Anyone else having trouble with Red Diamond sweet tea?

Submitted by ManlyVanLee t3_yjp9gu in springfieldMO

My big vice is sweet tea. I don't smoke, I don't really drink, and I eat a lot healthier than many people I know. But I can't not have sweet tea. It's 100% an anxiety comfort thing, but whatever... that's not the point here

Over the last 2-3 weeks whenever I grab a big gallon of the stuff there's a 70% chance it's going to be rotten and nasty. And it's not because it is expired, in fact I always make sure I grab whatever has the longest shelf life because I was burned by that before. For reference I've grabbed them from the Ozark Wal-mart, various Price Cutters, even tried a couple Kum and Go. But a vast majority of the time now I'll pour a glass and it tastes utterly disgusting and I throw the whole thing out

Once or twice? Not a big deal. But I've probably bought $30 worth that just gets thrown down the drain because they are rotten. I'm writing this now because a gallon I just bought at the Ozark Wal-Mart with an expiration date of Nov. 30th (it is Nov. 1st today) was absolutely nasty. Anyone else experiencing this?

I guess I just need to switch to Milo's

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7395715673 t1_iup1pp2 wrote

Yep. I quit drinking it a few months ago. Never had issues with the gallons that I can think of, but it was a crapshoot with the small bottles from the gas station, regardless of the store. Googled it after I noticed the same thing, and other people were experiencing the same thing, some even allegedly had mold in it.

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ManlyVanLee OP t1_iup9z9r wrote

Oh yeah those little ones have universally been like a 50/50 shot at best whether they were awful or not

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toxcrusadr t1_iur4wca wrote

Did you contact the manufacturer? Seems like they would want to know.

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Appropriate-Truth917 t1_iupbasi wrote

I’m a huge Milo’s fan, have not had a bad batch yet and it tastes more “brewed” to me, Red Diamond tastes like instant. Although if prices keep going up may just go ahead and get McAlisters

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gderossett t1_iupp10f wrote

I hope I don’t get in trouble for this somehow. worked there over a decade ago. the sweet tea at mcalisters is just Lipton with like so many cups of sugar poured in

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ManlyVanLee OP t1_iupdqgh wrote

I've always preferred Red Diamond but not to the point of refusing to drink Milo's. Agree with you though on the prices!

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Seymour---Butz t1_iupyune wrote

I switched from Red Diamond to Milo’s and would never go back.

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GeorgeBird0457 t1_iuq3l4c wrote

Second this right here. We used to find globs of idk what in the Red Diamond. Switched after a friend told us about Milo’s and haven’t looked back.

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Weak-Form9111 t1_iup8u9w wrote

A lot of company’s are having a lack of workers. To be fair no one really pays enough for the long hours of demanded work and treat everyone unfairly due to if they are good employees or not, but that’s why things are going unnoticed. I work with numerous of vendors that delivers products, and everyone is struggling. To meet demands that is too much for them due to lack of employees and expecting them to work harder than their coworkers because they get their job done early. Unions are the only way to go if we expect better products.

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ManlyVanLee OP t1_iupf4n8 wrote

I kind of had my suspicions that it could be labor related. Either the workers at the store not storing things properly or maybe they sit on the trucks too long

If so there's not much I can do about it other than vote like crazy but unfortunately this is Missouri so it's only going to keep getting much worse before something finally snaps and it starts to get better

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MSUsugar_Bear8653 t1_iup8pw2 wrote

I thought I was crazy. But I stopped buying because of the rotten smell and taste.

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ManlyVanLee OP t1_iupf8hc wrote

Seems like there's enough people who have experienced this that we can confidently say we aren't crazy. Well at least not in this regard anyway

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JorunnOili t1_iurkv75 wrote

Contact the company let them know there is a issue. It's not about getting coupons for tea you won't buy it's about letting them know they have problem. Perhaps they will correct it or won't. I do this anytime I discover a repeated problem. Some companies I can tell don't give a rip, but others do. Example called highland dairy about their shredded cheese packaging with zipper seals that always pulled away form the bag. They called me back asked me bunch of questions about times, batches, and places I bought it. They sent me some coupons, and thought nothing more of it. A few months later long after I forgot about it, the QA guy called me back and thanked me again they told me they discovered which machine/line was malfunctioning due my report. He also sent me more coupons. So some companies do actually give damn.

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dacuzzin t1_iuszlmj wrote

My ex daddy in law broke a tooth on a fishing weight that somehow got inside a loaf of sliced bread. Sent a letter, the weight, and his receipts for the bread and broken tooth to the bread company. They sent him a new loaf of bread. In the mail. In an envelope. He took that as a big ol FU hahaha

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Educational-Soup5335 t1_iupogft wrote

I buy two gallons of tea from McAlister’s every week. If you go sometime between 2-5 it’s yea time. Tea is half price even gallons. I think that makes it around $4 and it’s always good.

