9 Fast Food Iced Teas, Ranked Worst To Best

As a former barista, I've brewed many cups of iced tea over the years — and enjoyed plenty of them myself. Iced tea is the perfect addition to any meal, whether you're looking to cut a savory dish with a refreshing sweet tea or want to balance out a rich meal with a strong iced brew.

That's probably also why so many fast food chains make fresh-brewed iced tea a year-round menu staple. But a fast food drink can seriously make or break your meal — and not all fast food iced teas are equally delicious. If you've been looking at your favorite fast food chain's menu and wondering how their iced teas stack up against other fast food options, I made it my mission to rank nine different chains' fresh-made house brews.

Everyone has their own opinions on what can truly elevate a cup of iced tea. But I was on the hunt for a drink that didn't need any add-ins. To properly rank these teas, I factored in their strength, their flavor profile, and the overall taste of their brew. I was looking for something strong (but not too strong), refreshing, and balanced. So, when it comes to fast food iced teas, where should you be spending your money? 

Surprisingly, Burger King's iced tea was the most disappointing on the list. Why? Because it tastes almost like nothing. It certainly looks like how an iced tea is supposed to look; it's dark in color and refreshingly cold. But after trying it for the first time, I thought an employee had just swapped out my order for a cup of dyed water.

The cup of iced tea I purchased had no taste to it. I could detect a slight hint of tea in the back of my throat if I drank enough of it at once, but there wasn't much flavor there to go off of. Caramel-y? A lightly sweet blend? Maybe. But these flavors were so faint I was concerned at first that my cup had been accidentally diluted. However, I don't think it's possible to dilute a tea in a way that removes its flavor yet retains its color. Maybe my local Burger King was just having a bad day.

An unsweetened small iced tea at Burger King will set you back a few dollars. But you can get water there for free, so maybe just go with that.

My high hopes for Wendy's iced tea were shattered as soon as I saw the fountain drink lineup it was sitting next to. The unassuming metal tea container states that Wendy's iced tea is made fresh in-house every day. It was certainly cold — and also refreshingly inexpensive, running just a few dollars for a medium the cashier mistakenly gave me when I asked for a small — but the flavor was, overall, disappointing.

There is some iced tea taste there, for sure. It's very watery, and it's neither sweet nor strong. I found it lacking any layers — it doesn't taste like Wendy's added different types of tea to its in-house brew. For the most part, Wendy's iced tea tastes a lot like water. When you first take a sip, you're greeted by a tempting reminder of what iced tea tastes like, but there's no lingering flavor that sticks around. There's not even much of a scent to the cup, either.

Though Wendy's iced tea has some flavor, it's not very complex. Do I think it's worth it for the admittedly low price? No. In all honesty, you'd be better off sticking with water.

Panera's iced tea is strong. There might not be enough words to describe just how strong Panera's iced tea is — but it's not the kind of strong I was looking for. This beverage is more reminiscent of an herbal soup than an iced tea. It even smells sour. I wish I knew what kind of herbs the company puts in its in-house tea blend because I don't think any of them should go together. In fact, I don't think any of them belong in a cup of tea at all.

I could certainly appreciate that Panera's iced tea is flavorful. It's dark, powerful, and very rich. But, truthfully, I don't think that there's any item on Panera Bread's menu that I could imagine enjoying this iced tea with. Out of curiosity, I did peruse reviews for Panera's iced tea blend. Some iced tea lovers are pretty star-struck with Panera's blend, and I certainly don't mean to offend you if you are one of those people. But it's very clear that Panera's iced tea is an acquired taste — and not necessarily a taste that all iced tea lovers will enjoy. 

If you're the kind of person who takes pride in drinking their dark roast coffee black, maybe you'd like the macho brew Panera has to offer. But for over $4 for its smallest size, you might want to save your money and go elsewhere. 

First off, I need to acknowledge that KFC doesn't offer unsweetened iced tea. At the Southern-style chicken chain, you'll only find sweet tea (and famously, up to a half-gallon of it). I'm no Southerner myself, so I can't fully appreciate the delicacy that is a fresh, cold glass of sweet tea. But I still don't think that KFC's sweet tea is exactly what I was looking for.

To me, a good sweet tea needs to have a balance of both tea and sugar. It's one thing for the brew to be sickeningly sweet — and KFC's definitely is — but it's another for the flavor of the tea itself to be missing. In short, KFC's sweet tea tastes like cane sugar. Might it taste nice with a bucket of fried chicken? Probably. But on its own, it really does just taste like sugar water.

I can't say that KFC's sweet tea has to be skipped. If you're looking for something extremely sweet without much tea taste to it, then KFC's sweet tea is for you. There's nothing wrong with that — it's kind of what its iced tea is known for. But truthfully, I don't think the brand's iced tea qualifies as iced tea, especially not when compared to the other beverages on this list.

To stay true to this Southern chain, I opted for Chick-fil-A's infamous sweet tea. The brand offers both unsweetened and sweetened versions of its house brew, but I decided that the sweet tea would give me both the taste of its regular brew on top of being a hallmark of the Southern chain. Also, sweet tea is the chain's most popular tea drink.

Was it bad? No. But to me, it didn't quite hit the mark for iced tea. One thing that I did love about Chick-fil-A's iced tea was that the sweetness didn't just taste like pure cane sugar. Instead, its flavor is almost honey-like (though it is made with real cane sugar). It's more flavorful and balanced than the other teas I tried. 

I respect the sweetness, but I still wish that I could have tasted just a little bit of the brew behind all that sugar. To me, there was a distinct lack of tea flavor present in the brew. Just a little hint of tea leaves was all I needed, but there was just too much sugar mixed in to be able to taste it at all.

