The TikTok Dirty Soda Hack That Will Make Life So Much Easier

Dirty soda — the phrase has been popping up all over lately, but just what the heck is it? That last can of ginger ale at the back of the bodega with dust coating the rim? No, apparently not. 

Sometimes dubbed Mormon Soda, the viral phenomenon started out in Utah filling a need in the state's significant Mormon community, per Food Network. Since nearly 70% of Utah's population follows The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (per World Population Review), chains like Swig Drinks and Sodalicious have popped up there catering to a specific need: the need for cold caffeine! Dirty sodas were born out of the Mormon teaching that members of the church cannot consume hot caffeinated beverages, so a Starbucks is of limited use in Utah. But through a loophole, cold or iced caffeinated beverages are sanctioned by the church as basically a-okay, per NPR. And thus, the dirty soda was born.

The basic formula for the beverage appears to be soda (preferably caffeinated, classically a diet-coke), cream or coffee creamer, and flavored syrup over ice, according to the Washington Post. With an endorsement by Olivia Rodrigo, watch one video of hypnotic white swirls sinking and filling the glass as the cream settles and it's easy to see how the drink took off on video-sharing platform TikTok — where a new hack has emerged to upgrade the super-sweet beverage.

One of the things that makes the dirty sodas so popular (in addition to its hypnotic swirls and celebrity endorsements), is the endless possible variations and recipes. It's basically the biggest difference between dirty sodas and Italian sodas. Switch up what kind of soda you're using and you have a whole different drink. Switch your syrup, too, and you have a whole different ball game. What about switching out your cream or creamer?

TikTok's @enerianna tried swapping out that key creamy ingredient in the traditional recipe. While a "traditional" dirty soda is diet coke, lime juice, coconut syrup, and half and half, enerianna skips a step by omitting the lime and syrup and getting extra flavor from Coconut Creme Coffee Mate creamer, taking drink prep from juggling a handful of ingredients and messy lime chopping and squeezing down to two simple pours. How does the swap taste? According to the creator, kind of like a "Malibu cocktail." She "didn't love the coconut." But with over 35 flavors of creamer from Coffee Mate alone, it looks like this TikToker has stumbled on yet another way to customize this endlessly customizable beverage. Orange soda and Rice Krispies Treats Creamer, anyone?