Does anyone even drink pop/soda anymore?

[Milspecstache]

My wife put about 80 bottled waters in a cooler with ice and when the last person left we had 2 waters left.

I think most of us realize soda is bad for teeth and behavior (my kids go nuts whenever they are allowed soda, say at a friend's house).  And most of us are cheap enough we don't like to buy it either.

Yet you buy bottled water that you could get almost free from the tap?

I am proud to say that I have never purchased bottled water except for that which came in a 6 gallon jug that I reuse in case of emergency.

Difference between stingy and frugal.  We drink well water except when we have parties for guests (usually twice a year).  Then we buy bottled water to make them feel at ease.

[Jamesqf]

Never cared for it much.  About the only soda-related thing I will drink by choice is the occasional root beer float, but I think of that more as a dessert than a drink.

[homeymomma]

We just bought a case of root beer for a party and I didn't end up getting used, so it's in our fridge. Holy crap that stuff is good. I've been having sips here and there for days, but I can't finish a whole can by myself. Hopefully when it's gone we won't buy it again for a long time! I don't remember the last time we bought any, but it was probably the last time I was pregnant and craving a root beer float. :)

I almost always get a root beer when I go to chipotle. The experience is not complete without it. Wierd?

Usually it's just water! I always get awkward when guests come and I ask if they'd like something to drink. They ask what we have and I say water... Or... Water. :) I think we come across a little unprepared. Haha

[randymarsh]

I almost always get a root beer when I go to chipotle. The experience is not complete without it. Wierd?

I do this. Not really a big root beer drinker, but it goes well with Chipotle for some reason.

[exceljunkie]

I refuse to spend money on beverages; I figure it's mostly water and packaging (and I really hate all that packaging :( ). That being said, I do like the fizz in soda and will have a soda maybe once a week. It's always free at my office but I truly limit myself to one a week max.

I do buy milk for my son, but I made my husband give up his Arizona Iced tea habit. Oh, but we buy teabags (~2 boxes a year?) and coffee (husband drinks this).

We don't buy drinks at restaurants either, and neither my husband nor I drink any alcohol. Our treat is a big iced tea from McDonalds whenever we go on a road trip.

[Jamesqf]

We just bought a case of root beer for a party and I didn't end up getting used, so it's in our fridge. Holy crap that stuff is good.

Even better if you can find some of the non-mainstream kinds that don't put so darned much sugar in it.  One of the things on my long term to-do list is learning how to make my own.

[Annamal]

Ooh . . . Actually, I forgot one.  Ginger beer is stunningly awesome.  Ginger beer (with a strong ginger kick) and rum in a glass with some ice and lime is pretty much the greatest summer weather drink ever invented.

Yay fellow ginger beer drinker, have you tried brewing your own? (I grew up drinking home brewed ginger beer but have too many vivid memories of exploding bottles and stained ceilings to risk it)

[Loud Noises]

Only in the following combinations:

Coke - Rum or Whiskey
Sprite - Vodka
Ginger Beer - Dark Rum
Tonic Water - Gin
;-)

[mostlyeels]

Last year yes, a meal didn't seem complete without it (though rarely by itself).  I even bought a Sodastream so I wouldn't have to lug the bottles home from the supermarket anymore.  And a few months after I bought it, somehow now I hardly drink it anymore, anywhere :)  I like to think it's because I started consistently exercising and watching my diet around that time, but honestly, I don't really understand what motivates my brain.

[Hedge_87]

I like to think it's because I started consistently exercising and watching my diet around that time, but honestly, I don't really understand what motivates my brain.

I do the same thing but not just with soda. If I've been busting my ass in the gym my diet is a lot healthier. Inversely if I've slacked off for a bit it's bring on some double quarter pounders and some pizza.

[Catbert]

Coke with rum when better choices aren't available.  Or a root beer float on a hot summer day.

[Davids]

I usually drink mostly water but I will have a diet soda every now and then. Of course I am talking non alcoholic. I do drink a good amount of beer.

