How to Make Coffee Soda at Home: 4 Simple Recipes

To make coffee soda, pour 1 part cold brew concentrate (or one espresso shot) over ice, then top it with 2 to 3 parts very cold sparkling water. Pour the water slowly down the side of the glass and stir once. Taste before you sweeten anything: bubbles make coffee taste brighter than you expect.

What do you need to make coffee soda?

• Coffee: cold brew concentrate or espresso. Regular-strength cold brew works, but it tastes thin once it's diluted.
• Sparkling water: as cold and as fizzy as you can find. Start with plain.
• Ice and a tall glass.
• Optional: orange or lemon peel, vanilla extract, a splash of cream, your sweetener of choice.

Four coffee soda recipes

Recipe	Coffee	Bubbles	Ratio	Sweet?
Sparkling cold brew	2 oz cold brew concentrate	4–6 oz sparkling water	About 1:2 to 1:3	No
Espresso and soda	1 espresso shot	5 oz sparkling water	Shot poured on top	No
Espresso tonic	1 espresso shot	5 oz tonic water	Shot poured on top	Yes, unless you use diet tonic
No-added-sugar dirty soda	1–2 oz cold brew concentrate	12 oz Diet Coke or Coke Zero Sugar	To taste	Only from the zero-sugar soda

Last checked: October 2026. Ratios are starting points; adjust them to your coffee.

1. Sparkling cold brew

Fill a glass with ice. Add 2 oz of cold brew concentrate. Slowly pour in 4 to 6 oz of cold sparkling water. Twist a strip of orange peel over the top if you like. This is the cleanest version and the closest to a canned coffee soda.

2. Espresso and soda

Fill a glass with ice and 5 oz of sparkling water. Pull a shot of espresso, let it cool for a minute (or pour it over one ice cube in a small cup), then pour it slowly over the top so it floats. Hot espresso poured straight into soda knocks out a lot of the bubbles.

3. Espresso tonic

Same method, with tonic water instead of sparkling water. Tonic brings its own bitterness from quinine and, unless it's diet tonic, sugar. It's a café classic because it tastes bitter, sweet and bright at once.

4. No-added-sugar dirty soda with coffee

"Dirty soda" means soda dressed up with extras, usually syrup, cream and lime. For a version with no added sugar: ice, a cold Diet Coke or Coke Zero Sugar, 1 to 2 oz of cold brew concentrate, a squeeze of lime, and a small splash of cream if you want it creamy. Cream adds a little natural milk sugar, so skip it if you're counting. If you miss the discontinued cola-and-coffee can, read our Coca-Cola with Coffee alternatives.

How do you keep coffee soda fizzy?

• Keep everything cold. Cold water holds carbon dioxide better than warm, so chill the coffee, the sparkling water and even the glass.
• Pour the sparkling water down the side of the glass, not straight onto the ice.
• Stir once, gently. Every extra stir releases bubbles.
• Cool hot coffee before it meets the soda. Heat drives the gas out.
• Open a fresh bottle. Half-flat water makes half-flat coffee soda.

Can you make sparkling cold brew without Topo Chico?

Yes. Topo Chico mineral water in glass bottles is a café favorite for sparkling cold brew, but it was hard to find for much of 2026 after issues at its Mexico facility paused production in February. A phased return began in Texas in October 2026, with more states planned for 2027 (WBTV). Any strongly carbonated plain water works. Mineral waters add a slightly salty, minerally edge that some people like with coffee; plain seltzer tastes cleaner. A home carbonator works too: carbonate cold plain water first, then add the coffee, since most machines are designed for plain water only (check your manual).

Or skip the prep

If you'd rather just open a can, ESSELATE is real coffee, already carbonated: 80mg caffeine, zero sugar, 10 calories, sweetened with stevia. It also makes a good base for the dirty soda above if you want more coffee and less cola. Curious about the taste first? Read what sparkling coffee tastes like.

Quick answers

What's the ratio for coffee soda?

Start at 1 part cold brew concentrate to 2 or 3 parts sparkling water, or one espresso shot to about 5 oz of sparkling water.

Can I use hot coffee?

Cool it first. Hot coffee flattens the bubbles and melts the ice, leaving a thin, flat drink.

Can you put coffee in a SodaStream?

Most home carbonators are designed to carbonate plain water only, so check your manual. Carbonate the water, then add the coffee.

How much caffeine is in homemade coffee soda?

Whatever your coffee has. Concentrates vary a lot, so check the bottle. To compare with canned drinks, see our caffeine table.

Is coffee soda the same as sparkling coffee?

Yes, same idea, different names. More in What is coffee soda?