What You Need to Know About Soda

What is Soda?

Soda is a carbonated beverage that may be sweetened and flavored with any number of ingredients. These beverages include the relatively flavorless soda water, club soda, and tonic water. The category also includes sweet ginger ales and citrus sodas, spicy ginger beers, and colas.

Any of these sodas can be enjoyed on their own or they can be used to make mixed drinks that do or do not include alcohol. Soda is an essential mixer to stock in any bar. It is a vital ingredient for popular mixed drinks like the rum and coke, gin and tonic, Shirley Temple, as well as countless others.

Sparkling Water vs. Club Soda vs. Seltzer vs. Tonic Water: What are the Differences?Which is Best for You?

Basic Types of Soda

This is particularly true for mixed drinks, where we generally categorize soda into seven categories: soda water, club soda, tonic water, ginger ale, ginger beer, lemon-lime soda, cola, and root beer.

These are the most popular sodas used in the bar. In general, any of the clear sodas—soda water, club soda, ginger ale—can be used as substitutes for one another. In some instances, even tonic can be a substitute if you want your drink to be a little drier. You can also add a splash of soda to liven up any fruity highballs like a cape codder, sea breeze, and Pearl Harbor.

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The Most Popular Soda Brands 2024

1.Jarritos Soda 

User reviews:4.6/5.0

It's the famous Jarritos brand, hailing from Mexico, which has reached new levels of popularity in the United States over the past several years.  Why do we love them so? First of all, there's the way these drinks look. They're super colorful, but not in a weird, toxic, Mountain Dew-looking way. They're also served in glass bottles, which makes them seem both nostalgic and high-quality. Perhaps that's why you'll see this brand popping up all over social media — the drinks just look amazing in pictures.

There are a ton of different flavors, from guava to grapefruit to tamarind, that you won't find many other companies offering. And the best part is that all of these flavors are excellent, with nary a dud amongst them. And if you ever frequent trendy bars, you'll see that this soda brand is on the non-alcoholic section of the menu more often than you might expect.

There's no denying that Jarritos is the way to go when you're looking for a solid soda option. Whether you're throwing a party and want to make sure you have enough fizzy drinks on hand, or you're just looking for a drink other than coffee that can brighten any random workweek afternoon, you should definitely try a Jarritos.

jarritos soda flavors: Mango, Mandarin ,  Pineapple , Fruit Punch,  Grapefruit , Guava , Passion Fruit , Strawberry.

Price and Where to Buy:

• Jarritos Mandarin Soda, 12.5 fl oz (370 ml), 1 Count：$0.78 @ Walmart 

• Jarritos Naturally Flavored Soda VarietyFamily, 12.5 Fl Oz (Pack of 12): $46.95 @ Amazon

2.Coca Cola Classic

User reviews:4.7/5.0

The most popular soda in America was originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine when Coca-Cola was introduced in 1886.

The iconic caramel-colored soda drink's refreshing taste is thought to derive from vanilla and cinnamon, although Coca-Cola's exact recipe remains a highly guarded secret.

By all measures, Coca-Cola is far too sweet, but we love it anyway. It has a rich, intense flavor that's similar to root beer in some ways but also more subtle and less pronounced. It's not spicy, per se, but it does have a slight bite that sets it apart from other colas on the market.Of course, you know all about the different types of Coke you can find lining store shelves. Some of the most popular include cherry and vanilla Coke. 

Coca-Cola Classic Flavor:Cherry Vanilla, Cherry Vanilla Zero Sugar

Price and Where to Buy:

• Coca-Cola Starlight Fridge Pack Cans, 7.5 fl oz, 10 Pack:$4.57 @ Walmart

• Coca-Cola Starlight Fridge Pack Cans:$5.99 @Instacart

3.Pepsi Cola Soda

User reviews:4.4/5.0

Pepsi is the iconic cola-flavored soda drink introduced to the U.S. in 1893 as "Brad's Drink" until the blue-canned brand was given its current name five years later.The drink's founder Caleb Bradham initially intended the carbonated drink to treat people with digestion problems or stomach ache.