[Gin1984]

I do, but it is my only caffeine source.  I don't like coffee.

[pka222]

Tonic once or twice a month
Never soda alone.. yuck... but I live on a tropical island so a fresh nue (coconut) is always more tempting and cheaper

[garth]

I'll have a pop once a month or so. I don't understand how anyone but kids could drink it every day, it's so sweet. But I used to drink a lot of club soda with lemon. I like the bubbles.

[Oscar_C]

I drink soda about once or twice a week, usually when somebody offers me. I'm too lazy to go to a store and buy any on my own.

[eyesonthehorizon]

I go through phases with it, buying a two-liter Coke once in a blue moon when they're on sale for a buck. But I usually cut it with carbonated water to soften the sweetness and intensify the carbonation. Rum appears sometimes.

More often I drink milk, coffee, tea, and combinations of the aforementioned. Often I'll drizzle a little (I usually mean "a little") coconut or spiced rum into a cup of carbonated water in imitation of a soda, since it'll yield a lot of flavor without being too sweet.

I have great-tasting tap water that I have realized I'm terrible about actually drinking when I don't have a designated water bottle traveling with me everywhere I go - anybody have that experience? All about making it the path of least resistance, I think.

[Tempe]

I used to drink/buy it but I cut it out for the health of my teeth and body. I steal sips from my bf when I'm tempted for the carbonation, but carbonated water is what I was to drink most times. I love the feel and taste. Its very rare that I get anything but water while eating out anymore.

[GuitarStv]

Ooh . . . Actually, I forgot one.  Ginger beer is stunningly awesome.  Ginger beer (with a strong ginger kick) and rum in a glass with some ice and lime is pretty much the greatest summer weather drink ever invented.

Yay fellow ginger beer drinker, have you tried brewing your own? (I grew up drinking home brewed ginger beer but have too many vivid memories of exploding bottles and stained ceilings to risk it)

I tried several years ago using bread yeast . . . the results were disappointing.  After reading MMMs article about easy DIY brewing though, I think that I'll give it another shot with champagne yeast at some point this summer.  We have a lot of Jamaican people around here, and apparently ginger beer is a big drink over there . . . so luckily our grocery store carries multiple varieties of the stuff which is pretty cool.

[Ottawa]

Ginger Beer

4lbs ginger
8lbs - 10lbs sugar (5.5#brown & 2.5#dextrose)
1L pineapple juice*
1 cup fresh lime*
1 cup fresh lemon*
1/2tsp cayenne
yeast (bread or EC1118 yeast)
water up to 20 liters

Mince ginger in food processor (skin and all - cut off any obvious bad bits), add it to stainless pot with sugar and 5 liters of water - bring to a boil, turn off, add cayenne and let steep for an hour.  Add juices and sieve through cheesecloth.  Wring out all the juice (ended up with 2lbs of ginger fibre) re-extract the pulp a couple times to get all that goodness out.**  Put all extracts in fermentor (bucket) and take up to 20L volume.

Now, I don't let the fermentation run dry...I halt fermentation around 1.014.  This leaves enough residual sweetness. 

Bear in mind that I brew to corny kegs and carbonate with CO2.  Thus, halting fermentation with sorbate at 1.014 is not problem.  If you bottle, you will probably ferment to dry, backsweeten with lactose to 1.014 and bottle as usual (with X tsp of sugar to carbonate). 

Total cost to make 20L (I have 19L corny kegs) is $25 for all ingredients. 



*If you don't use fresh lime or lemon...make sure you use something that doesn't have sorbates in it.  i.e...the minute maid frozen lemon or lime juice is good to use...if you didn't want to squeeze lemons/limes.  For example, I would throw in 1 frozen lemon and 1 frozen lime concentrate.  You might want to lower the dextrose by a pound when you do so...since there is a lot of sugar in the concentrate (or don't ;-)).

