The last thing people will think about when they see words like organic, peanut butter, bacon, juniper, hibiscus, and salty watermelon, will be soda. But yeah, welcome to the wild world of craft soda. People like soda, they’re used to it. But with people demanding more in terms of flavor and quality from everything they consume, craft soda fills that need when it comes to non-alcoholic drinks. Craft soda is the natural evolution of sodas, much like how craft beers have done for the beer industry.
Craft Soda Trivia
- The earliest sodas were marketed as medicine and supposedly treated everything from alcoholism, scurvy, stomach pain, nervousness, and even addiction!
- The term “soda jerk” was coined due to the jerking motion used to pump sodas at early soda fountains.
- 17% of the total US aluminum production goes to making soda cans for Coca-Cola, for the US market alone.
- The average American consumes around 50 gallons of soda per year.
- The first “soft drink” was ginger ale.
Craft Soda Buying Guide
Craft soda, by definition, should have all-natural ingredients and should contain no added preservatives, colorings and chemicals.
Here are some ingredients that you should look out for when buying craft soda. Since you are paying a premium for craft soda, then don’t settle for anything artificial in it.
- Food Coloring – Color has no taste, so why add it?
- Aspartame, cyclamate, sucralose, acesulfame-k, saccharin – These are artificial sweeteners which may or may not cause health issues down the line depending on which study you read.
- Potassium benzoate – This is a preservative that is usually added to mainstream soda.
What does a good label look like? It should look something like this:
Ingredient 1: Sparkling Water
Ingredient 2: <Natural Juice Name>
Optional: <Natural Sweetener Name> Something like raw sugar or cane sugar.
And that’s it. If the craft soda being sold has all-natural ingredients, then all you have to worry about is the flavor that you’ll get.
Craft Soda Production & Farming in Texas
Commercially Produced Soda:
Commercially produced soda is almost all automated. The only human interaction is the carting of ingredients from the delivery trucks to the mixing vats, everything else? Machine automated to ensure consistency and quality. Preservatives, artificial sweeteners, and coloring are usually added to make the product stay on the shelf longer and to reduce costs.
This “hands-free” approach to commercial soda makes it possible for them to create stock to supply almost every store in America. This has also made their products rather unhealthy, and for the lack of a better term, boring.
Craft Soda Production:
The main appeal of craft soda is that it is not mass-produced. Small-batch production ensures that the quality of the product comes first with human oversight over every single aspect of the production.
Craft soda also is made with traditional and exciting recipes. With the demand for more exciting flavors growing and with people growing ever more health-conscious, craft soda is slowly eating away at traditional commercially produced soda’s markets share.
Packaging:
Craft soda is usually bottled in glass bottles. It is very rare to see craft soda in aluminum cans.
Enjoying Craft Soda
Craft soda is best served cold or over ice. They can also be used as an alternative to sweet and sugary mixers for alcoholic drinks.
The popularity of craft soda stems from the mindset that has given rise to the craft beer market. Soda consumption is slowly going down with people becoming more health-conscious. So when people do have soda as an indulgence, they would go for the more attractive option. Healthier, tastier, and unique.
