As I recently learned that aspartame is in the process of being labeled a carcinogen, I needed to figure out a substitute for diet Pepsi. I just finished a cancer journey and don't want another. After much experimenting with my monk fruit sweetener, natural extracts and SodaStream carbonated water, I have figured out a recipe per bottle that make a diet cola substitute that is similar to diet Pepsi without the artificial sweeteners or colours.

My recipe per SodaStream bottle or 840ml carbonated water:

1/4 tsp lorans cola extract

1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/4 tsp Watkins orange extract

1/4 tsp Watkins root beer extract

18 drops flavour fusion caramel extract

6 drops sweet monk liquid monk fruit sweetener

1 packet true lemon or one lemon wedge juiced and zested (the zest as finely minced as possible)

1 packet true lime or one lime wedge juiced and zested (the zest as finely minced as possible)

I hope this helps others looking for natural work around to sodas. Btw, this version tastes much lighter and more refreshing compared to diet Pepsi or diet coke.

Side note: with the usual SodaStream caffeine free diet cola syrup i was using before, it would take a couple of hours to finish. My recipe, its so light, refreshing and so smooth going down that I can polish off a bottle in less than an hour. Which is fine, since it's all healthy or non harmful ingredients.

I found out just today that Fentiman's has gone to the dark side as regards sweeteners. I have been on a health kick for a while so had been off the sugary drinks for many months and wondered why their Rose Lemonade tasted not nearly as nice as I remembered it. Then I checked the ingredients and turned the air blue :/ ). It's why I found this page, though.

I have ONE recipe to share (I hope this is the right place to do so), which is very basic compared to most I've seen on here and dead simple, other than that the measurements go from grams to cups to ounces ... don't ask me where I found it, 'cos I forget. It's gorgeous, though!

VERY EASY CREAM SODA

160g granulated sugar 

3/4 cup water

2 Tbsp pure, good quality vanilla extract

1 tsp lemon juice

Chilled fizzy water, for mixing.

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat the sugar and the water in a saucepan until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Remove the syrup from the heat, and stir in the vanilla extract and the lemon juice. Let the syrup cool and then store in the fridge.

For each serving mix 1 ½ to 2 ounces of the chilled syrup into 8 ounces of chilled sparkling water.

https://preview.redd.it/re25aic3lt2e1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bbfb7fb3f02249659cdf18bf4dce0d41e370533e

Flavour base

• 2.5 ml lemon extract*
• 1.5ml orange extract*
• 9ml orange flower water
• 15ml sour cherry juice concentrate (or 1ml cherry flavouring)

Add each of these ingredients, one at a time, in the order given and mix well before adding the next.

*the extracts are from my flavour library, but you could use Nielsen-Massey or other high-quality water-soluble extracts.

Syrup

• 800g white sugar
• 500ml water

Boil the water and pour over the sugar. Stir well until clear and cool. Then add:

• 1ml purple food colouring (optional)
• 2.5g malic acid
• 20ml vegetable glycerine
• Flavour base

Dilute 1:5 with ice cold sparkling water.

It has a wonderfully subtle cherry flavour and an almost sherbet-like tingle on the tastebuds.

I adapted the recipe from a Lime Champagne recipe from 1910. The cherry bomb name came about because of the slight tingle it gives on the tongue and it's just a fun name.

Super Vanilla Cola

This is an adaptation of the Hypercube Cola recipe I posted before, but I've left out the coca leaf substitute as I feel it adds a much too bitter flavour and added a super vanilla extract made from ethyl vanillin and vanillin which gives it a really super vanilla flavour - almost a cross between Vanilla Coke and the Oreo Coke variant that's been popular recently.

Flavour base

• 7.50 ml orange oil 
• 7.00 ml lime oil 
• 2.00 ml lemon oil 
• 1.50 ml nutmeg oil 
• 0.75 ml cassia oil 
• 0.50 ml coriander oil
• 0.50 ml neroli oil (can substitute with petitgrain if neroli is too expensive) 
• 0.25 ml lavender oil

Add each of these oils into 250ml of 95% alcohol and shake well to mix. Allow to age in a cool, dark place for 1+ week (the longer the better - ideally 3 weeks at a minimum).

