Tea: It's Not Too Sweet

For anyone who has spent time in Asia, where rows of bottled, unsweetened teas line store fridges, the stuff sold in U.S. supermarkets can taste like pancake syrup. But enlightenment has arrived in the form of Teas' Tea, a line of unsweetened green teas from Ito En. Its six flavors are brewed from loose leaves and bottled in Japan (check www.itoen.com to purchase). Taste testers at TIME liked the "popcorn" flavor of Hoji and delicate Pure Green, though the utter lack of sugar startled some palates. Tea is hot these days: sales doubled between 1990 and last year, to $5.3 billion, according to the Tea Council of the U.S.A. But the sharpest increase came from ready-to-drink cold teas, whose sales grew 800% over the same period. If you want a hint of sweet, try Honest Tea's line of lightly sweetened organic teas. Still sweeter? Try SwissT's honey-infused Green Tea.