Fantastic flavors of Dr Pepper: Students share poppin’ opinions

Quenches thirst with a Dr.Pepper • Junior Breanna West sips on her daily Dr. Pepper to get her through class. Photo by Selena Andrade.

What is so special about Dr.Pepper? Pretty much everything. Dr. Pepper is the oldest major soft drink in the United States.

“Out of all sodas, Dr. Pepper has to be my fav and my first drink option to choose from,” sophomore Melody San Juan said.

Having first been sold in 1885. It primarily originated in Waco, Texas. Alderton was a pharmacist at Morrison’s Old Corner Drug Store in Waco, Texas, and mixed the unique-tasting drink after experimenting with many blends of fruit-based flavors.

Before Dr. Pepper got its official name people would order it by asking Alderton to “Shoot me a Waco”. A 2021 Newsweek article puts Dr. Pepper in 4th among the best-selling sodas in America, between third-ranked Pepsi and fifth-ranked Mountain Dew.

“If Dr. Pepper has 100 fans, I’m one of them. If Dr. Pepper has 10 fans, I’m one of them. If there are 0 Dr. Pepper fans, I’m dead,” junior Breanna West said.

Some may or may not know about the “Dirty Dr. Pepper,’’ which originated in Utah. It’s a combination of coconut syrup, coffee creamer, and Dr. Pepper. For most people when they want to add a little extra flavor to their beverages, that’s their go-to.

“I love getting a blue coconut cream Dr. Pepper from sonic,” junior Emily Zuniga said. “It’s my go-to drink after school.”

Although it is very controversial whether Dr. Pepper is better plain (as it is) or with add-ons, Dr. Pepper recently released its new strawberries and cream flavored can. Lots of people had mixed emotions over this Dr. Pepper combination, some say “Ew, it’s too sweet” or “The flavors were very underwhelming.”Alongside the strawberries and cream flavor, Dr. Pepper has 23 other flavors to follow.

“Out of all the flavors, I always stick with the classic original Dr. Pepper,” West said.“I at least drink around 2-3 Dr. Peppers a day inside my Stanley Cup.” While some may say, “It’s just a drink.” For others that “drink” makes them happy or brings some sort of comfort to them. Dr. Pepper is loved all around the world, especially here at KHS

“Did God make it?” senior Jayci Pyle asked.