Updated on Sep. 01, 2024
Summer has us craving the very best lemonade—tart, sweet and so refreshing. Find out which brands we want to kick back with on the porch this summer!
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When the dog days of summer hit, there’s one thing we crave above all others: an ice-cold glass of lemonade. No afternoon at the pool or relaxing day on the patio is complete without it.
So when it comes time to cool off on those hot days, you’ll only want the very best lemonade to slake your thirst. So what are the top brands? Our Test Kitchen team had to find out!
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For a lemonade that’ll please everyone at your next backyard bash, add Simply Lemonade to your cart.
Pouring a glass of this lemonade, you’ll notice the homemade style right away thanks to a bit of pulp and a pale yellow hue. Tester after tester remarked how these two factors make a lemonade seem more appealing.
But what about the taste? “This has a nice, clean, bright lemonade flavor,” says our Test Kitchen’s Mark Neufang. And Mark hits it right on the head: Simply Lemonade is refreshing and has the perfect balance of tartness, sweetness and lemon flavor. In Mark’s words, “this would be great served over ice on a hot summer day.”
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Do you like a little extra pucker in your lemonade? Get more sour power with Newman’s Own Lemonade.
According to Sarah Tramonte in the Test Kitchen, “this brand has a tartness that so many other lemonades lack.”
That’s thanks to plenty of fresh lemon juice and even a bit of lemon pulp inside. Sure, you’ll get a little sweetness—it is lemonade, after all—but Newman’s Own has that extra oomph of acidity that can be so refreshing on a hot day.
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If you prefer your lemonade on the slightly sweeter side, snag yourself Florida’s Natural Lemonade.
This pleasantly pale yellow lemonade had a nice sweet finish that tasters really enjoyed. But when we say “best sweet lemonade,” we don’t mean that Florida’s Natural is overly sugary. Instead, this lemonade really has a great natural lemon flavor and plenty of acidity with just a smidgen of extra sugar to satisfy those of us that like drinks with just a touch more sweetness.
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On a hot day at the state fair (or any other outdoor festival), no one is immune to the calls of the lemonade stand. The smell of freshly squeezed lemons, the sound of the juice being shaken up over ice, the sight of the finished drink being poured into tall cups—it’s irresistible. These state fair-style lemonades taste super fresh and are often a little mild—ideal for a summer day.
For a lemonade that brings back those memories, try Tropicana Lively Lemonade.
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We get it: Not everyone likes pulp in their drinks. While this normally applies to orange juice, you’ll also find a pulp in some lemonades. For a super smooth sipping experience, try Minute Maid Lemonade.
This lemonade is wonderfully sippable. It’s milder but has that tart (not sour!) flavor we’re looking for from a tall glass of lemonade.
For this taste test, our culinary pros sipped 16 different lemonade brands—16! The brands were kept a mystery to avoid any biases our team may have had. Each was judged according to these categories:
While we sampled plenty of options, just five got universally high praise and can be called Test Kitchen-Preferred.
An essential part of finding the best lemonades is testing the acidity, sweetness and pulp levels. Of course, you can’t taste test in-store; there is a clever way to investigate before you buy. Start by checking the ingredients list. If a lemonade is composed mainly of lemon juice, it will be more acidic, causing it to be sour. The sourness can be combated with sugar, but you also want to see how many grams of sugar are being used. The key is to find a balance between the two for the best-tasting lemonades.
As experts in our field, we understand that an essential part of finding the best lemons is testing the acidity, sweetness and pulp levels. Our Test Kitchen team put all 16 to the test! Each culinary pro considered the drinks’ appearance, taste and balance before recommending that they make this list. From there, the team scores through shopper receive to learn more about how the lemonades compare overall. Lisa Kaminsky is a former Taste Recipes editor and passionate baker specializing in all things sweet, including the best lemonades. We also tapped Test Kitchen’s Mark Neufang for extra expertise.
Whether you’re team pulp or not, rest assured that pulp doesn’t negatively impact the taste of your favorite lemonade. Instead, it’s added to enhance the flavor to make it more of an authentic lemonade taste. It also adds texture to the smooth drink.
In a perfect world, your cup of lemonade tastes excellent over ice, but if you’re craving more, try sprucing it up. A great way to elevate this traditional drink is to mix it in a pitcher and add herbs like rosemary, thyme, fruit and mint. This gives the lemonade a fresher taste, especially on a hot summer day. You can also have flowers if you’re serving them to guests.
But perhaps the best way to dress up your lemonade? Add some fizzy bubbles to it for a fun, bubbly beverage. You can also choose to pour in more adult-friendly bases. Lastly, if you like spicy things, grab the cinnamon. The hints of spice with the sweet and acidic lemonades create a unique recipe.
If you purchased a pick that’s too sweet, we have a quick fix for you. Just add water! Start by adding a cup of water to the jug of Florida and see if that dilutes the sweetness.
Our Test Kitchen is constantly testing food, kitchen gadgets and cleaning gear looking for brands that deserve the right to be called Test Kitchen-Preferred.
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