Pepsi is one of the biggest names in soda, and it owns a ton of other soda brands. But you can't mess with the original. Pepsi hit the market just 13 years after Coca-Cola, so it's been around for quite a while. And this soda's flavor is still what most people think of when the brand comes to mind.

Pepsi Zero Sugar ranks as our one of best-selling soda and is a worthy rival to Coke Zero. Formerly named Pepsi Max, Pepsi Zero is a ginseng-infused soda with the same great taste of Pepsi-Cola, but none of the calories. Pepsi Zero Sugar also competes well in the energy drink market as it contains more caffeine than many of Pepsi’s other soft drinks.

Pepsi-Cola Soda Flavor:Pepsi Caffeine Free,Diet Pepsi Caffeine Free, Pepsi Mango,Diet Pepsi, Pepsi Zero Sugar, Pepsi Wild Cherry,Diet Pepsi Wild Cherry

Price and Where to Buy:

• Pepsi Cola Soda Pop, 12 oz Cans, 24 Pack:9.78@Walmart

• Pepsi Soda, 12 Fl Oz (pack of 24):$17 @ Amazon

4.Dr Pepper & Cream Soda

User reviews:4.5/5.0

With its dark cola color, Dr Pepper & Cream Soda looks like regular Dr Pepper, but its scent carries a strong vanilla vibe.

The cream soda taste – a creamy vanilla that conjures memories of sundaes and floats – is immediately noticeable at first sip. With subsequent sips, Dr Pepper’s 23 flavors come back to the forefront, with the cream soda lingering in the background. The flavor combination is definitely a pleasant and harmonious one. I would guess at a 2:1 ratio of Dr Pepper to cream soda.

As a result of the pairing, the “spicy bite” that the original Dr Pepper is known for becomes muted, but because of the way the flavors take turns in the foreground, it is always clear that this is a Dr Pepper product. Interestingly, more so than its other flavor combinations like Cherry Vanilla, Dr Pepper & Cream Soda manages to achieve a smooth “cream finish” feeling characteristic of cream soda.

 Dr Pepper & Cream Soda Flavor:Indulge in all 23 flavors of Dr Pepper with a splash of classic cream. Dr Pepper & Cream Soda tastes like a toned-down version of your favorite cola, but you don’t lose out on any flavor.(Click here for 23 flavors)

Price and Where to Buy:

• Dr Pepper Cream Soda Cans 12 oz (Pack of 24):$23 @ Amazon

• Dr Pepper & Cream Soda, 12 Fl Oz cans, 12 pack: $4.98 @ Walmart

5.Wave Soda

User reviews:4.6/5.0

Wave Soda is a product that is going after the diet soda drinker with a clean label product that is made with 85 percent sparkling water and 15 percent fruit juice.

On the surface, this sounds a whole lot like what some of the flavored sparkling water brands are doing (Spindrift immediately comes to mind, although this product uses juice concentrates), but there’s one key difference: added caffeine. In all of the flavors, with the exception of the Caffeine Free Apple variety, they’ve added 42mg of caffeine (the exact amount in a can of Diet Coke). But in reality, that’s about the only commonality between this and one of the major diet soda brands.

That’s pretty obvious when you take a look at the flavor lineup, which includes Cucumber, Mango, Grapefruit, Blueberry, Tangerine, and Apple. All of the products have 25 calories per can, although the sugar ranges from 2-6g depending on the flavor.From a taste perspective, Wave Soda definitely drinks more like a sparkling water than a can of soda, be it diet or regular. 

Wave Soda Flavor: Cucumber, Grapefruit, Blueberry, Mango, Tangerine, Caffeine Free, Apple

Price and Where to Buy:

• Wave Soda Tangerine - (24 Pack); $31.32 @ Wave Soda 

• Wave Soda Politely Caffeinated Healthy Soda Mango 24 Count:$47.56 @ Walmart

6.7UP

User reviews:4.0/5.0

7Up is a brand of a lemon-lime flavored non-caffeinated soft drink. 7UP is an iconic soda — and perhaps one of the most notable citrus sodas out there. It's a classic brand, and it's one that you probably won't have problems finding at a local restaurant or a nearby grocery store. 

