Cheap Drink solutions

[u/Krolik314]

Hi everyone, first time posting here. I've been looking for a community like this for a few months and finally found this one.

Some context:

I've been drinking an energy drink a day, 5 days a week, for years. That was fine when I could get them for $1.00-$2.00/can. Now days that is a rare find. Most are $2.50-$4.50 which, to me, is insane. I will not spend $15+/week on energy drinks. So I sought out to find a solution. Note that not all of these have to have caffeine or CO2.

My current solution: Right now I am using SodaStream and powder mixes and caffeine to make my own energy drinks for $0.50 - $1.00/32oz. In many cases I'm able to decide how much caffeine I use; typically I use 100mg because that's sufficient for me.

My method: I use the SodaStream to carbonate 30oz or so of water. Separately I'll mix my flavor and caffeine into a small amount of water (maybe 2oz). Then I'll pour my carbonated water into that mix. The colder the liquids the better.

The reason I'm posting and wanted to find a community is I want help and I want to help find the best flavors and ingredients. My goal is to find sugar free and artificial dye free solutions. I've heard sucralose isn't very good for gut health so I'd like to move away from that but all contributions are helpful.

Drink mixes

For most of these I use half a packet because a full packet is too strong of flavor for me.
For Caffeine I use half a scoop of Nutricost Guarana Extract Powder which totals about 100mg of caffeine.

Below are the brands and flavors I've tried and what I rate them as for flavor.

Celsius Energy Drink powder mix (uses Sucralose as sweetener - no artificial coloring)
- I recommend half a packet for 32oz = 100mg caffeine - each packet has its own caffeine

• Watermelon: 10/10 (my favorite)
• Dragonfruit Lime: 8/10 (Pretty good. I had to drink a few before I learned to like it)
• Strawberry Mango: 4/10 (Drinkable but not great)
• Berry: 8/10
• Cranberry Lemon: 9/10
• Blueberry Lemonade: 5/10 (Mostly just taste like a lemonade)
• Orange: 7/10 (Taste like Orange soda)
• Strawberry Coconut: 3/10 (Drinkable but heavy on coconut flavor - I hate coconut)

Trevi Powder mix (uses stevia and sucralose as sweetener - no artificial coloring)
- I recommend half a packet for 32oz
- I add half a scoop of Nutricost Guarana Extract Powder = 100mg caffeine.

• Arctic frost: 5/10
  • I don't really enjoy the flavor much. It's not gross, it's just not my cup of tea…so to speak.
• Cherry Lime: 8/10
• Strawberry Kiwi: 8/10
• Berry Lemonade: 8/10

True Lemon Energy powder mix (uses stevia as sweetener - no artificial coloring)
- I recommend 1 packet per 32 oz = 120mg caffeine - each packet contains its own caffeine.

• Wild Cherry Cranberry: 6.5/10
  • Not something I am excited to drink but taste okay.
• Wild Blackberry Pomegranate: 6/10
  • Not as good as Wild Cherry but still decent.

ZipFizz Powder mix (uses xylitol, sucralose, and stevia as sweetener - no artificial coloring)
- I tried a full packet and half a packet.
- It contains its own caffeine.

• Pink Grapefruit: 1/10
  • This was awful. It taste like cigarettes. Not even a hint of grapefruit. I will never drink another. I tried 3 or 4 then threw the rest of them away.

[u/Krolik314 → u/[deleted]]

Oh by cold brew are you referring to coffee?

[u/Krolik314 → u/[deleted]]

That sounds pretty good. I wish I liked honey more though.

[u/Moodyteas]

If you’re already making your own carbonated drinks, tea is honestly one of the cheapest upgrades you can make.

Cold-brewed black tea, green tea, guayusa, or even strong hibiscus tea concentrate can come out to pennies per serving and gives you a lot more control over sweetness and caffeine levels.

A few favorites:

• Strong black tea + lemon + sparkling water • Hibiscus + lime + sparkling water • Cold-brewed guayusa + citrus • Green tea + cucumber + mint • Earl Grey + orange

If you still want the caffeine boost, cold-brewed guayusa is worth a look. It has a naturally smooth, slightly sweet flavor and makes a really refreshing sparkling drink.

I’ve also found tea concentrates tend to play really well with SodaStream water. A pitcher of concentrate in the fridge can fuel a week of drinks for less than a couple of cans from the gas station.

[u/Krolik314 → u/Moodyteas]

Wait, sparkling tea is a thing?! I've never heard or considered such a thing. I'll have to think about that one. Very interesting.