Bottled and canned teas are hot these days, growing in sales even as soft- drink volume is fizzling. But while they enjoy a reputation as a healthful alternative to their carbonated cousins in the soft-drink aisle, they are, in fact, often nearly as calorie-laden.

Our latest tests found one notable exception, Honest Tea, which has one-half to one-third the calories of the others. It also lists calories per serving and per bottle on its label, something few other teas do.

Honest Tea is lower in calories for a simple reason: It contains less sugar. Of the sugar-sweetened teas we tested, those from Arizona, Lipton, Nestea, and Snapple generally had 80 to 100 calories per 8-ounce serving, comparable to what you’d find in an 8-ounce serving of Coke Classic. Because many teas come in 16- to 20-ounce bottles, however, you’re likely to get considerably more calories from them than from a 12-ounce can of Coke.

If the tea makers tend not to play up caloric content, they aren’t shy about extolling the other properties of their products. For example, Fuze Green Tea says on the label that it contains vitamins “essential for vision,” which is good because you’ll need super-keen eyes to read the fine print. Beneath the claim that an 18-ounce bottle “contains equal antioxidant capacity as [sic] 3 servings of vegetables,” the small print notes that the product “is not a substitute for fruits and vegetables.” In even smaller print, across from an eye-catching tutorial on the benefits of antioxidants, it acknowledges that “These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.”

Other teas aren’t as heavy on health claims as they are on what might pass for poetry. Though many come from less than exotic places, they often evoke ancient wisdom and faraway lands. SoBe, which has its headquarters in Norwalk, Conn., says its tea is “specially formulated to energize the body, uplift the spirit, and enlighten the mind.” Arizona, based in Lake Success, N.Y., decorates its line of green teas with kimono-clad women and Chinese calligraphy.

Whether buyers are attracted to ready-made tea as a cure-all, a passport to exotic places, or simply because they’re thirsty, sales are brisk. The Tea Association of the U.S.A., a trade group, says sales have increased almost tenfold in the past decade. Last year, the group says, sales were conservatively estimated at $2.41 billion. Sales volume of carbonated soft drinks fell slightly last year, marking the first decline in two decades.

What are all these tea drinkers getting for their money? Here’s more of what our testers found:

Antioxidants. Studies suggest that antioxidants may help fight heart disease and certain cancers, although no one knows the amount needed for a therapeutic effect. All the teas in our test had less antioxidant potency on the whole than brewed black or green tea, although some--Fuze, Honest Tea, and Tazo--did have the equivalent of what you’d find in a banana or a peach. Of course, a banana or peach usually costs less and provides fiber and other nutrients.

Caffeine. The teas we tested had about 0 to 40 milligrams per 8-ounce serving, with white teas at the lower end of the range and Honest Tea at the upper end. That compares with 40 to 50 milligrams in a serving of brewed black tea, 15 to 40 milligrams in brewed green tea, and about 95 to 140 milligrams in a serving of coffee.

Calories. Honest Tea had 30 to 35 calories per serving; Snapple, 100. The other sweetened black teas we tested had 80 to 90 calories per serving; green teas, 60 to 90. Teas with artificial sweeteners (and labeled “diet”) had no calories.

The Ratings reflect our blind taste test of some top-selling teas. Although none had the taste of fresh-brewed tea, many of the sweetened teas offered a good balance of flavors. The diet teas would be enjoyable only if you don’t mind an artificial-sweetener flavor. We’ve also indicated which are organic. Other advice:

Enjoy a tea drink for what it is: a soda alternative. While some teas contain antioxidants, drinking a bottle isn’t a substitute for eating a varied diet. Even if a tea provides roughly the same antioxidant content as a piece of fruit, for example, you’re still better off eating the fruit, especially if calories are a concern. Studies have indicated that when people drink extra calories, they don’t compensate by eating less.

Check how many calories are in a bottle, not a serving. By the FDA’s definition, a serving is 8 fluid ounces. But because many teas come in much larger bottles, you need to check the label for calories per serving and then multiply. Unlike calories, caffeine content is rarely listed. If you are sensitive to caffeine, your best bet would be a white or decaf tea.

Keep that screw cap handy. A group of university researchers recommended this spring in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that people limit their total consumption of sugar-sweetened soda and sweetened ready-made tea to no more than 8 ounces per day. That’s only half a bottle for most of the teas we tested. So you may want to put half back in the fridge for another day.

If you prefer tea with a fresh-brewed taste, make your own. But if you don’t have the time or inclination to do that, many teas in our Ratings were very good, with a nice balance of tea flavor and sweetness. The best lemon teas also had a complement of lemon flavoring and all but one of the green teas balanced the tea flavor with some honey or mint.