Vanilla Extract

• 1.5g Ethyl Vanillin
• 1.5g Vanillin
• 10ml propylene glycol
• 10ml 95% alcohol

Mix all the ingredients until fully dissolved and mixed.

Syrup

• 800g white sugar
• 450ml water

Boil the water and pour over the sugar. Stir well until clear and cool. Then add:

• 15ml caramel colouring (E150d)
• 3ml 75% phosphoric acid (or 2.5g citric acid)
• 30ml lime juice
• 20ml vegetable glycerine
• 5-10ml Vanilla Extract (to taste)
• 300mg (0.3g) caffeine powder dissolved throughly in 10ml hot water (add when cool and filtered).
• 2ml flavour base

Let this age for a few days at a minimum before using.

Dilute 1:5 with ice cold sparkling water.

Further to my detective work about Inca Kola and Champagne Kola varieties and recipes, I was pleasantly surprised when I bought a bottle of this at my local corner shop. It's quite definitely very Inca Kola alike. If only it was that acid yellow colour. :D

It's not a perfect replica, but I suspect it's another Champagne Kola variant and the taste is surprisingly nice. I thought it was going to be really vulgar and oversweet, but it's actually (gasp) nice!

As this is made by the maker of Irn Bru and KA Karribean Kola I should not be surprised.

https://preview.redd.it/oh6y6nkvx22e1.jpg?width=2365&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a316c3b1d1b91bbe302ab2c4d390f82881835b9a

I'm still experimenting with the cola flavour - this time I went back to the original one I tried a year ago, Cube Cola, but with some modifications from the things I've learned along the way. It's getting closer to the flavour I want each time.

The imitation coca leaf flavour really helps boost the bitter aspect, and the lime juice & vanilla really round off the flavour.

This flavour base will make ~135 litres of cola syrup or almost 4500 litres of drink.

Flavour base

• 7.50 ml orange oil 
• 7.00 ml lime oil 
• 2.00 ml lemon oil 
• 1.50 ml nutmeg oil 
• 0.75 ml cassia oil 
• 0.50 ml coriander oil
• 0.50 ml neroli oil (can substitute with petitgrain if neroli is too expensive) 
• 0.25 ml lavender oil

Add each of these oils into 250ml of 95% alcohol and shake well to mix. Allow to age in a cool, dark place for 1+ week (the longer the better - ideally 3 weeks at a minimum).

Coca leaf substitute

• 100ml alcohol
• 65g Yerba Mate
• 35g Bay leaf

Grind the leaves as fine as possible and soak in the alcohol for 1+ week. Filter well through coffee paper.

Syrup

• 800g white sugar
• 450ml water

Boil the water and pour over the sugar. Stir well until clear and cool. Then add:

• 15ml caramel colouring (E150d)
• 2.5ml 75% phosphoric acid (or 2.5g citric acid)
• 20ml lime juice
• 10ml vanilla extract
• 30ml filtered coca leaf substitute
• 300mg (0.3g) caffeine powder dissolved throughly in 10ml hot water (add when cool and filtered).
• 2ml flavour base

Let this age for a few days at a minimum before using.

Dilute 1:5 with ice cold sparkling water.

I'm going to experiment with cherry and vanilla versions of this recipe at some point.

Inca Kola is a popular soft drink from Peru, known for its sweet, bubblegum-like flavor and distinctive yellow color. While the exact recipe is a closely guarded secret, we can create a version that approximates its flavor profile based on the key ingredients and common flavor notes.

Inca Kola-Inspired Recipe

Ingredients:

• **Carbonated water**: 1 liter (sparkling water or club soda)

• **Sugar**: 1 ½ cups (or adjust to taste)

• **Lemon verbena (or **Hierba Luisa**, a traditional flavor in Inca Kola)**: 1 tablespoon dried (or fresh leaves, if available)

• **Vanilla extract**: 1 teaspoon (for sweetness and depth)

• **Lime zest**: ½ teaspoon (for a citrusy note)

• **Yellow 5 food coloring**: A few drops (for the characteristic color)

• **Citric acid**: ¼ teaspoon (for tartness)

• **Sodium benzoate**: ⅛ teaspoon (optional preservative to extend shelf life)

Instructions:

1. **Make the Flavor Syrup**:

   • In a small saucepan, combine sugar and 1 cup of water. Bring it to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.

