I have a theory about Milo's tea...

[zblongladder]

When I was growing up, you'd hear all kinds of wild rumors about how Milo's gets that distinctive taste to their sweet tea...a popular rumor I remember was that it was sweetened with watermelon juice. (Have tried; can confirm that's not the case.)

Milo's claims that its tea is just tea, water, and sugar, and I'm inclined to believe them. I think they get the distinct flavor from a proprietary tea blend, brewed strong. (I have enough sleepless nights after a family dinner featuring Milo's tea to testify to their tea being brewed very strong.) Another thing to consider is its distinctive red color. I think the blend is probably based on Keemun, a Chinese black tea that infuses to a red color, like so:



I kinda doubt that the base is straight Keemun, since Keemun typically has a distinct smoky flavor, but I think a strong Keemun iced and heavily sweetened could be a start if anybody wanted to try making a Milo's copycat.

(Disclaimer: it's worth noting that commercial tea blends are constantly changing: companies like Lipton or Twinings will be reformulating their blends every year to compensate for the natural variation in how teas taste harvest by harvest...if they didn't, Lipton would taste different every year. So Milo's probably has a taste profile, not a specific blend, they target, so getting an exact copycat would be almost impossible.)

[RhodeHog]

That someone in Boston is commenting on Milo's tea warms my heart! I'm always surprised to see it in places like Colorado, Florida, and elsewhere. Milo's tea was my energy drink growing up because the Milo's hamburger chain is based in Birmingham. They have their own special sauce (now available in bottles) and seasoned fries. The original burger is simply the patty, bread toasted on the griddle, onions (regulars usually get grilled onions), and the Milo's sauce. Milo's tea is strong and sweet so that some mix the sweet and unsweet (ordering half and half) to get a "conventional" sweet tea.

Interestingly, the Birmingham area is home to the Milo's tea company, Red Diamond tea, and (just 20 minutes north) Y'all Teas, which was featured on Shark Tank.