Again, with a nice fried chicken meal, I don't think you can go wrong with Chick-fil-A's sweet tea. While it was good and I enjoyed drinking it, it doesn't hold up to the other iced teas on this list.

Shake Shack's house brew iced tea was refreshing. It's pleasantly strong and has all of that classic black iced tea flavor I was looking for. Shake Shack's iced tea, well, it tastes like iced tea.

Now, there's not much more to say about Shake Shack's iced tea than just that. It's not very layered, nor is there a distinct aftertaste. There's no mix of flavors or intriguing notes in its house blend. I'm pretty sure Shake Shack stopped putting effort in after it added the tea leaves to its brew.

It's strong enough to taste good, but it's not a great cup of iced tea. I think this is especially true compared to the other drinks on its menu, like its seasonal lemonade flavors. While these other citrusy beverages are consistently phenomenal, I'm not terribly excited about its iced tea — it's just a plain, no-frills option on a menu that's otherwise filled with exciting and unique flavor combos.

You should go to Shake Shack for just a burger. You should even go to Shake Shack just for a cup of lemonade. But you shouldn't go to Shake Shack for just an iced tea.

I was pleasantly surprised by McDonald's iced tea. In fact, I think McDonald's iced tea should be the baseline for what a fast food iced tea should be. When I think of iced tea, I think of exactly what I had there. This beverage was a beautifully golden-black tea with a delicate yet flavorful scent. I could pick out a strong and refreshing black tea flavor with just a hint of orange from its orange pekoe blend. 

McDonald's iced tea is the kind of quality tea that sits on your tongue for a few seconds after you swallow it. It has just the slightest sweetness to it, which I can appreciate. The flavors of the brew come in layers, so you can appreciate each one of them individually as well as together. I think it's clear that whoever created McDonald's signature brew truly cares about iced tea. Plus, the company gets bonus points for listing the type of brew it uses on its website.

I did not expect that I would want to go back to McDonald's to order its iced tea again. It's truly a solid brew, and I love that the brand adds a little bit of zesty flavor to give their tea multiple flavor notes. Another bonus is the price; a small size of McDonald's unsweetened iced tea is the lowest-priced tea on this list. I happily finished the entire cup, and it was delicious.

I'll freely admit that I had high hopes for MOD Pizza's iced tea. I've had different variations of its house tea brews before, but I'd never actually tried its iced tea on its own. And, just like its pizzas, MOD's iced tea delivered.

MOD's iced tea was by far the strongest iced tea on the list. It wasn't overpowering, but it certainly had that authentic, house brew flavor I was hoping for. It was flavorful with complex notes. I could appreciate that it had a strong start, lemony finish, and gentle aftertaste. This is the quintessential iced tea — and it's worth every penny. In fact, I can definitely say that MOD's iced tea line is the only drink I'll be ordering there in the future — it's just that good.

MOD's iced tea is definitely not a sweet blend, and its smallest size is a bit more expensive than other chains. If you're looking for a true budget deal, you might prefer to opt for McDonald's over MOD. But I do think that MOD's iced tea is worth the price, especially if you're planning on using it to balance out a savory pizza.

I can also appreciate the fact that MOD's iced tea is served in its own container with boatloads of ice. When you pour yourself a cup of iced tea, you don't need to add any ice for it to be perfectly chilled. At MOD, there's no need to waste precious cup space on ice.

You'd probably expect a fast food chain centered entirely around drinks to be serving up the best iced tea on this entire list. And you know what? You'd be right. There is absolutely no question that Starbucks' iced tea blows away every other chain on this list. It's hardly even a comparison.

The thing about Starbucks' tea is that it leaves you wanting nothing more. It doesn't need sweetener or any extras. The blend is exquisite, and this is probably why Starbucks has left its iced tea recipes untouched for so long. Its green tea is light, refreshing, and slightly grassy in the best way possible. It carries a hint of citrus and zest — which mix perfectly with the other flavors of its tea leaves.

I compared Starbucks' green tea for this review, but as a former Starbucks barista, their black tea is a worthy rival, too. It's rich and bold without being too bitter. I think it's best enjoyed without any sweetener. I also love the fact that Starbucks shakes its iced teas before serving, which aerates them and leaves them with bubbles on top. Delicious.

Now, are Starbucks' teas expensive? Yes, absolutely. It's by far the most expensive tea on this list, and you won't even get as big a cup. But when I hear people talk about not enjoying tea without sweetener or not being able to taste the individual notes of a freshly-brewed cup of tea, Starbucks is exactly where I point them to.

There's a lot to consider when it comes to iced teas. First (and by far the most important) is the flavor. A solid iced tea should have a variety of flavors present. Besides looking at how these flavors were layered and the overall balance of the beverage, I also assessed how refreshing each of the teas was.

I also think it's important to consider the price (and how much tea you get in your cup). Fortunately, there's not much variation when it comes to fast food iced tea prices. But there are a few outliers that are worth considering, which I factored into this review.

This article only compares iced teas from fast food brands with their own house brews. I also only had access to fast food chains local to me — sorry, Dunkin'. To ensure maximum accuracy, I ordered all the iced teas with extra room but without ice so the teas wouldn't be diluted and brought them home to taste them. After chilling them, I tested them all at once so that I could compare them side by side.

Many of the chains tested in this review do not offer sweetened iced teas — like Panera Bread and Starbucks. But brands like KFC don't have unsweetened iced teas on the menu, although I still wanted to include them for the sake of the review. To combat this issue, I primarily focused on the taste of the tea itself rather than its sweetness level.