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MartonianJ t1_iup857d wrote

I drink a ton of unsweet tea. I was going by McD’s daily. And getting a couple of them at a time. My wife suggested I buy an actual tea maker. So I found a used restaurant grade one on an auction site for something like $125. It’s the kind you see at a restaurant or gas station. Water line plumbed to it. I buy the tea in bulk and the large bags make 3 gallons at a time and the bags equal out to about $1 per bag. I’ve had the machine now a couple years so I’ve easily paid for the machine and then some. It has a way to do sweet too. I think you buy sugar packs for it or something, not really sure.

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KoiCyclist t1_iupoiva wrote

Out of curiosity, how hard is it to keep that clean??

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MartonianJ t1_iupq9a4 wrote

Not terrible. I use vinegar to clean out the urn every couple weeks. Which reminds me I did have to buy the urn which was another $70 or so IIRC.

There are a couple other parts I take apart every few weeks and clean with vinegar. I imagine having sugar in it makes it worse though.

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sauronscockring t1_iupq11p wrote

From what I've heard the Red Diamond that's sold in Walmart comes out of Oklahoma, something about distribution, Price Cutter sells the Red Diamond that's made in Springfield. Maybe try the price cutter one?

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Hem0g0blin t1_iuqatss wrote

This makes a lot of sense. My girlfriend drinks a lot of Red Diamond and I remember her refusing to drink a gallon once because it tasted bad, but she hasn't had that problem since we started going to Price Cutter more.

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name-isnt-important t1_iupdq9r wrote

I didn’t think anything of it until I read this post but I enjoy their unsweetened tea. Bought a gallon a few months ago and ended up throwing it out because it just tasted wrong to me. So it is the unsweetened variety as well.

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Dsmfa t1_iup1sjy wrote

Post Covid taste problems?

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ManlyVanLee OP t1_iup39cf wrote

Nope. Got Covid and had a heart attack from it a year ago. And the tea thing hasn't happened until recently. Oh and it's not every single one. If I go through enough I'll get one that's just fine

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Cloud_Disconnected t1_iup4brr wrote

Not recently, but I got a couple of bad ones a few years ago. I'd email the company.

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rbuck999_417 t1_iupkjs3 wrote

A couple of weeks ago I got a gallon of red diamond sweet tea from the kum&go on s Campbell and it was soured, returned it to the store and got another one and it was sour as well. I assumed the employees at kum&go left it out of the cooler too long

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mcdrunkin t1_iuqu4de wrote

Never worked at Kum & Go but haven't worked another gas stations that had deliveries like that we never had to deal with putting in the cooler they delivered it directly to the cooler we just stocked it on the shelves

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Fearon-Aris t1_iusj8af wrote

This is true. Worked at Kum and Go for a while. What happens is the same truck will deliver to multiple stores. Drinks and such will be put straight into the cooler. I believe the truck is refrigerated as well, but I never really experienced the truck itself.

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Punkerkas t1_iupnhfw wrote

Sounds like a lot have had trouble with bad jugs. But have you started any new medications? There are some that make sweet things taste gross, topamax or topiramate is notorious for it. Just a thought, hope you get your sweet tea fixins!

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sourdoughbreadlover t1_iupy5yo wrote

I had bought a small bottle from a convenience store and it was nasty. I bought a gallon recently and it's okay. I am going with Milos after this gallon is gone.

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AsinineMind t1_iuqthmu wrote

Years ago when I lived in ms, my dad worked for a distributor called LuVel. He was a believer in Red Diamond. One day, on his route, he opened a sealed bottle and swears there was a loogie at the top. Since then he’s never drank another red diamond lol. We’re die hard Milo’s fan. If that’s not available, then it’s Arizona.

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Always_0421 t1_iuriodd wrote

Made the switch to Milo's this past summer after having simular experiences.

Idk o they changed their recipe, their bottling processes, or.storage practices, or what the deal.is but their quality took a nose dove back around June or so

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Professional_Fox4467 t1_iurnibv wrote

Idk about lately but this spring I stopped at a corner store by our work site in Joplin and got a small bottle of Red Diamond. Popped it open and took a big swig followed by everything coming out reverse. This case was obviously the stores fault because it was about 3 months expired 🤢

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ManlyVanLee OP t1_iusltqn wrote

Those little bottles have always been a crap shoot. Getting a bad one is not pleasant

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dxfout t1_iush9t4 wrote

Yeah that's why I switched from red diamond to gold peak. Much better tea and much better QC. Red diamond taste like ass after drinking Gold Peak.

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ManetherenRising t1_iusxpdi wrote

I had issues last year on several, but nothing recently.

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