Coffee Soda: A Sparkling Coffee Recipe, with or Without Sugar

What Does Coffee Soda Taste Like?

Plain coffee soda is light and fizzy, with black coffee flavor beneath the bubbles. It does not have the sweetness of a typical bottled soft drink: the coffee’s own bitterness, fruit or roast notes remain exposed. A citrus-toned coffee can make the combination taste bright, while a chocolatey brew takes it in a rounder direction.

Sparkling water also dilutes the coffee, so the result should feel like a refreshing long drink rather than a concentrated shot. If it tastes thin, try the page’s espresso variation or a little more prepared coffee. If you want a softer, sweeter finish, dissolve a small measured amount of sugar in the coffee before chilling it.

I like this with a coffee that already has a citrus note and a small piece of lemon peel. It gives the glass a fresh aroma, and I can enjoy the fizz without adding the tonic bitterness I might choose in a different drink.

Sparkling Water, Tonic or Bottled Coffee Soda?

Club soda can contain added minerals: Q's label lists Himalayan salt. It is still a different ingredient from tonic. Flavored sparkling water may be unsweetened, but “sparkling” on its own does not establish a sugar content.

Coffee Soda Recipe

Use prepared cold brew or chilled filtered coffee. Measure the prepared coffee, sparkling water and ice separately, leaving room for the fizz.

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Choose the Coffee Before Adding Bubbles

Use an unsweetened black coffee that tastes balanced when cold. A cold brew batch is convenient; chilled brewed coffee also works. For a product labeled concentrate, follow its dilution instructions first, then weigh the 120 g (4.2 oz) portion.

Espresso soda variation: replace the 120 g (4.2 oz) coffee with 36 g prepared espresso that has cooled. Use the espresso brewing guide to prepare the coffee, then keep 120 ml (4.1 US fl oz) sparkling water and 100 g (3.5 oz) ice. It will be a smaller, differently concentrated drink, and the ordinary brewed-coffee nutrition/caffeine reference below no longer describes the coffee portion.

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Coffee Soda Calories, Caffeine and Sugar

The plain reference serving has estimated totals of 1 kcal and 0 g sugar, with 48 mg caffeine as a generic brewed-coffee comparison. For cold brew or a bottled coffee soda, use that product’s caffeine information; each has its own serving basis.

A Measured Sweetness Choice

Added sugar is included in total sugar, not counted a second time.

Dissolve weighed sugar in the still coffee before adding carbonation; dissolving it while the coffee is warm, then chilling, is easiest. For syrup instead, use its label and portion units to calculate the addition.

Coffee Soda Troubleshooting

Do not shake the assembled drink.

Once the sparkling water is in, I mix gently and drink it promptly. That crisp carbonation is part of the appeal to me. Vigorous stirring or a long wait costs the drink something I wanted from it.

Coffee Soda History

Coffee soda has a bottled history as well as a café life. Manhattan Special dates its family tradition to 1895 and describes a recipe made with brewed coffee and cane sugar. Its sweetened, carbonated coffee belongs to the same broad family of drinks as a home coffee spritzer, though the flavor and sweetness come ready-made in the bottle.

Modern producer recipes show the category's flexibility. Copper Cow Coffee publishes a coffee soda spritzer with brewed coffee, sparkling water and optional sweetener or creamer. Our version keeps the base plain so the choice of bubbles and sweetness is easy to understand.

Coffee Soda with Citrus Peel

For a citrus variation, twist a small piece of washed lemon or orange peel over the glass to release its aroma and add it as an optional garnish. Juice adds acidity and changes the recipe; start with a small amount. Keep milk or cream as a separate experiment: a creamy coffee soda has a different balance and nutrition from this black version.

Common Questions

Editor's Take

Sources and Further Reading