I have moved on, but like a first love, I looked back every now and then with fond memories. No soda since has matched the taste of Josta.
So, on a whim, I decided to search the internet for any movement to revive this dead drink.
I found a few message boards, but no chance of the drink coming back. I did, however, find people discussing the taste and how to recreate it. People were mentioning dragonfruit a lot, saying the fruity juice tasted a lot like the fruity overtones of Josta.
So I decided to experiment to see if I could recreate the taste, using existing drinks or flavors I could easily access.
Since Josta was a Pepsi-branded drink, I decided to use Pepsi as the base. I'm a Coke-man myself, but I want to stay as true to the taste as possible.
Josta was marketed as 'with Guarana' so this was the first ingredient I looked for. I knew it was more than just cola and guarana, but figured this would be the most difficult part to find.
Meet bawls, a guarana-infused soda. The taste is unique, and isn't loaded with additional flavors. Bawls works perfectly.
Next is the dragonfruit.
Since I couldn't find pure dragonfuit juice, I used Vitamin Water power-c. It's laced with dragonfruit, and not much else.
Guarana + Dragonfruit + Pepsi, in equal parts...
As I mixed the three drinks together, that familiar deep-red foam started to emerge. Was this the Josta I remembered so well?
It smells like the real thing.
But it's been about 15 years... so I have no idea if it tastes like the real thing.
However, it tastes fantastic. If it's not a perfect recreation, it's damn-close. So close, I may have to make this more often.
If you want to recreate this recipe yourself, be sure to use equal parts:
- 1 (20oz) bottle of Pepsi
- 1 (20oz) bottle of Vitamin Water Power-C (or dragonfruit juice if you can find it)
- 2 (10oz) bottles of Bawls
Mix together, and enjoy 40oz of fantastic Josta goodness. 90's kids rejoice, Josta is back!
4 witty retorts:
I have to admit I don't remember this drink. I does take bawls to drink this concoction.... enjoy the buzz.
Josta? I do not remember this. But......Tab. Yeah, I think of that often. I know I have seen it here and there. Also....Fresca.
Uh, 20oz + 20oz + 10oz + 10oz = 60oz yesno? Or did you just taste test as you were making it and end up with 40oz?
*counts on fingers*
*runs out of fingers*
Give me a second...
...heh, yeah, it's 60. I wrote this piece at 2 am after sampling too much of it, and was a bit wired/tired. Math gets blurry after midnight... but yes. 60oz.
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