   • Lower the heat and add lemon verbena leaves, vanilla extract, and lime zest. Simmer for about 10 minutes, allowing the flavors to infuse.

   • Strain the syrup to remove the leaves and zest, then let it cool to room temperature.

2. **Add Citric Acid and Preservative**:

   • Once the syrup has cooled, stir in the citric acid to balance the sweetness with a bit of tartness.

   • If using, add sodium benzoate to act as a preservative.

3. **Color the Syrup**:

   • Add a few drops of Yellow 5 food coloring to the syrup until it reaches the desired bright yellow color.

4. **Combine with Carbonated Water**:

   • In a large pitcher or bottle, combine the flavored syrup with the carbonated water. A typical ratio is about 1 part syrup to 3-4 parts water, but you can adjust this based on your taste.

5. **Chill and Serve**:

   • Refrigerate the drink for an hour or more to chill it properly.

   • Serve over ice and enjoy your homemade Inca Kola!

Notes:

• **Lemon verbena** is key for achieving a similar flavor to Inca Kola, as it's often cited as one of the base ingredients.

• The lime zest adds a subtle citrusy freshness, enhancing the lemon verbena and mimicking the unique profile of the soda.

• The flavor is hard to pin down as it’s often described as a cross between bubblegum, cream soda, and citrus. This recipe aims to balance those elements.

Feel free to adjust the sweetness and tartness to your preference!

I have to say all my experiments making soda syrup of late have been disappointing. I tried to reverse engineer Inca Kola and I have good quality lemon verbena flavour but low quality supermarket orange, almond and vanilla. I'm guessing it's garbage in garbage out. I'm just not getting good flavour. Usually too weak or not sweet enough. I spose I'm answering my own questions but any wise tips?

I've been sent some samples for liquid fruit flavourings from a flavour house (UK). How I would go about establishing equivalent ingredient amounts to fresh fruit processes?

E.g. how would I determine how much Strawberry Flavouring would be equivalent to 400g/L of fresh Strawberries cooked into a 1:1 sugar syrup?

Each bottle says one of the following: Dose Level: QS Max Dosage: 0.13% RTD - 0.4% RTE Max Dosage: 0.59% RTE - 0.19% RTD Max Dosage: 0.5% RTD

The company who sent them hasn't been very helpful in expanding upon their usage, and haven't sent enough for me to feel like I can just experiment freely without worrying about running out before establishing next steps. I'd guess each mini bottle contains about 25ml of flavouring sample.

Super juice is great stuff for making the most out of your citrus fruits - I even made a calculator for it here: https://cordials.info/super-juice

However, it doesn't tend to last that long due to the addition of the juice from the fruit - you may get a week at most in the fridge before it starts to go off.

A short while ago, Brian Tasch from https://www.corpserevived.com created "Pseudo Citrus", which is like super juice, but doesn't contain the juice from the fruits and, as such, lasts longer.

And I've gone and taken his method for creating it and built out another easy to use calculator called Pseudo juice: https://cordials.info/pseudo-juice

It's a really good way of maximising your citrus fruits and is almost impossible to tell apart from the real thing. Plus, you can use the juice from the fruits in any number of other things.

Found some yuzu in a nearby Asian supermarket - wasn’t cheap, but it’s a delicious flavour and I wanted to see how it would work in a drink.

I made an oleo saccharum from the peel and mixed it with the juice.

I added 70ml to a litre of 3:2 simple syrup.

I then added 10ml of the super lemon essence (https://www.reddit.com/r/Cordials/comments/1fpvgwx/super_lemon_essence/) to round off the citrus aspect as it needed “something” to give it a lift.

