Have never been to Zaxby's before, but went there with some friends today and of course had to try the sweet tea (my favorite soft beverage). Good tea is pretty important to me so I keep close tabs on restaurants that have good tea, since it's what I drink when I'm out. For those of you that have never been, I thought I'd offer my take on it.

The tea itself was a nice color, with no bits of "tea debris" floating in it - definitely a good sign. The taste was excellent. There was no "charred flavor" from steeping it too long, and the sugar content was just right. It was sweet enough to be sweet tea, but not too sugary to overpower the spiciness of the tea itself. I suspect less black tea was used because there was absolutely no metallic taste whatsoever. A very clean, crisp flavor that tasted equally well in all parts of the mouth.

As far as the ice used, Zaxby's provided what is by far the best ice in my opinion. This is the small, pellet-shaped ice cube a little bigger than a pencil eraser. It is just large enough to retain its shape (not melting and thus watering down your tea) but small enough not to form an "ice berg" and leave one part of the glass frozen and the other parts lukewarm. For a typical 8-ounce glass I recommend a third of a glass of ice filled to the top with tea. This will give you enough ice to flash chill your tea but leave it warm enough to enjoy the flavors, not necessitating the quick swallowing of frozen tea. For larger glasses, you'll need 1/3 - 1/2 cup of ice, but keep in mind that you'll need to drink the tea slightly quicker to prevent dilution of the ice.

Just my two cents, as I'm enjoying a very invigorating buzz from 2 glasses of tea

Zaxby's tea is on par with Chik Fil A's tea, in my opinion

I have honestly never had one sweet tea that was "better" than any other.

Some are too sweet, and some are not sweet enough.  Some have dregs floating in them.  Other than that, yeah, it's all good.

Excellent observation! I would definitely compare it to CFA's. Bojangles is good, but quite a bit stronger. I actually believe I prefer Zaxby's and CFA's. (Gosh CFA's is good.....)

Bummer

What's Zaxby's like other than the tea?  I've seen some here in the greater Memphis area but have never gone to one.

i like it a lot, its my favorite fast food chicken place. get the buffalo strips, very good.

zaxby's is the shit. great chicken, great fries, and fucking awesome sweet tea.

Want good sweet tea? Just go to the waffle house.

Would I be changing the subject if I said that I love Thai iced tea?

Tea made by a corporate recipe is shit .........

some is better than others but its no where near great.

tea is pretty much the only thing i drink when im out.

Shit has crack in it. Don't go. Once you do you'll be back very soon and won't know why. There is a solid reason most of them have a sign that says "Warning. Eating at Zaxby's may become addictive. Please be aware that we are only open for lunch and dinner." Shit has crack in it. AND IT IS AWESOME. That is all.

Cane's and most chicken shacks have good teas!

The best I've had is McAllister's. They even have a frequent tea drinker's punch card!

+1 enternets to whom ever can tell me where the first Zaxby's was opened at


Fantastic chicken, good tea, and very popular here in town.

Chick Fil A tea is pretty awesome.  I never really go to Zaxbys but I may have to try the tea.  We have a chain which I think is NC only called Cook out which has pretty good sweet tea too.  Not to mention awesome burgers for next to nothing.

You need to get out more.

IIRC Athens Ga ...... or Gainesville ......I was GA though

I can't remember where exactly, but it was a college town in GA....not Athens.

Valdosta maybe?

Statesboro ...... home of Georgia Southern

Red Diamond sweet tea is very good, if you live by a Wally World that carries it.

While not a fan of syrupy Southern Sweet Tea, Zaxby's is absolutely crack!!!!!!!!   Love the chicken tenders!!!!!!

They are high, they are slow, they sometimes fuckup your order, but otherwise the food kicks enough ass that despite those problems you go back

That damn zax sauce is the shit, I dont know what it is but damn.

Ain't it great!  

BTW, Mama's sweet tea was always the best!  

Oh well. If I get Diabetes I'll stop.

sip sip!