Wow, playing with my carbonation kit has been a lot of fun!
The Carbonater caps I got from Liquid Bread have been a real blast, along with the CO2 tank and regulator set from Keystone Brewing. I can carbonate pretty much any cold liquid in a 2-liter or 1-liter bottle, and have been experimenting with all sorts of stuff.
Of course, homemade seltzer is easy — fill up a bottle with filtered water, headspace it, and carbonate. Bam! Seltzer! They charge 75 cents for a liter of the stuff at the store, but it costs me about four, if that. And it’s better stuff, because I filter it myself. And flavored seltzer is just as easy. Just add a little flavored syrup, and there it is. My favorite is Pom Seltzer, using the same pomegranate syrup I use for the Pomegranate Bubonicola. A tablespoon is enough for a liter of seltzer, and doesn’t add significant sugar to the drink. But it does add nice flavor and a great tartness.
Iced tea, with a little Splenda added, makes a very different carbonated beverage. The flavor is decidedly odd, but not bad. With a little pom syrup, it’s quite tasty. Lemon in the tea just tasted weird.
But the best drink so far has to be Alacer’s Emergen-C energy drink! I’ve tried several flavors so far, Raspberry, cranberry, and tangerine. They’re all a little flat-flavored by themselves, as they have very little sweetness of their own, so a little pom syrup with the raspberry and cranberry, and a little lemon juice with the tangerine makes the flavors pop. For a 1-liter bottle, two packets of Emergen-C is enough for a remarkably tasty and incredibly healthy energy soda. I’ve got a box of Super Orange in the cupboard I haven’t opened yet — I want to try that, with a touch of orange juice to make the flavor snap.
Maybe I’ll try a quarter teaspoon of Kola Nut extract in some, for a buzz of caffeine along with the charge of vitamins C and B in the tangy energy drink. But that’s later. Right now, I’m going to finish my glass of Tangerine-Lemon Air Raid Zinger!