It's so famous that it even has a game named after it (ever play Heads-Up 7UP in grade school?). The flavor is light and crisp, though it may be more on the sweeter side than many would like. It does have a lot of carbonation, however, which has earned it a higher place in our ranking for the bubbly mouthfeel.

In addition to the classic citrus flavor, you can also snag this soda brand in a cherry variety. We're not huge fans of the cherry, though, and we'd never choose it over the original. The zero-sugar options aren't great, either. One thing that this soda does have going for it, though? It tastes amazing when used as a mixer. If you're looking for an easy way to bring some more flavor and fizz to your cocktails, 7UP is a really good option. Since it has that sweetness to it, it can really mellow out the harsh flavors of liquor.

7UP flavors:Original 7UP, Diet 7UP, Cherry 7UP, Diet Cherry 7UP, 7UP PLUS Cherry, 7UP PLUS Island Fruit, and 7UP PLUS Mixed Berry, 7UP Zero Sugar · 

Price and Where to Buy:

• 7UP Zero Sugar Lemon Lime Soda, 12 fl oz cans, 12 pack:$4.38 @ Walmart

• 7UP Zero Sugar Lemon-Lime Soda:$5.49 @Food 4 Less

7.Sprite Zero

User reviews:4.9/5.0

Sprite is now advertised as a thirst-quenching drink, with commercials featuring popular celebrities and athletes, including Drake and LeBron James. Along with Coca-Cola and Pepsi, Sprite also boasts a spot as one of the top 20 most popular brands worldwide.

You may argue that all citrus sodas taste the same, but that's just not true. There's one citrus soda that rises above all the others, and that's Sprite. Sprite is Coca-Cola's answer to 7UP, per Forbes, but we think that it's actually way better. Trust us when we say that the original is the way to go. Sprite's got that lemon-lime flavor you love without any caffeine. It's also light, crisp, and refreshing in a way that'll make you want to take one more sip — then another, and another. And while Sprite may taste sweeter than brands like 7UP, that intense carbonation makes it hard to notice how much sugar you're downing.

You can find both ginger and cherry-flavored Sprite, but they're not particularly tasty. And when it comes to the tropical mix Sprite? We don't suggest trying it. Like most other sodas out there, we don't really like the alternative sugar options either. But because the original is so good, it still ranks toward the top of our list.

Sprite Flavors:SPRITE，SPRITE ZERO SUGAR，SPRITE GINGER，SPRITE GINGER ZERO SUGAR，SPRITE LYMONADE，SPRITE CHERRY，SPRITE CHERRY ZERO SUGAR，SPRITE TROPICAL MIX

Price and Where to Buy:

• Sprite Zero, 12 Fl Oz Can (Pack of 18):$22.99 @ Amazon

• Sprite Zero - 12pk/12 fl oz Cans:$5.79 @ Target

8.Fanta Orange

User reviews:4.6/5.0

Fanta Orange Soda, which is a Coca-Cola product imported from Holland, is a fine soda made with orange juice. This soda is very refreshing -- it's just too bad that Coca-Cola doesn't make products like this in the United States. This beverage is very refreshing and full of real orange juice flavor. Orange Fanta is an easy sipping gourmet soda with a low level of carbonation.

And if orange soda is your thing, then you must know that Fanta is where it's at. The original Fanta is the orange one, and it really is amazing. It's super sweet, yes, but the artificial-tasting orange flavor with the heavy carbonation somehow makes it really drinkable. But there are lots of other Fanta flavors too, including grape, peach, and fruit punch. The Fanta piña colada is worth a try if you want to try something really different, and the pineapple is also really interesting. However, the orange flavor Fanta really is the best of the bunch.

In addition, the packaging is very nice - it has a thick green molded glass bottle. This is truly a top-notch product. Definitely try this product if you can!

Fanta Orange Soda Flavors: Orange, Orange Zero Sugar ,Berry, Pina Colada ,Pineapple , Strawberry, Grape , Peach

Price and Where to Buy:

• Fanta Orange Soda Bottle, 2 Liters:$1.48@Walmart

• Fanta Orange Soda, 12 Fl Oz Cans (Pack of 18):$19.99 @ Amazon

9.Tab Soda

User reviews:4.6/5.0

When TaB hit shelves, it was the very first of its kind for Coca-Cola®. The legendary pink can paved the way for the popularity of diet soda. The original diet soft drink recently turned 57, and with fiercely loyal devotees, this classic is a cultural icon. TaB is leaving shelves, but the story lives on forever.

