- Dirty soda
- Soda mixed with flavored syrup and usually cream or coconut cream, often with fresh lime, served over pebble ice. The style started in Utah soda shops.
- Crafted soda
- A soda + syrup drink topped with a cold-foam cap instead of stirred-in cream. The term chains used for their 2025-2026 launches.
- Cold foam
- Cream frothed cold until thick and spoonable, floated on top of a drink. At home: 2 tbsp heavy cream + 2 tbsp half & half + 1 tsp vanilla syrup, frothed 20-30 seconds.
- Sweet cream
- Cream sweetened with vanilla syrup. Stir it in for a dirty soda or froth it for cold foam.
- Syrup ratio
- For a 16 oz cup: 12 oz soda, 1 oz syrup (2 tbsp), 0.5-1 oz cream. Two flavors? Split the syrup 0.5 oz + 0.5 oz.
- Pebble ice
- Small, chewable nugget ice. It chills fast but melts faster than cubes, so fill the cup to the top. Crushed ice is the closest swap.
- Refresher
- A fruit-forward soda drink, usually with fruit purée or syrup and no cream.
- Coconut cream
- The thick, dairy-free cream used in many dirty sodas. Shake the can, use 1 tbsp per 16 oz.
- Half & half
- Half milk, half cream. US rules set it at 10.5% to 18% milkfat; most cartons are 10.5% to 12%. The classic splash in a dirty soda: 0.5-1 oz per 16 oz cup.
- Sugar-free swap
- Use a diet or zero-sugar soda and sugar-free syrup. The ratios stay the same.
- Popping boba
- Juice-filled spheres that burst when bitten. Add 2 tbsp to the bottom of the cup for texture.
- Soda mocktail
- A non-alcoholic mixed drink. Every dirty soda is one: soda + syrup + cream, no alcohol.
New here? Start with what a crafted soda is or craft sodas, explained.