In a word - zingy! It’s got an almost lemon sherbet taste to it and a delightful tartness. Definitely be adding this to my regular lineup (as long as I can find the fruit in the shop!)

Obviously, this is the 'big one' to make an authentic version of the infamous drink, but as the ingredient itself is illegal, people have been trying to find alternatives that have a similar flavour profile (minus the highly addictive illegal ingredient).

These are the two that I've found give you the best flavour when added to a cola mix.

1. Sencha. 100g of sencha macerated in 100ml of alcohol gives you a pretty decent approximation of cod leaf extract.
2. Yerba mate and bay leaf. 70g Yerba mate and 30g bay leaf macerated in 100ml alcohol gives you a very strong bitter extract that works well to give you a 'coca & kola' flavour when paired with kola nut extract.

You'll need to taste test it yourself to find the ideal amount to add, but I've found around 30ml added to the same stage of the 1910 cola recipe as the kola nut extract gives you a pretty decent 'coca' flavour.

Not even sure what to call this aside from lemon²…

I’ll be using it in a high powered lemonade soon, but I suspect you won’t have to use much.

To make this, I took 3 unwaxed lemons and finely grated the zest. I added the same weight of citric acid as zest and added an equal volume of 95% alcohol. This was left to macerate for 2 weeks.

The lemon juice was squeezed and then frozen for later use.

After the 2 week maceration was over, I added the defrosted lemon juice and blended the mix to get the last of the oils from the zest.

Finally, the whole lot was filtered to clarify the extract. The photo was taken part way through the filtering. I’ve ended up with around 150ml in total.

It’s an absolutely gorgeous lemon yellow liquid that smells like limoncello on steroids.

In this lineup are:

*blackcurrant & liquorice

• cherry limeade
• lime champagne
• lemonade
• lemon & lime
• passionfruit & coconut
• cola
• iron tonic
• root beer
• sarsaparilla

https://preview.redd.it/6rpys2y419pd1.png?width=367&format=png&auto=webp&s=c404e672f3470df84f2d9ce8440c5cc5d8398e41

Slightly curious what bathroom skin abrasives bring to the soda party?

I tried adapting this recipe https://homemadesodaexpert.blogspot.com/2011/10/recipe-14-homemade-mountain-dew-sun.html that uses cream of tartar as an acid. However, it always recrystallizes in the fridge. I've tried dissolving it cold and boiling it, and get the same result either way. The flavor is good, but i'm worried i'm missing the intended taste because of the lack of acid.

Is there any way to prevent this? The blog post doesn't give any special instructions on dissolving it

Apologies if this is a FAQ or an annoying restatement of stuff you already know, but I'm new here and haven't read everything yet.

I've been avidly reading the Iron Brew/Irn Bru posts from u/vbloke with considerable interest. I've been interested in these "champagne kola" type drinks for a while now, but it's only very recently I realised they were a group. See here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Champagne_cola

There are variants with a similar flavour in Scotland, Peru, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Norway and Pakistan, and a few other besides, but mostly in the Caribbean or South America. The first were in 1901 and 1902 in Scotland and Puerto Rico respectively, but then in 1935 expat Englishman Joseph Robinson Lindley made Inca Kola in Peru, which is by far my favourite.

https://preview.redd.it/l1becetddkod1.jpg?width=600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1a3d9d0fa4eeb99726faebe194247768e1bec20d

It is however *really expensive* to ship here to the UK so I have it really infrequently. I wish there was a way I could make my own syrup, so u/vbloke if you have any sage insights I'll be happy to hear them. Only nugget of info I have is it contains Lemon Verbena, which might come into it.

Sidebar: I am now on a quest to taste all the other champagne kolas out there. I just found that Barr (makers of Irn Bru) also make a champagne kola variant called KA Karibbean Kola. It's got caramel in it so it looks like cola, but it's a brown champagne kola or Irn Bru-alike to the taste. I found a couple of bottles hiding in the fridge of a local Asian corner shop. Score!

https://preview.redd.it/8wmx7ttgdkod1.jpg?width=2000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f137c4d76235e4faa982ae17b47d67c7e7e343dc

Thanks guys and LOVING YOUR WORK.

