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!