**I freeze the leftover pulp and use in other recipes, tea etc....  It has a lot of flavour still.

[Mr. Boots]

Okay, some people just don't like the taste of plain water.

I hear people say that sometimes too, and it baffles me. It just seems impossible that there would be a "water tastes bad to me" gene that has survived evolution. It's like saying you don't like the taste of air!

[seanc0x0]

I used to spend ridiculous amounts of money on diet Pepsi. Like 2-3 2L bottles a day, sometimes more if I was stressed. I tracked it separately after getting YNAB and realized how much money I was wasting for no real value at all. The last month of drinking pop regularly I spent $241 on it. That was a sufficient face-punch that I quit shortly thereafter (this was before I found MMM).

Now I might have a pop if I'm out and need a drink and don't have my water bottle, when I go to A & W, or occasionally if the rum I'm trying out turns out to be not good enough to drink neat. :)

Also, Ottawa, thanks for the recipe. As an avid home-brewer I'll definitely have to give that a try!

[GuitarStv]

Ginger Beer

4lbs ginger
8lbs - 10lbs sugar (5.5#brown & 2.5#dextrose)
1L pineapple juice*
1 cup fresh lime*
1 cup fresh lemon*
1/2tsp cayenne
yeast (bread or EC1118 yeast)
water up to 20 liters

Mince ginger in food processor (skin and all - cut off any obvious bad bits), add it to stainless pot with sugar and 5 liters of water - bring to a boil, turn off, add cayenne and let steep for an hour.  Add juices and sieve through cheesecloth.  Wring out all the juice (ended up with 2lbs of ginger fibre) re-extract the pulp a couple times to get all that goodness out.**  Put all extracts in fermentor (bucket) and take up to 20L volume.

Now, I don't let the fermentation run dry...I halt fermentation around 1.014.  This leaves enough residual sweetness. 

Bear in mind that I brew to corny kegs and carbonate with CO2.  Thus, halting fermentation with sorbate at 1.014 is not problem.  If you bottle, you will probably ferment to dry, backsweeten with lactose to 1.014 and bottle as usual (with X tsp of sugar to carbonate). 

Total cost to make 20L (I have 19L corny kegs) is $25 for all ingredients. 



*If you don't use fresh lime or lemon...make sure you use something that doesn't have sorbates in it.  i.e...the minute maid frozen lemon or lime juice is good to use...if you didn't want to squeeze lemons/limes.  For example, I would throw in 1 frozen lemon and 1 frozen lime concentrate.  You might want to lower the dextrose by a pound when you do so...since there is a lot of sugar in the concentrate (or don't ;-)).

**I freeze the leftover pulp and use in other recipes, tea etc....  It has a lot of flavour still.

Thanks for the recipe, but I'm looking more for something that would produce one to two 2L bottles and doesn't require any special equipment whatsoever.  :P

[Annamal]

Thanks for the recipe, but I'm looking more for something that would produce one to two 2L bottles and doesn't require any special equipment whatsoever.  :P

(I went searching for Alison Holst recipe because I think it is similar to the one my parents use (which produces a brew that is capable of hitting the ceiling)
From this thread http://www.foodlovers.co.nz/forum/read.php?3,40064
1 tsp dried yeast granules (Edmonds ACTIVE yeast)
2 tsp sugar
1/2 cup warm (tap) water

2 cups sugar
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp lemon essence
1 tsp tartaric acid

2 litres of hot water (I use hot tap water)
2 litres of cold water

Stir first three ingredients in glass and leave to stand in warm place

Measure and mix the remaining sugar, ginger, lemon essence and tartaric acid in a clean bucket/container.

Pour over the hot water and stir to dissolve the sugar

Add the cold water to cool down the mixture. Leave until lukewarm

Then add and stir in the yeast mixture.

Place lid or cover over bucket/container and leave for 24-36 hours.

Then pour into 1-1/2 litre or 2 litre plastic bottles. I purchased my 2 litres from Bin Inn at $1.50. Otherwise i would have had to pay $1.29 for fizzy drinks that I don't like from Pak N Save. The amount that I've been making it was way better to puchase the CLEAN bottles from Bin Inn.


