Those of us here at Colorado’s Best Drinks are soda aficionados who love everything about the soft drink experience from formulation recipes, to gathering ingredients to making our Sparkling CBD soda and sharing them with the world. To us, the carbonation is the beating heart of a great soda that brings it to life and activates the flavors. But we also know that not everyone agrees. Some people (not many, but some) can't abide the fizzy nature of soda, even though they love the taste. This puts them in something of a tough spot. In the spirit of accommodation, we've decided to share some tips on how to make soda flat if you hate the fizz.
If you love the flavor of our CBD soda but aren’t fond of the carbonation here are four ways you can neutralize that carbonation quickly and effectively.
#1: Add sugar to your soda
“Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down” as Julie Andrews once sang. A spoonful of sugar also helps the carbonation go down. This is a good way to flatten out your soda if you’re at a restaurant or somewhere else where our other soda hacks just aren’t practical.
Pour your soft drink into a glass leaving some room at the top, and then add a spoonful of sugar. The soda will go bonkers for a few seconds and then quiet down. When it settles it will be almost entirely devoid of fizz. Of course, you might want to wait until all that sugar settles to the bottom before drinking the soda.
#2: Pour the soda over ice
Here’s another discreet way to de-fizz your soda if you find yourself in a public place. When you order a soda at a restaurant make sure you ask for a glass of ice to go with it. Pouring the soda over the ice will greatly reduce the fizziness. If you can get crushed ice, even better. The more ice surface area the soda is exposed to the more completely it will decarbonate.
Also, make sure to pour the soda over the ice instead of adding ice to the soda. The act of pouring will release more CO2 and help it de-fizz faster. You are not likely to completely de-fizz the soda by using ice, but you’ll neutralize most of the carbonation.
#3: Apply heat
You always have more options for decarbonating your soda at home, and maybe one of the most effective ways to do so is to apply heat to the soda. Just pour your Sparkling CBD Soda into a saucepan and warm it up on the stove. As soda warms up it releases CO2, which is why sodas tend to go flat quickly on hot summer days and stay fizzy longer on cold winter days.
So pour the soda into a pan and apply moderate heat. Stir the soda as you go, as this will facilitate release of the carbonation. There’s no need to bring the soda to a boil. Just warm it until it starts to emit a bit of steam. Once it’s flattened out, put it back in the fridge to cool it down and make it more agreeable for drinking. Just be aware that the act of heating is going to change the taste a bit.
#4: Dip a paper towel into the soda
You can do this one at home or when you’re out as long as you have access to a paper towel. The rougher the paper towel the better. Why? Because every imperfection in the surface of the paper towel is a “nucleation point” the carbonation will latch onto and use as an escape vehicle. Ever wonder why a steady stream of bubbles seems to be rising from a random point inside a bottle or glass? It’s because there is an imperfection there and the CO2 is using that imperfection to separate itself from the liquid.
So pour your Sparkling CBD Soda into a glass, then take a paper towel and fold it up a couple of times (but not too tightly) and then dip it into the soda. As soon as you dip the paper towel into the soda it will begin to fizz because the CO2 is using the countless rough nucleation sites on the paper towel to exit the liquid. Hold the paper towel suspended into the soda until the soda calms down and flattens out. Shouldn’t take too long. Then remove the paper towel and taste your soda. If it’s still too fizzy for your taste just grab a fresh paper towel and repeat the process.
#5: Shake it up
This one is as old as the hills. If you’ve ever dropped a soda and then opened it you know that almost as soon as it settles down it goes flat. So instead of dropping it just shake your bottle up a bit (3 or 4 shakes should do) and then unscrew the top just enough to let the CO2 escape. When the “fssst” sound stops screw the top on tight and repeat the process. Keep repeating until there’s no “fssst” when unscrewing the top.
Conclusion
There you have it. Whether you want to remove the fizz from one of our CBD Sparkling Sodas or some other type of soda any of the above tips should work. And if you’re looking for an all natural, vegan soft drink try any of our Sparkling CBD Soda flavors.