An energy drink is a heavily caffeinated soft drink. This recipe contains a lot of caffeine, citrus, and herbs. This recipe originates from Flavorlab.
Note that consuming high levels of caffeine can be very dangerous. If you are scaling the recipe up or down, make sure you scale the caffeine accordingly so that the per-serving caffeine amount stays the same or is lower. Absolutely do not use more than the listed proportion of caffeine; this will result in hospitalization or even death.
Ingredients
- 1 ea. lemon, zest removed
- 2 ea. oranges, zest removed
- ½ cup (120 ml) white sugar
- 1 cup (240 ml) water
- ½ ea. lemon, juiced
- ⅛ oz (3.75 g) licorice root
- ¼ oz (7.5 g) ginger
- ½ oz (15 g) ginseng
- 30 mg caffeine (optional)
- 15 drops liquid B vitamin complex (optional)
- 2 g taurine (optional)
- Carbonated water, as needed
Procedure
- Combine the lemon and orange zests with the sugar, rubbing the sugar into the peels to extract the oils. Let this mixture rest in the fridge for 24 hours to infuse.
- Bring the water to a boil, then stir in the sugar-zest mixture, lemon juice, licorice root, ginger, and ginseng. Boil until you get a thick syrup.
- Strain the syrup and discard the solids. This should yield approximately 5 oz (150 ml) syrup.
- Mix the caffeine, B vitamin complex, and taurine into the syrup.
- To make the final energy drink, mix 1 volume of syrup with 5 volumes of carbonated water.
Notes, tips, and variations
- Use water from a carbonating machine or a brand of pure carbonated water such as Polar Original Sparkling Water, Great Value Seltzer Water, or Signature Select Seltzer Water. Do not use a brand of mineral water such as Perrier, San Pellegrino, or Mineragua because the added minerals will ruin the taste. Avoid flavored sparkling water such as La Croix or Spindrift because the preexisting fruit flavors will ruin the drink.