Lipton Pure Leaf tea plastic bottles -- a new packaging review
I received Lipton products for purposes of review. All opinions here, however, are my own.
Lipton saw my recent comment about not being able to find the new size recyclable PET plastic bottles to match their last insert coupon, and sent over a couple of samples. These are 18.5 fl oz plastic bottles, as opposed to the old 16 fl oz glass bottles.
The packaging
MashupDad saw me open the box of these, and his first question was: "Why did someone send you a bunch of olive oil?" Don't store these by your cooking and baking supplies! lol
Honestly? I like the old bottles much better. Maybe I have little girlie hands, but I didn't find the new bottles at all ergonomic -- they were awkward to hold and drink from, and my hand didn't fit around the new bottle well... I'd pour this into a glass over ice, but I wouldn't drink it out of the bottle. They also don't fit well into the cup holder into my car.
Here's a pic of the old Lipton Pure Leaf glass bottle, for comparison. I do like that you get 2.5 more oz in the single serve Lipton Pure Leaf plastic bottles (it also comes in a bigger 59 oz multi-serve bottle), but the shape is really uncomfortable.
So why'd they design Lipton Pure Leaf plastic bottles that way?
According to Lipton, PET plastic is 100% recyclable, which makes the change to plastic bottles make more sense -- and also, the new bottles are more lightweight and have "higher pallet efficiency" which means they can pack more in and use less fuel. Ahh! that's why they are square. Although they could still put a little hand-friendly indentation in the middle of that rectangular bottom, I think...
The product
Here's some info Lipton sent over, which I'm sharing because I was actually curious how Pure Leaf differed: "This all-natural iced tea begins with the freshest tea leaves picked at their peak. The leaves are then hand-selected from China, India, Africa and South America for their distinctive and smooth flavor by Pure Leaf’s Master Tea Blenders. Pure Leaf is proud to be Rainforest Alliance Certified™ for sourcing our tea sustainably."
I'm currently sitting here drinking unsweetened, which contains brewed tea and citric acid. They also sent over sweet tea (brewed tea, sugar, citric acid), as well as lemon tea and green tea with honey. This is a good tea overall, and I like that they are sugar-sweetened with generally recognizable ingredients. But again, I prefer the old Lipton Pure Leaf glass bottles for the taste in addition to their being more ergonomic. Maybe it's completely psychological, but I think that the tea picks up a little of a plastic-y taste from the new Lipton Pure Leaf plastic bottles. I also wish they made more flavors of the unsweetened, because I usually prefer it over the sweet teas.
The fine print
Lipton provided Pure Leaf tea samples for the purposes of this review. All opinions in this post, however, are my own.
I used to drink 3 or more bottles of the pure leaf a day. Not anymore!! Lipton has totally lost my business. Not only does the tea itself taste like some form of mixed lemonade now but it also has that nasty plastic after taste to further insult you after you choked on the first taste. Why is it every time I find a product I like it either goes out of business or changes it's product?
Luckily the normal Snapple Tea is pretty good so I was able to find an acceptable replacement.
For the last few years I have noticed many a store run out of the original Lipton Pure Leaf in the glass bottles. Now days the rack is always full. I would love to see the truth published about how their sales have dropped like a rock.
It is absolutely NOT psychological at all. Glass is MUCH healthier of a packaging option! Proven. End of story. I work for a glass container manufacturer (Owens-Illinois). Some of our plants including our competitor Anchor, used to make these Lipton tea glass bottles. I used to drink 2 Extra Sweet Teas EVERYDAY. One day at the grocery store, I go to pick up my (2) 6-packs of lipton tea, and on the shelf were those horrid plastic bottles. I was instantly ticked off. I picked a case up to look at it breifly, and then literally threw it back on the shelf. Pure anger. I haven't drank one since. Lipton screwed up big time.
please visit GlassIsLife.com
Love your raspberry tea, the ingredients, and the shape of the bottle but am very health conscious and concerned about the plastic. It is hard to read and appears to be PET #1. Summary says not to reuse such bottles. Guess I will have to keep looking.
I love Pure Leaf teas, but I am very concerned about the plastic - if I reuse the bottles are they safe to drink out of?
You really don't want to keep reusing any plastic bottles that are intended for one time use.
And why not? That's a marketing ploy. I wash it out and refill it from the quart size.
Just a comment about the shape of the bottle.... it looks like a steak sauce bottle and that's all I ever think about when I see the TV ad.... how gross it would be to drink steak sauce. haha. It is so unappealing a thought that I don't even want to try the tea. Others have commented that is looks like olive oil or whiskey... and it doesn't fit into cup holders. Maybe corporate should rethink this one!
Unfortunately, I really, really, rea. . (that's enuf)...like the dark blue Sweet Tea. Drink a lot of them! Especially
when it's hot outside. The thing I find annoying though is the tea is filled up sooo high that I can count on spilling some down the front of my shirt! LOL Silly to complain about too much product! Also, I agree those bottles can be really hard to open. I'm an RN, so I know too much sugar can be hazardous to our health. I'm planning to cut back when it starts getting cool outside.....yeah, that's the ticket!
I LOVE the square bottles. I can fit two rows in the fridge door. The caps are larger. I only drink half at a time so I recap it and its not gross. I can wash and reuse. I prefer the subtly sweet.