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Seltzer
I just wish it wasn't so expensive. I can pick up a big case of cola for cheaper than a modest sized case of fizzy water.
You should be able to find it for the same price as most other sodas. Admittedly it is one of the only canned beverages that doesn't go on sale though so that's probably what you mean.
You say carbonated drink in the title but specify energy drink in your text. I don't think there are any energy drinks that avoid caffeine. It is one of the cheapest means to chemically boost alertness the food industry is allowed to use.
Non energy drinks should be extremely easy to find. Literally read the ingredients list. Caffeine will either be in the list as it is an additive, or listed in the daily allowance chart (if your country uses those). If you don't find it in either you're good.
(The person you're replying to isn't the OP)
Get yourself a countertop carbonator like a Sodastream or Drinkmate.
I have a Drinkmate, and they have a CO2 cylinder exchange program where you can get a heavy discount on more cylinders by returning the empty ones beforehand (prepaid shipping label included with cylinder packs.)
Other than the initial cost of the machine and any additional cylinders you want (I have a total of five, so I can install the last one and ship back four empties for a coupon, but that's probably a little overkill for one person), the ongoing cost is reasonable. I make 1-2L of soda water pretty much every day and I get a little over a month out of each cylinder. Works out to less than $15 a month for me.
Sodastream is from Israel, so thatβs a big no from me. Only learned that recently when I was considering if I should buy one.
Not heard of Drinkmate before. Thanks for reigniting my hopes of home made carbonated water!
That's interesting, didn't know that either. I would normally caution against painting an Israeli business the same as the Israeli government, but I skimmed their Wikipedia article and it looks like the company has treated Palestinians pretty badly itself :(
Truthfully, I couldn't remember any of the other competitor brands that I considered when deciding on a Drinkmate originally. Sodastream was just the one that came to mind.
There's a paintball place near me that advertised that they refill soda stream tanks.
Don't play paintball, and don't have a soda stream, but I remember this for some reason.
That's mildly concerning! There are risks associated with using less-than food-grade CO2 in beverages.
I do this too. Then I discovered spindrifts and find them fucking delicious, so I started making my own spindrift at home by squeezing fresh lemons or limes into a cup before filling with homemade soda water.
I haven't actually done the math but I think this system is more economical than bulk-buying cans of spindrift
Polar Springs and Waterloo are both good options. I love Topo Chico but apparently it has a lot of PFAS
Many root beers don't have caffeine, or rather there are a few brands that introduce a small amount for taste or other reason. And there's lots of variations in taste in those.
I'm always perplexed by surveys that ask about brand loyalties and "on a scale of 1-10 how likely are you to recommend X product to your family, friends" questions.
But reading this thread, I can see there's a lot of people that buy into these.
I've always wondered how they expect people to answer those. I rarely recommend specific brands to people even if I really like them, so do I answer 1? Or are they secretly asking how much I like the product and I'm supposed to answer 10 even if I'd never make the recommendation?
I don't have any brand loyalty, but I do get certain brands of things because I know I don't like the other stuff.
Topo Chico or San Pellegrino. Sparkling mineral water in general. Gotta have those minerals, though.
It took me a long time to realize that la Croix and sparkling waters aren't lacking flavor. It's that my palette was so overwhelmed with sugar that I couldn't taste those flavors. Once I stopped drinking soda everything else kind of popped with flavor
Yeah, I honestly donβt know how la croix does it, but that water has serious flavor, without any of that gross chemical aftertaste. I drink so much la croixβ¦
Topo Chico is what Austinites call water.
I really enjoy the Bubly canned sparking water. Cheaper than Perrier, so many different flavours, and zero sugar or caffeine.
Plain sparkling water is like drinking alkaseltzer to me. gags just thinking about it
I'd rather drink regular water than these drinks that taste like you refilled a glass that had previously been used for a drink that actually had flavor, but enjoy it if that works for you. It's certainly healthier than regular sodas.
The no caffeine sodas I like best have too much sugar to drink often. Ginger Beer and Jarritos Grapefruit soda.
Just donβt. Thereβs not too much of a benefit but adding to the grocery budget. 1-2 Monster a day habits add up quick.
For lower amounts of caffeine I was going to suggest a tea of some kind - but if it weβd like for it to carbonated then maybe Kombucha?
My post literally says once in a great while occasion, but I have a disposable income anyways
Soda water
Target's got a caffeinated Seltzer I am all about. They have a few fruit flavors, then a few sods mimicking flavors.
Sunkist orange soda or my preference, Barqs root beer. Both have a very limited amount of caffeine to impact the flavor. "Barqs has bite" because it has a tiny amount of caffeine. Caffeine has an apparently bitter taste.
Kombucha! Yum.
To most its an acquired taste but to me its like I can't get enough!
La Croix
Fresca.
This was going to be my choice until I realized they wanted some caffeine.
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Too bad fresca uses artificial sweeteners
I used to like the old fresca, too
The aspartame is a big part of Fresca's flavor.
i'll be honest idc about artificial sweeteners. We're all gonna die anyways and we daily ingest microplastics.
Espresso Tonic ^^
I've developed a taste for Sparkling Ice lately, especially their Black Cherry. It's got a bit of real fruit juice in it and tastes way better than most other seltzer type drinks that usually rate somewhere from meh to vomit inducing.
They also have caffeinated versions but those have a bit too much for my liking.