
An Ohio mom posted about an issue with silver-topped Arizona Iced Teas after her tea-obsessed son pointed out that they’re different from the gold-top originals. The son even claimed that silver-topped Arizona Diet Iced Teas are “poisonous.”
In a video with more than 32,000 views, Beth Holmes (@beth.holmes) showed off a recent discovery her son made. Benjamin Holmes pointed out what he called an “insufferable” investigation that led him to conclude the gold tabs were better. The two taste-tested and compared the teas side by side, noting noticeable color differences.
He said he first noticed the change “about a year ago,” adding, “[They] started giving us the silver tops in comparison to the gold tops. The key difference here, silver, but also this one has a round pop tab. This one has a rectangular one. Very different.”
Holmes tried both flavors, using a clear glass to show the differences between the cans. He tried the gold-topped can first, saying, “A nice golden color with a little bit of foam. That goes away instantly. Nothing in there. It’s just a clear liquid with foam, and the taste is pleasant.”
When he moved on to the silver-topped can, he said, “Now, this is where things get sketchy. This is the defective one. Get a nice shot, right? No, no. From the side. You gotta see this.”
He then showed “floating” materials in the tea. While he called the floating fluid at the top “bugs” and “parasites,” it appeared to be foam buildup. Holmes said the drink “came out” clumpy and smelled “rancid.”
“[This] is unacceptable, and frankly, I have the right to sue. So fix your drinks or [you’ve] been served,” he said toward the end of his clip.
Tea differences: Redditors see it, too
Holmes wasn’t the only person to notice a significant difference between the silver-topped Arizona teas and the gold ones. Reddit users have also pointed out the difference, saying the silver-topped cans taste “watered down” compared with the gold-topped ones.
Others noted a more subtle discrepancy. One user wrote, “So I bought myself two teas and noticed one was gold and the other was silver. [I] didn’t think anything of it as I cracked open the silver can and noticed that it tasted different. It’s like someone squeezed some lemon into it or something. I’ve had thousands of these things and this instantly was just off to me. I sip it down, chalking it up to some batch issues at the plant until hours later I crack open the gold can and notice that this one tasted normal. [I] looked at the back and noticed that the normal one [had] 10 more calories per serving than the other and the ‘weird’ one had [cane] sugar and fewer ingredients. Pardon my ignorance but is this a Kosher thing?”
While Redditors didn’t claim that the silver-topped cans were poisonous, many said the difference was noticeable. Some Arizona tea fans speculated that it was due to high-fructose corn syrup, which can give certain cans a “fermented” flavor.
One commenter wrote, “I got a 12-pack of the smaller cans and it was cane sugar and tasted fine. Then I got another 12-pack of the smaller cans and it tasted flipping FERMENTED. Went to read the labels… HFCS. I had done the label reading a few weeks ago, silver cans were made with cane sugar. Read the labels a few days ago to double check, now they’re made with HFCS.”
@beth.holmes @AriZona Iced Tea PLEASE INVESTIGATE #arizonatea #greentea #viralvideo ♬ original sound – Beth Jolly-Holmes
Changes in drinks— Common in 2025?
The Mary Sue recently published an article exploring whether silver-tabbed Monster Energy drinks differ from the originals. The piece looked into Reddit threads and other discussions, concluding that the “silver-tabbed” versions were indeed different from their green-tabbed counterparts.
Arizona teas may be similar. The top colors could indicate, as some Reddit users pointed out, manufacturing differences between countries. As trade agreements change, so do production processes for certain beverages.
The Mary Sue reached out to Arizona’s press team for comment, as well as to Beth Holmes.
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