We Tried Kajun Loaded Tea’s New Gatorghoul Boo Box Just In Time For Halloween

The food of Louisiana is something you really have to experience to understand. Whether you’ve visited The Pelican State or not, everyone knows Cajun and Creole cuisine and classic Mardi Gras dishes like gumbo and étouffée. But down in the bayou, especially in New Orleans, folks love their neon-colored beverages.

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Kajun Loaded Tea is dishing out some Halloween-coded drinks straight from The Big Easy, and they’re as fun and quirky as the city itself. As a former New Orleans resident and certified extra-large-neon-drink enjoyer, I was excited to give these teas a try—if not for the fact that they combine Halloween and New Orleans (two of my true loves) into one spooky product. Each iced tea powder packet spoofs a classic horror film, inserting a gator into iconic movie posters with a 90s-era VHS aesthetic. One packet yields enough fruity powder for one 32-ounce drink and there’s plenty of sweetness with zero added sugar. 

Stay Awake Strawberry

The Nightmare on Elm Street-inspired tea is probably the creepiest, bringing to mind a bloody scene post Freddy Kruger-dream demise—but also because it’s the most shockingly sweet. The strawberry flavor tasted purely artificial, but it worked in this context. Especially considering the flavor was reminiscent of those little hard strawberry sucking candies of yesteryear, the ones with the gooey center, so the nostalgia theme was on point here. Still, another fruit flavor in the mix would have made it more interesting.

Proton Punch

Like the aforementioned tea, don’t expect fresh melon flavor from this Ghostbusters spoof tea. This is pure candy watermelon in a slime-green package that’s perfectly apropos for spooky season. It was giving alcohol-free Four Loko, which made me feel like it was in need of a NOLA-style daiquiri makeover with a splash of cheap rum. On its own, it was a little too one dimensional, despite Kajun Tea absolutely nailing the classic watermelon candy taste.

Amuck Amuck Mixer

“Mixer” is the perfect word to attach to the name of this Hocus Pocus-themed tea; as a base for boozy drinks or mocktails, it would do all the flavor heavy lifting. It was rich and perfectly tart, almost like real fruit, but with a candy essence. It wasn’t nearly as Halloween candy-coded as the other iced teas, making it feel like the grown-up choice.

Netherworld Nectar

The Beetlejuice (Beetlegator? Gatorjuice?) was an excellent sipper all on its own thanks to a candy-sweet and nostalgia-inducing (but still unique) blend of passion fruit, peach, and mango. But the tropical vibe was still screaming for a splash of booze to make it the life of the party. Sans booze, the sweet nectar-like flavor is like an elevated fun drink that makes you feel like a kid again without all the sugar that comes in a kiddie juice—plus the sunset orange color is mesmerizing.

Scream Queen Sipper

Michael Meyer’s Scream Queen Sipper tea could do it all. The bright red color is similar to spooky blood, sure, but it harkens back to the days when juice was one color—red—and one flavor—red. This Juice™ contains the essence of sour cherry, pineapple, and rainbow candy (whatever that means?), but really, it’s pure, bold, classic fruit punch. It would be irresistible as the juice in a vintage-style kid’s Halloween party punch bowl. Or, toss in some Everclear and it’s the perfect adults-only party drink ladled out of a 5-gallon bucket into Solo cups.