One recipe advised me to add 1 tsp sugar to each bottle before capping so I tried either or without sugar and they were both nice. But the added sugar was extra fizzy.

[ChrisLansing]

For me the key to staying away from pop is to have gallon jugs of water in the fridge.   The only ting pop has going for it is that it comes out of the machine nice and cold.   I put a couple jugs in the fridge at work and I'm all set.  Same at home.   

[GuitarStv]

Thanks for the recipe, but I'm looking more for something that would produce one to two 2L bottles and doesn't require any special equipment whatsoever.  :P

(I went searching for Alison Holst recipe because I think it is similar to the one my parents use (which produces a brew that is capable of hitting the ceiling)
From this thread http://www.foodlovers.co.nz/forum/read.php?3,40064
1 tsp dried yeast granules (Edmonds ACTIVE yeast)
2 tsp sugar
1/2 cup warm (tap) water

2 cups sugar
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp lemon essence
1 tsp tartaric acid

2 litres of hot water (I use hot tap water)
2 litres of cold water

Stir first three ingredients in glass and leave to stand in warm place

Measure and mix the remaining sugar, ginger, lemon essence and tartaric acid in a clean bucket/container.

Pour over the hot water and stir to dissolve the sugar

Add the cold water to cool down the mixture. Leave until lukewarm

Then add and stir in the yeast mixture.

Place lid or cover over bucket/container and leave for 24-36 hours.

Then pour into 1-1/2 litre or 2 litre plastic bottles. I purchased my 2 litres from Bin Inn at $1.50. Otherwise i would have had to pay $1.29 for fizzy drinks that I don't like from Pak N Save. The amount that I've been making it was way better to puchase the CLEAN bottles from Bin Inn.


One recipe advised me to add 1 tsp sugar to each bottle before capping so I tried either or without sugar and they were both nice. But the added sugar was extra fizzy.

Cool!  I'm going to give this one a try.  I don't know what the hell tartaric acid is, would lime juice work?  Also, is lemon essence the same as lemon juice?

[Ottawa]

Cool!  I'm going to give this one a try.  I don't know what the hell tartaric acid is, would lime juice work?  Also, is lemon essence the same as lemon juice?

tartaric acid = cream of tartar (hint: look in baking isle).

I think the purpose of it is to prevent the sugar from crystallizing (and becoming less accessible to yeast).  On a chemical level it breaks sucrose down into single molecules of glucose and fructose.  Thus, it would accelerate the fermentation process. 

You can make liquid invert sugar (glucose/fructose) by disolving 1 kg white sugar in 1 ltr water, adding 1 teaspoon of cream of tartar and boiling for about 10 minutes.

[CarDude]

I enjoy soda, but not enough to buy it in most situations. The only exception I can think of is when going to the movies, along with a big ol' bucket of popcorn.

[Annamal]

Cool!  I'm going to give this one a try.  I don't know what the hell tartaric acid is, would lime juice work?  Also, is lemon essence the same as lemon juice?

Ummm I know you can buy cream of tartar over here for baking ( and for ginger beer apparently), my parents used to use lemon juice (I have this memory of a gigantic basin of with ginger, cut up lemons, yeast, sugar and probably some other stuff).

I don't know about lime juice but it is chemically similar enough to lemons that it should work.

Just keep a cup around to jam on the top of the ginger beer bottle when you open it (every time I go home I can still see the slight smudge on their ceiling where I wasn't quite quick enough)

[YK-Phil]

Thanks for the recipe, but I'm looking more for something that would produce one to two 2L bottles and doesn't require any special equipment whatsoever.  :P

(I went searching for Alison Holst recipe because I think it is similar to the one my parents use (which produces a brew that is capable of hitting the ceiling)
From this thread http://www.foodlovers.co.nz/forum/read.php?3,40064
1 tsp dried yeast granules (Edmonds ACTIVE yeast)
2 tsp sugar
1/2 cup warm (tap) water

2 cups sugar
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp lemon essence
1 tsp tartaric acid

2 litres of hot water (I use hot tap water)
2 litres of cold water

Stir first three ingredients in glass and leave to stand in warm place

Measure and mix the remaining sugar, ginger, lemon essence and tartaric acid in a clean bucket/container.

