WASHINGTON — Bethesda-based Honest Tea set out to find the most honest cities in America, and let’s just say, D.C.…

WASHINGTON — Bethesda-based Honest Tea set out to find the most honest cities in America, and let’s just say, D.C. didn’t fare well.

In an unscientific test of morals, the company went to the 27 largest cities across the country and set up stands, selling tea for $1. People were supposed to put a dollar in a box and take a bottle of tea, all on an honor system.

Not only did D.C. not win, but it was also the only city to actually take money from the box.

D.C. and Bethesda combined came in at 17th overall with 94 percent honestly, and Baltimore came in 9th with 96 percent.

This dishonor isn’t new to the District. Honest Tea performed a similar “test” two years ago, and D.C. came in last then as well, with a tea drinker getting his bike stolen in the process.

Overall, the experiment was a success. Honest Tea CEO Seth Goldman said that 94 percent of Americans were honest about paying for their tea. Atlanta, who was the most honest, was at 100 percent.

Here are the top five most honest cities:

Atlanta, Georgia (100 percent) Indianapolis, Indiana (99 percent) San Diego, California (97 percent) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (97 percent) Houston, Texas (97 percent)

And the five least honest:

Providence, Rhode Island (83 percent) Boston, Massachusetts (85 percent) Tampa, Florida (85 percent) Miami, Florida (88 percent) Minneapolis, Minnesota (90 percent)

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