How Honest is L.A.? Honest Tea's Pop-Up Store Puts SoCal Ethics to the Test

NBC Chicago

Honest Tea's "Honest Store"

Despite our downfalls, we'd like to think we draw the line when it comes to stealing. To test this theory -- and the honor system -- try heading to Maryland-based organic tea company Honest Tea's unmanned pop-up "Honest Stores," loaded with one dollar bottles of tea today and tomorrow only. The catch? The stores are equipped with hidden cameras to see if Angelenos are honest enough to dish up the dough.

Gimmicky? Yes, absolutely. But considering that all proceeds go to the City Year charity and that L.A. is the fifth city to partake in Honest Tea's experiment, it's also a chance to get competitive. So far, Boston leads the honesty pack with 93.3% of patrons paying for their tea. It goes without saying that L.A.'s hot off a win over the Boston Celtics, so let's continue that streak by beating them in the one buck tea department. New York and Atlanta are hanging on with an eighty nine percent honesty rating, and shockingly, Chicago -- the crown jewel of the MidWest -- fell way behind with only seventy eight percent of people paying for their tea. So much for Midwestern hospitality.

If you want to be part of the social experiment, get moving. The pop-up store is open today at The Grove from 10:00a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and tomorrow at Runyon Canyon from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., Hollywood & Highland from 10:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., Santa Monica Pier from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. and Venice Beach from 3:45 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Once the L.A. results are tallied, the Honest Store is headed to San Francisco and Washington D.C. Since D.C. is full of politicians, we should beat them no problem.

Christie Bishop also blogs for PardonMyCrumbs.com.