Without TaB, there wouldn't be the Diet Coke or Coke Zero Sugar that we know and love today. When it was introduced in 1963, TaB was the very first diet soda for The Coca-Cola Company. The pink-hued can with no calories rocked households as Americans were becoming more and more weight conscious.

TaB, as a first of its kind drink for The Coca-Cola Company, paved the way for the diets and lights category. If not for TaB, we wouldn't have beverages like Diet Coke or Coca-Cola Zero Sugar.From Beatlemania to smart phones, and throughout decades of cultural changes, TaB has seen it all. The brand is a pop icon, thanks to the highly recognizable colorful pink can, and the effervescent liquid tucked inside is truly one of a kind. The larger than life diet soda has charmed people across the world. 

Tab Soda Flavor:Ginger Ale, Lemon- Lime, Orange, Strawberry, Black Cherry, and Root Beer. 

Price and Where to Buy:

• TaB Cola Soda Pop, 12 Fl Oz, 12 Pack Cans:$18.24 @ Walmart

• TaB Diet Cola Soda, 12oz Can (Pack of 18):$39 @Pricepulse

10.Diet Coke

User reviews:4.2/5.0

Diet Coke was introduced to the U.S. in August 1982, when the sugar-free soda proved an instant hit, quickly overtaking the company's existing diet cola, Tab, in sales.

Led by Diet Coke, diet soda made a comeback last year after falling sharply in prior years. Dollar sales for Diet Coke increased 4.6%, boosted by the brand's introduction of a new series of flavors at the beginning of 2018, including Ginger Lime, Feisty Cherry, Zesty Blood Orange, and Twisted Mango. Coke seems to be happy with the new flavors, as it just added two more, Strawberry Guava and Blueberry Acai.

The release of the new flavors in the first quarter of 2018 led Diet Coke to its first quarter of volume growth in North America since 2010. Coca-Cola Zero sales also grew 10.7% last year, showing that consumers seem to be embracing diet sodas again, at least under the Coke label.

Diet Coke Flavors: diet coke，caffeine free diet coke，diet coke sweetened with splenda

Price and Where to Buy:

• Diet Coke Soda Pop Cola 12 Count:$7.99 @ Safeway

• Diet Coke Cola Soda Pop, 12 Fl Oz, 12 Pack Cans:$6.42 @ Walmart

Is Soda Good for Health?

Soda is not good for a person’s health because it contains lots of sugar. Consuming too much soda may lead to weight gain, diabetes, and cardiovascular conditions.

Health effects on the body

consuming a lot of beverages sweetened with sugar can lead to:

• weight gain

• having obesity

• type 2 diabetes

• heart disease

• kidney disease

• non-alcoholic liver disease

• gout

Soda does not make a person feel full in the same way that consuming the same amount of calories from solid food would. Some people may continue eating despite consuming a high-calorie drink.

Additionally, sweet-tasting drinks may increase the appetite for other foods that are high in calories.

Soda can also cause tooth decay. According to the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS), sugary drinks are a leading cause of tooth decay.

When the bacteria in the mouth break down the sugar, it produces acid, which can dissolve the surface of the tooth.

Alternatives to soda

Experts point out that the best choice for satisfying thirst is water.

Water is good for a person’s overall health. It can help the body to:

• maintain a good temperature

• lubricate joints

• get rid of waste via urination, bowel movements, and sweat

• prevent kidney stones

To help people consume more water, the CDCTrusted Source recommend:

• keeping a bottle of cold water in the refrigerator

• adding a wedge of lime, cucumber, lemon, or watermelon for additional flavor

• carrying a reusable water bottle during the day and fill it up as needed

Fruit juice is a possible option. However, it also contains a lot of sugar, so it is essential not to consume too much. As an alternative to soda, try adding a quarter or half a cup of 100% fruit juice to some plain sparkling water.

A person can also consume the following in moderation:

• plain coffee

• plain tea

• sparkling water

• seltzer

• unsweetened flavored waters

Related Read:

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