Pour over the hot water and stir to dissolve the sugar

Add the cold water to cool down the mixture. Leave until lukewarm

Then add and stir in the yeast mixture.

Place lid or cover over bucket/container and leave for 24-36 hours.

Then pour into 1-1/2 litre or 2 litre plastic bottles. I purchased my 2 litres from Bin Inn at $1.50. Otherwise i would have had to pay $1.29 for fizzy drinks that I don't like from Pak N Save. The amount that I've been making it was way better to puchase the CLEAN bottles from Bin Inn.


One recipe advised me to add 1 tsp sugar to each bottle before capping so I tried either or without sugar and they were both nice. But the added sugar was extra fizzy.

Cool!  I'm going to give this one a try.  I don't know what the hell tartaric acid is, would lime juice work?  Also, is lemon essence the same as lemon juice?

Like I said before, I don't care much for soda, but this piqued my curiosity and I want to try this at home. When you say ground ginger, do you mean the dry powder, or fresh ginger that you grind yourself?

[NeighborGuy]

When I was a teenager I stopped drinking sugary soda and switched to diet. Then I switched from diet soda to just club soda, maybe with a splash of lemon juice or something. I'm really just in it for the bubbles.

[Annamal]

Like I said before, I don't care much for soda, but this piqued my curiosity and I want to try this at home. When you say ground ginger, do you mean the dry powder, or fresh ginger that you grind yourself?

Fresh ginger is awesome and my parents definitely used it

[seanc0x0]

When I was a teenager I stopped drinking sugary soda and switched to diet. Then I switched from diet soda to just club soda, maybe with a splash of lemon juice or something. I'm really just in it for the bubbles.

This is a huge part of it for me as well.  There's something about the feeling of carbonated beverages that is just pleasant.  My parents have the same thing, and solved it by buying a Sodastream machine. Have you tried something like that?  I'm thinking of getting one at some point, but I've got enough kitchen gadgetry that I'm reluctant to add another counter space hogging gewgaw.

[MoneyCat]

I drink soda along with coffee because I am addicted to caffeine.  I get very bad headaches if I go without it for too long.  I have some free time this summer, though, so I am going to try to kick the habit once and for all.

[likeavision]

When I was a teenager I stopped drinking sugary soda and switched to diet. Then I switched from diet soda to just club soda, maybe with a splash of lemon juice or something. I'm really just in it for the bubbles.

This is a huge part of it for me as well.  There's something about the feeling of carbonated beverages that is just pleasant.  My parents have the same thing, and solved it by buying a Sodastream machine. Have you tried something like that?  I'm thinking of getting one at some point, but I've got enough kitchen gadgetry that I'm reluctant to add another counter space hogging gewgaw.

I, too, love my bubbles but don't need the caffeine or artificial sweeteners.  I used to drink a fair amount of diet soda.  Then, I got a Sodastream machine about six months ago and I love it.  Carbonator refills are easy (I can do it at Staples where I always have rebates to spend or my local hardware store).  I'd definitely skip the horrible syrups that Sodastream sells, however (I never even used all of the "free" ones they gave me with the machine).

And, making ginger beer is even easier than the recipes above.  (I love my dark n' stormys).  I just make a concentrated simple syrup with fresh pressed ginger juice, lemon/lime juice and Stevia for sweetener.  Add that to carbonated water and presto chango . . . ginger beer.  No need to wait for yeast to do it's thing.  I also make a lot of other sodas with fresh fruit (frozen strawberries and blueberries are great for this).  If you google soda recipes on line you'll see many good suggestions.

