While some people do not understand the hype at all, cult Diet Coke lovers swear by "hacks" that optimize the taste.
Screenshot/TikTok - hauskris
The TikToker @hauskris treats drinking a Diet Coke like it's a craft cocktail.
In one clip from September, she grabs a can that had been sitting in her refrigerator for several days. Instead of popping it open and immediately drinking it, she prepares it like a mixologist. She tells viewers that she's created Diet Coke-flavored ice cubes, which she called "Diet Coke pebbled ice." After pouring the soda over them, she dropped frozen limes and lime juice flavoring into a cup (that she pre-froze), stirring it all together. She then sipped it with a glass straw.
"Oh my gosh," @hauskris said as she tried it. "It's all so unbelievably delicious."
In a more recent video from November 20, which has been viewed over 2.9 million times, @hauskris showed viewers one of her favorite recipes for maximizing a Diet Coke experience by "marinating" it, or leaving it sitting in a fridge for an extended amount of time. She and other die-hard Diet Coke truthers claim that doing so improves the overall palate of the beverage, and makes it taste "crispier."
The TikToker said she lets a Diet Coke soda "marinate" for over two weeks.
"What do I mean by marinate?" she said at the start of the clip. "That is the recipe to success for a perfect, stunning, beautiful, crispy Diet Coke break." She explained her minimum time for letting a Diet Coke marinate is two to three days, and emphasized the importance of leaving it in the refrigerator.
"Stop, I'm actually salivating right now," @hauskris said as she prepared it with her usual specialty ice cubes and frozen limes.
Commenters were immediately intrigued. "This is stunning," one user wrote. "I feel as though if I don't have crispy Diet Coke right now… I might die."
"I don't drink Diet Coke but you're making me want to," another person said.
Avid Diet Coke drinkers who called it a "crispier" sensation seemed to allude that it's a sharper and cooler carbonation. One commenter said "that first sip burns so good," while another claimed that keeping a can longer in a fridge creates more "crisp carbonated bubbles."
The verified TikTok account for Diet Coke cheekily commented on the video: "Nothing like the first sip of a marinated Diet Coke," the brand wrote.
While there are no sanctioned studies that prove these drinkers' theories, cult Diet Coke fans swear by the "hack" that making a can as cold as possible invariably improves the taste.
Business Insider has reached out to the Coca-Cola company for comment. BI has also reached out to @hauskris.
Videos featuring people drinking "marinated" Diet Cokes and saying they swear by these unusual methods have amassed millions of views, with hundreds of commenters agreeing that this is the best way to consume the soda.
In the poster @tayalexras's video, she said the best marinated Diet Coke recipe actually begins by using a marinated Diet Pepsi. She showed herself cutting up half of a lime and squeezing its juice into the cup, then adding a shot of Malibu coconut rum.
"Diet Pepsi is just crispier," she wrote in the video description.
Another user, @coffeebae97, in a video with over 1.5 million views, recommended people add salt.
@coffeebae97 diet coke w lime n salt <3
♬ original sound - 2000smodels
The trend echoes TikTok's WaterTok subculture, which became popular earlier this year and featured people making a myriad of intriguing water flavors. Similarly, Diet Coke drinkers like @hauskris have shared that they add different flavorings to their sodas as well.
Since her videos went viral, commenters have urged @hauskris to try a panoply of other hacks, like freezing the glass straw or using a metal one and adding a squirt of coconut syrup or vanilla.
While the responses seem largely positive, there has been a horde of detractors who are confused as to why people are so passionate about an everyday beverage.
"Get a life jesus," one commenter wrote on one of her videos.
"Diet Coke is my life, thank u," @hauskris replied.
