DIY Dr. Pepper “Poppi” Soda Recipe (Homemade Prebiotic Shrub)

DIY Dr Pepper Poppi Soda Recipe (Homemade Prebiotic Shrub)

This recipe looks really intimidating, but it really is VERY hands off. It mostly just takes patience in letting it sit in the fridge. You dump some fruit and sugar into a jar then leave it for 1-2 days. Then once it becomes a syrup you infuse some spices into it, strain it, return it to the jar and leave it for a week in the fridge. Then you have a jar of Dr. Pepper shrub syrup you can mix into club soda for months (if it lasts that long).

Is Homemade Cheaper than Store Bought?

One batch of shrub (10 oz cherries, spices, 1 cup ACV) costs about $6.65 and makes roughly three dozen servings. This means each soda costs around 19¢.

When you add club soda, the total is about 75¢ (or less with a carbonator). If you opt for the caffeinated Guayusa Tea version, it adds another 50¢. Non-caffeinated total = 75¢; caffeinated total = $1.25, compared to about $1.50 for a can at Costco.

Better Than Poppi?

Making it yourself means it’s custom to your tastes. YOU have full control over sweetness, acid levels, and carbonation. It’s made to your preferences.

Poppi has a very strong stevia taste to it, my recipe doesn’t call for any stevia. Therefore, there is a slight taste difference here. I personally don’t love the taste of stevia and prefer it without. So I think this version tastes better than Poppi. If you love stevia then by all means add some, it will taste identical to the real thing.

What is a Drinking Vinegar (Shrub)?

A shrub (also called a drinking vinegar) is an old-school way of turning fruit, sugar, and vinegar into a sweet-tart syrup you mix with soda water. It’s how people made sodas and cocktail mixers long before store-bought soda existed. The vinegar gives you that little tangy bite, and once you cut it with sparkling water, it turns into something that tastes better than the real thing. I don’t work for Poppi so I don’t know their process, but based on their marketing and how it tastes, I don’t think their product is even a true drinking vinegar. It seems to just be a soda with some apple cider vinegar added in.

What is “the Mother”?

It’s the cloudy stuff floating in the bottom of the vinegar. It’s just yeast and good bacteria. This is how you know your vinegar is raw and alive instead of the pasteurized stuff. The benefit to having “the mother” is live probiotics for your gut and antioxidants for your immune system.

Caffeinate your Dr. Pepper Poppi Soda Recipe

Instead of reaching for coffee or an energy drink, you can brew a fresh cup of Guayusa Tea for each glass and stir your shrub right into it. It gives you real caffeine, from a plant, instead of a lab.

What is Guayusa Tea?

It’s an herbal tea from a tree native to the Amazon. It’s naturally high in caffeine and antioxidants.

Benefits of Guayusa

• Gives you steady energy without the jittery crash of coffee
• The antioxidants help fight inflammation in the body
• A great swap if you’re trying to cut back on straight caffeine or sugary energy drinks

How to Mix & Serve Your Dr. Pepper Shrub

Once your shrub has finished sitting in the fridge, the hard work was naturally done for you. From here it’s really just about ratios: shrub, club soda, and as much sweetener as you like. Below are a couple of ways I like to drink mine, from a quick everyday glass to something dressed up enough to serve guests.

Mocktail

It doesn’t have to end at being a Dr. Pepper Poppi Soda recipe, this also works as a fun mocktail when hosting! Just add a fun creative presentation. Here are some ideas:

• Serving in fancy cocktail glassware
• Muddling fresh cherries at the bottom of the glass
• A citrus wheel on the side of the glass
• Citrus peel twist to the side of the glass
• Make some fancy ice cubes: edible flowers, sliced citrus, cherries etc.
• Serve with a cherry and cinnamon stick inside
• Add a citrus zest salt rim
• A cocktail skewer with cherries and a citrus wheel twist

Creamy “Dirty Dr. Pepper”

• 2 tablespoons shrub
• 1.5 cups sparkling water
• honey or agave to taste
• splash of heavy cream or coconut cream

Storage & Shelf Life

I’ve read that its good for 6 months but mines never lasted that long.

DIY Dr. Pepper “Poppi” Soda Recipe (Homemade Prebiotic Shrub)

Prep Time 2 days d

Age 7 days d

Servings 36 sodas

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Ingredients

For the Cold Maceration

• 10 oz cups dark sweet cherries halved and pitted (fresh or frozen)
• 1 cup coconut sugar (or dark brown sugar)
• Peel of ½ orange
• Peel of ½ lemon
• Peel of ½ lime
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger sliced

For the Spice Infusion

• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
• ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
• ½ teaspoon ground cloves
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 star anise pods

To Finish the Shrub

• 1 cup raw apple cider vinegar with “the mother”
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon almond extract

To Add Natural Caffeine (optional)

• 1 tea bag Guayusa Herbal Tea

For Serving

• Club Soda
• Vanilla bean paste
• Ice

Instructions

Step 1: Cold Macerate (24–48 hours)

• Combine in a glass bowl or jar:
• 10 oz dark sweet cherries, halved
• 1 cup coconut sugar (or dark brown sugar)
• Peel of ½ orange
• Peel of ½ lemon
• Peel of ½ lime
• ginger
• Cover and refrigerate for 24–48 hours, stirring once or twice. The sugar will draw out the fruit juices, creating a rich syrup without cooking.

Step 2: Infuse the Spices

• Dump entire contents of the jar into a saucepan
• Add:
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• ½ tsp cardamom
• ½ tsp cloves
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• star anise pods
• 1 Tbsp black peppercorns
• Warm the syrup over low heat just until it reaches about 160–170°F (71–77°C). Do not boil or simmer. Remove from the heat, cover, and steep for 30–45 minutes.
• This gentle warming extracts the spices while preserving much of the fresh fruit character. You want to avoid a cooked fruit flavor.

Step 3: Finish the Shrub

• Strain again, let it cool to room temperature, then stir in:
• 1 cup raw apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp almond extract
• 1–2 Tbsp tart cherry concentrate (optional)
• Bottle, cover tightly, and refrigerate. Keep it covered in the fridge — it should keep well up to 6 months, though it rarely lasts that long around here!

Step 4: Age

• Allow the shrub to rest for at least one week before serving. After 2–3 weeks, the flavors become even more integrated, with the vinegar softening and the spice profile becoming smoother and more reminiscent of classic Dr. Pepper.

Step 5: Mix & Serve

• Pour 2 tablespoons of shrub into a glass and 1 tablespoon of vanilla bean paste.
• Top off with 8-12 oz club soda, stir, and serve immediately over ice.

Optional Caffeine Step:

• Brew 1 Guayusa Herbal Tea bag in ½ cup hot water (160°F) for 5 minutes.
• Fill a glass with ice, then pour the brewed tea over the ice to cool it down.
• Stir in 2 tablespoons of shrub and 1 tablespoon of vanilla bean paste.
• Top off with club soda, stir gently, and serve immediately.

Notes

No Vanilla bean paste? Use 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla sugar and 1 tablespoon of agave syrup or honey.