P.S. The machine actually takes up very little space but it's the only appliance I leave out on my kitchen counter since I use it at least once a day.

[travelbug]

I don't, haven't for years. I don't like the taste nor the lack of nutritional value. I watched someone clean a filthy bath with a can of coke once and that put me off for life. (but I didn't love it anyway)

My daily beverages include water, tea (herbal of some kind), a vegetable green smoothie and a black espresso coffee each morning.

To add something extra, normally in the Summer, I drink a bottle of San Pellegrino (fizzy water) with lemon or lime and ice.

If we are in Asia sometimes I will have a fruit smoothie, which is crushed ice, fruit of choice and a little palm sugar.

[Albert]

Okay, some people just don't like the taste of plain water.

I hear people say that sometimes too, and it baffles me. It just seems impossible that there would be a "water tastes bad to me" gene that has survived evolution. It's like saying you don't like the taste of air!

Water has no bad taste, it has no taste at all. Many people myself including prefer to drink something which does have a taste. I tend to drink plain water only during exercise or when I'm doing something outside in a hot weather (hiking in the mountains, for example).

[Jamesqf]

Water has no bad taste, it has no taste at all.

Water certainly does have a taste.  Even (or perhaps especially) pure water from e.g. my well or a mountain lake.  Then add the taste of various chemicals used in urban water supplies, or which can be found in natural wells and springs.

[Annamal]

I don't, haven't for years. I don't like the taste nor the lack of nutritional value. I watched someone clean a filthy bath with a can of coke once and that put me off for life. (but I didn't love it anyway)

My daily beverages include water, tea (herbal of some kind), a vegetable green smoothie and a black espresso coffee each morning.

To add something extra, normally in the Summer, I drink a bottle of San Pellegrino (fizzy water) with lemon or lime and ice.

If we are in Asia sometimes I will have a fruit smoothie, which is crushed ice, fruit of choice and a little palm sugar.

A lot of the tricks people pull with coke would work equally well with any acidic juice (lemon for example) or vinegar ( I don't drink it because the extra caffeine plays merry hell with my caffeine addiction and I don't need the days worth of headaches...unless I have a really huge piece of programming to get through).

[Prairie Gal]

I drink a can of Coke Zero with a wedge of fresh lime every day, but I don't drink milk, coffee, ice tea (occasionally hot tea) or alcohol, so each to their own.

[shira]

Green tea, coffee, lemonade most of the time soft drink occasionally when i feel i need something bubbly.

[seanc0x0]

I, too, love my bubbles but don't need the caffeine or artificial sweeteners.  I used to drink a fair amount of diet soda.  Then, I got a Sodastream machine about six months ago and I love it.  Carbonator refills are easy (I can do it at Staples where I always have rebates to spend or my local hardware store).  I'd definitely skip the horrible syrups that Sodastream sells, however (I never even used all of the "free" ones they gave me with the machine).

And, making ginger beer is even easier than the recipes above.  (I love my dark n' stormys).  I just make a concentrated simple syrup with fresh pressed ginger juice, lemon/lime juice and Stevia for sweetener.  Add that to carbonated water and presto chango . . . ginger beer.  No need to wait for yeast to do it's thing.  I also make a lot of other sodas with fresh fruit (frozen strawberries and blueberries are great for this).  If you google soda recipes on line you'll see many good suggestions.

P.S. The machine actually takes up very little space but it's the only appliance I leave out on my kitchen counter since I use it at least once a day.

Perhaps I should invest in one then... certainly better than pop at $2+ a bottle. Looks like we do have some space in the budget for one too...

I'd do the ginger beer with the fermentation just because I'm a huge homebrewing nerd. :)

[Ambition89]

The only time I really think I drink Coke is when it is in a mixed drink...otherwise water is what I drink. I don't know but once you get out of the habit of drinking soda it just seems way too sugary to drink for anything other than a dessert.

[fitzgeralday]

Not anymore, water infused with lemon or lime slices seems to do the trick for my taste buds.