The $2 Summer Drink Trend That Makes Us Excited to Drink Water
This DIY hydration station is one craze we can get behind.
Terri Peters
There’s a new way to hydrate, and it’s surprisingly affordable. Like the viral $4 grocery store cake and 3-ingredient pasta earlier this year, The hashtag #WaterTok is taking over TikTok, racking up nearly 140 million views to date, but what exactly is WaterTok? And why is the social media platform filled with videos of happy hydraters sharing their daily water recipes?
What Exactly Is WaterTok?
Tonya Spanglo is a TikToker from Marietta, Oklahoma, who started sharing recipes for flavored water on TikTok after losing 220 pounds through weight loss surgery. Spanglo’s goal is to drink 64 ounces of water daily, but she found that plain water didn’t “sit well in [her] stomach” after surgery. When she started using sugar-free drink powders and syrups to create flavored waters, reaching her goals got easier.
“I struggled to meet my daily water goal, so I started experimenting with flavors,” Spanglo, who has created waters that taste like everything from piña colada to salted caramel, told Allrecipes. “I shared them on TikTok, and they went viral, so I just kept sharing, now they are all over the world.” Spanglo considers herself one of the original TikTok creators to share WaterTok recipes, and says some of the recipes she created were even shared by Jordan’s Skinny Syrups, one of the most popular brands of sugar-free flavored syrups.
Spanglo calls WaterTok “a fun way to flavor your water and a fun way to help you stay hydrated.”
“WaterTok is a group of people from all ages and all walks of life who like a little flavor in their life, and we are not afraid to mix things up,” she said.
I Tried the WaterTok Trend, and Here’s What I Thought
As someone who has seen more than a few WaterTok videos on my For You Page, I decided to give the trend a try. Recipes shared by Spanglo and others are fairly straightforward: Simply add a powdered, sugar-free packet of water flavoring (or two, depending on taste preferences) to a large cup of water, and add a sugar-free syrup that complements the flavoring. In my early days of WaterTok-ing, I combined watermelon flavored powder with lemonade syrup, or green tea drink mix with lavender blueberry syrup. To my surprise, it really did make it easier to chug water throughout the day.
My teens, huge fans of both TikTok and their viral, insulated Stanley water tumblers, decided to join in on the fun and immediately noticed their water intake increase as well.
Despite some online criticism about WaterTok’s use of sugar-free products and the potential effects on overall health, Spanglo says she believes increasing water intake is good for everyone, regardless of what helps them meet their hydration goals. Her tips for those just getting started with WaterTok? “The flavor combos are endless,” she said, “so just experiment and see what you like.”
How to Try the WaterTok Trend at Home
Want to attempt your own WaterTok-worthy drinks at home? These products will help you get started on your journey.
Powdered Drink Mix Packets: Since discovering WaterTok, I’ve found sugar-free, individually-portioned packets of drink mix in stores like Dollar Tree, Aldi, and Publix. From black and green tea varieties to fruity flavors like watermelon, orange, and grape, I’ve stocked up on flavors that appeal to me and now store them in a cute basket on my kitchen counter. While the $1.25-for-six-packets price at Dollar Tree appears to be the most affordable, I’ve found that varieties like teas, energy drinks, or ones that replenish electrolytes are more easily found in grocery stores.
Sugar-free Syrups: While Jordan’s Skinny Syrups are arguably the most popular variety of sugar-free, flavored syrups, there are plenty of others. Many kinds, including Jordan’s, can be purchased online, but I’ve also had luck purchasing these syrups at a lower cost in person at stores like Ross Dress for Less and HomeGoods.
An Insulated Water Cup with a Good Straw: The internet’s beloved Stanley tumbler is always a hit with WaterTokers, but brands like Yeti and Reduce also make great tumblers that come with a straw and keep water cold for hours. Some WaterTok creators lean on trendy, beautiful Starbucks acrylic tumblers, but these are not my preference, as I find water easiest to drink when it stays icy and cold. The size that seems most popular with TikTokers is a 40-ounce tumbler. After all, if you’re going to go through all the work to create a flavored water, you want to make a lot of it at once.
Syrup Pumps: Most WaterTok recipes will instruct the viewer to add a certain number of “pumps” of a particular flavor of sugar-free syrup. To get the measurement just right, you’ll want to invest in a set of pumps for your own kitchen. To use these syrup pumps, simply remove the screw-top lid of the syrup and replace it with a handy pump. Creating flavored waters at home is much easier with the addition of this tool.
There are other non-essential items, like a countertop ice-maker (I use one from Hamilton Beach) or revolving, lazy Susan-style trays for easy access to all of your syrups, but the beauty of WaterTok is that building your hydration station is purely up to your own needs. Once you’ve assembled a basic kit, part of the fun will be creating your own beautiful kitchen space where all of your water-drinking dreams come true.
