Wanted to try an energy drink since I usually never drink them but didn’t want one with tons of sugar etc but also didn’t taste terrible. This would just be a once in a great while occasion.

      • 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 that’s 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.

        • 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

      • 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.