I know most members here are UK based but this Cola is one of the best I've ever had. Curious if you guys have it there and can think of a copy cat recipe. I think it uses kola nut, cinnamon, vanilla. Any ideas or suggestions would be great thanks!

Hey all, one of my favourite breweries here in Australia makes my favourite raspberry cordial ever. I was just wondering if anyone would have any suggestions on how I could make it at home? It contains real vinegar. I'm just not to sure on the ratios to need or use.

This one you may need to adjust to your own taste, but it's a worthwhile thing to do, as this drink is a thing of tastebud beauty.

I took 100g of shredded coconut and mixed it with 100ml of 95% alcohol in a jar for a few weeks to extract that coconut deliciousness. After about 6 weeks, it was very carefully filtered and stored in a cool, dark cupboard.

Then, I took the pulp from about 6 passion fruits and mixed it with an equal weight of sugar to form a syrup. After 24 hours, I added a small amount of water and pressed the pulp through a fine cheesecloth to extract as much juice as possible. The syrup was then frozen and the remaining pulp was soaked in an equal volume of alcohol to extract even more flavour.

After a couple more weeks, the passion fruit extract was mixed into the frozen syrup and allowed to age for a few days.

I made a 750ml batch of 3:2 simple syrup with a dash of citric acid (around 1.5g) and mixed in about 10ml of coconut extract and 50ml of passion fruit syrup. After a good shake and a taste test, I added a dash more passion fruit syrup so the coconut didn't overpower it too much. It took a a few more drips and drops to get the balance just right, but this drink is now bringing a last bit of summer to some grey and rainy UK days.

Had an idea for a pineapple and passionfruit cordial, so am making oleo saccharum for both and then mixing them to get a perfect balance of flavour.

Once the sugar has done its work and the pulp has been strained, I’ll be adding the leftover pulp to some alcohol and propylene glycol to extract any remaining flavour and mixing the extract with the oleo for a big flavour boost.

Love this sub! Been great watching it grow so quickly! Nice work Vbloke!

I was wondering if anyone had tried to make an italian aperitif cordial... love having these non-alcoholic Crodinos (made by Campari) when in Italy... but they're mad expensive over here!

https://www.crodino.com/en-gb/how-its-made/

Would love to hear if anyone has had any luck making something similar

So far, it’s been post-it notes, scraps of paper and random bits of cardboard. About time I got all the ideas sorted.

Volume 1 is everything I’ve had ideas about and potential recipes

Volume 2 is things that look likely to work and what the recipe may look like with any amends

Volume 3 is things I’ve tried and the base recipe with any adjustments

Volume 4 is things that work and the final recipe

I may need to get a few more volume 1 and 2 notebooks…

I checked the sub rules and I THINK this is allowed, but I understand if not.

I found this sub from some posts in r/soda and I thought someone here might be able to help me.

I’m trying to make a large batch of homemade electrolyte powder to add to water. However, the powder mixture isn’t homogenous due to varying grain sizes of the ingredients. The recipe has table salt, potassium chloride, magnesium malate, a “powdered” sugar substitute, and True Lemon packets.

I made a smaller test batch of 5 servings. The True Lemon is the largest of the ingredients, slightly larger than the table salt (although it clumps up so that could be throwing off the grain size appearance) The table salt and potassium chloride seem to be a similar size, and the magnesium malate and powdered sweetener are the finest. After mixing them all together in a small Tupperware container I noticed The True Lemon flavoring is just settling to the bottom of the container I put it all in. I didn’t think about this before I started making larger batches. The rest of the ingredients aren’t mixing together very well, either.

What would be the best way to blend/grind this mixture to get a uniform size? Can I use a normal food processor, or small personal blender like a NutriBullet? I feel like that could lead to a big mess. I also don’t want it to be too fine where it just throws up dust clouds every time I try to scoop some into my water bottle. Any tips, tricks, or suggestions are more than welcome.

Thank you! And if this isn’t the right place to ask, please steer me to a better sub if you can.