Well, I'm not sure this is all over America, it could be more common in the South.
Sweet Tea! Yummy. Considering soda is also just sugar water and a Type II Diabetes in a bottle, I prefer sweet tea.
The McDonald's in some regions will sell it.
I like tea as well as coffee. I drink my coffee black now, after discovering that decent coffee doesn't need to be masked. Tea, I prefer with lots of milk and honey.
I drink iced tea. Matcha sweet tea is HEAVENLY. Pure sugar. Peet's Coffee has an okay sweet green tea slushie, but I prefer the real deal. Also, adding mashed fruit like peaches to a container of iced tea in the fridge is also HEAVENLY.
Cooler drinks are easier to drink than hotter. Hot tea to me is more ritualized, you're meant to savor it with snackies and a friend. I just imagine sitting by the window on a drizzly afternoon wearing a sweater and warming up with tea. Blame it on watching too much tv and commercials. But tea that's not that hot and especially iced tea is a substitute for water and you can chug it down!
Also, I know this may veer on sounding a little too scatalogical, but you are what you eat and I prefer the idea of drinking something aromatic and sweet rather than acidic and sharp. I mean, they do say vegans smell better. I always wonder if you drink a gallon of rose hips tea every day if you'll start smelling like roses!
And does bubble tea count? Because I definitely drink that!