It looks like the biggest tea company in the world needs to consult a calendar.
On March 18, Lipton Ice Tea caused quite a stir on social media when it announced it was discontinuing its Peach Iced Tea, one of its most popular flavors. “REST IN PEACH,” the post cruelly begins.
“You may have heard that our iconic Peach Lipton Ice Tea flavour is getting discontinued. We know — it hurts (sorry if we’ve ruined your go-to afternoon chill bev),” the brand wrote on Instagram underneath an image of a can of iced tea with little angel wings.
(One can almost hear Samuel Barber’s “Adagio for Strings” playing, no?)
“But don’t worry, the rest of your faves are still here to keep you refreshed,” it continued. “And who knows? Maybe one day, Peach will make a legendary comeback. We appreciate your understanding during this period of adjustment and apologize for any inconvenience caused.”
Over 15,800 people commented on the post — most of whom expressed absolute outrage.
“SUMMER IS RUINED GANG,” wrote one user on Instagram.
“what other flavours even are there,” wondered another.
One comment acting as an unofficial “dislike button” racked up more than 12,000 likes.
“This is like Coca Cola discontinuing Coke,” added one more.
“Lipton peach ice tea getting discontinued has ruined my Tuesday,” an X user posted.
“How can they discontinue their most iconic flavor?” asked one of many folks with the same question.
And then, in a twist of fate, on March 19, the company revealed that the whole thing was an early April Fools prank.
“Oops, is it still March?” begins the brand follow-up Instagram post. “Got my dates mixed up... thought it was April Fools already! I’d never take away your favourite flavour, pookies.”
The post also notes that Lipton will be sending a surprise to fans with the “best reactions” to the fake news. “Your love for Peach has not gone unnoticed.”
Of course, its confused customers had a lot to say about this tea bag trickery in the comments.
“me when i just want attention,” wrote one commenter.
“If anyone wants a bottle of Lipton Peach I may or may not have bought 345 cases of 12 yesterday,” joked another thirsty person.
“i’m gunna buy you a calendar,” wrote one more.
TODAY.com reached out to Lipton and its parent company PepsiCo — which just acquired prebiotic soda Poppi, by the way — for further comment on the matter.
