Every Diet Dr Pepper and Dr Pepper Zero flavor taste test

We already know that Dr. Pepper is one of the best sodas there is. We know this. But what if you want that great Dr. Pepper flavor but not all the calories that go with it?

Today, we're trying to figure out, which version of zero calorie Dr. Pepper is the best. We've done something similar with Diet Mountain Dew, but that only had Diet Dew and Dew Zero. Today we're trying 7 different varieties! (correction: 8 varieties!)

We'll be trying, Diet Dr. Pepper, Diet Dr. Pepper caffeine free, Dr Pepper Zero, Dr Pepper Cherry Zero, Dr Pepper Cream Soda Zero, Dr Pepper Strawberries & Creme Zero, and Dr Pepper Creamy Coconut Zero (plus Dr Pepper Zero Blackberry at the end). 

I saw this post on reddit for a tailgating flavor pack, with 4 different flavors, that reminded me that I still needed to post this taste test. 

And this taste test all came about because I wanted to try the new Dr Pepper Creamy Coconut flavor and wanted a few other things to try it with. 

Why buy small bottles, when we can get 12 pack cases of everything! We're going to be well stocked on Dr. Pepper after this!

All these cans have been chilling in the cold basement fridge for days now. No ice is required. We don't want to dilute anything and throw off our tastebuds. 

For our first contender, it's the original Diet Dr Pepper. Released in 1962 as Dietary Dr Pepper, over 75 years after the original Dr Pepper came out in 1885, Diet Dr Pepper was my regular go-to diet soda. It was sold with such slogans "Diet Dr Pepper tastes more like Regular Dr Pepper" and "There's nothing Diet about it."

Mickey (singing) - I'm a Pepper, you're a Pepper, he's a Pepper, she's a Pepper... 

Ian, Theresa, Joe, Patrick (also singing) - Wouldn't you like to be a Pepper too? 

Joe - It's really foamy. 

Patrick - It's very foamy. 

Joe - What does it smell like? 

Avery, Alli - Dr Pepper!

Joe - But what does Dr Pepper smell like? 

Avery - Cinnamon! 

Alli - Cherry!

Ian - A little bit of cherry, but disguised by other spices. 

Patrick - Caramel. 

Sheila - I do not like it. 

Theresa - It's just okay. It has a bit of a funny aftertaste. Not my favorite. 

Alli - Not my favorite, but it's still really good. 

Ian - Good for diet. 

Next we have Diet Dr Pepper Caffeine Free, released in 1983. 

Theresa - I need a palate cleanser to get the aftertaste out of my mouth. (brings out Cheez-its)

Joe - Let's see how the caffeine free is. It's still diet. 

Patrick - The ingredients are all the same. 

Ian - It isn't too good. Not very strong flavor. 

Sheila - I like it better than the regular diet. 

Mickey - You're right, it does taste "lighter" than the regular diet. 

Alli - It's got less flavor. 

In 2021, a new version of diet sodas started appearing on store shelves. Named "Zero" instead of diet, they still have zero calories. 

Joe - This one has different sugar. 

Ian - It's very fizzy. 

Megan - I do like the taste of that better than Diet. But what bothers me is that they both contain aspartame. How are they different? 

Joe - Looks like it's sweetened with aspartame and acesulfame potassium. The combination of the two makes it better? 

Theresa - This one doesn't have the really weird aftertaste. 

Alli - That's pretty good. My favorite so far. 

Ian and Joe - My favorite so far. 

Sheila - I still like the Caffeine Free better. 

Mickey - My favorite so far too. 

2021 also saw a cherry version released as Dr Pepper Cherry Zero Sugar. 

Avery - I don't want to try it. I don't like cherry. 

Alli - What? But Dr Pepper is cherry...

Mickey - So this is extra added cherry huh? 

Sheila - I like that. 

Theresa - It tastes cherry. 

Alli - Favorite so far. 

Megan - It covers over the diet flavor very well. 

Sheila - Cherry is my favorite. 

Patrick - I still like Cherry Coke more than this one. 

Joe - I like the extra cherry flavor better than the regular zero flavor. 

Mickey - I couldn't drink a whole can of that. I like it, but it'd be too much for me. 

Alli - Like maraschino cherry juice. 

And can't forget the 2021 Dr Pepper Cream Soda Zero Sugar. 

Patrick - I don't know if I've ever had the Cream Soda Dr Pepper before. And I like Cream Soda. 

Megan - It smells like Cream Soda. 

Joe - But is it Dr Pepper AND Cream Soda? 

Mickey - What's the cream? Just vanilla? 

Ian - I LIKE IT!

Joe - I taste a little cotton candy flavor. 

Megan - It a little overly sweet now that I'm an adult and don't like as much sweet. 

Ian - It's so good! Best one so far!
Theresa - It's more sweet than I want it to be too. And it's not quite cream soda-y. I definitely prefer regular cream soda over that. But I'd still drink it. 

Alli - It's pretty good. I still like the cherry better. And my stomach is getting really full. 

Patrick - I'm trying to do the whole challenge without a burp. 

2023 brought us Dr Pepper Strawberries & Cream Zero Sugar. 

Patrick - Ooh, that one smell really good. Are there any other strawberry sodas? 

Theresa - There's like strawberry soda. 

Patrick - I know like Fanta, but... anything else? 

Megan - Oh! Yes, it smells very much like fake strawberry. 

Ian - It smells artificial. 

Theresa - Huh. It doesn't taste like strawberries. 

Mickey - Definitely not. 

Megan - Bleh... I do not like it. Oh that's so bad. 

Patrick - I like it. 

Joe - I get the cream flavor. 

Avery - I love it! 

Joe - I don't taste so much Dr Pepper though. Maybe Dr Pepper branded Strawberries & Cream. 

And in the summer of 2024, we got the summer flavor of Dr Pepper Creamy Coconut Zero Sugar. 

Sheila - That smells very coconutty. 

Patrick - It smells like sunscreen. 

Joe - That's always the danger when making something coconut flavored. 

Megan - It smells like I should be drinking this on the beach. 

Avery - That smells horrible!
Megan - You smell horrible!

Avery - I do not! I just took a bath. 

Patrick - Delicious. 

Theresa - Not my favorite. 

Megan - It tastes like coconut cream pie. 

Joe - Oh wow. It is coconut. 

Patrick - They got the flavor. 

Theresa - That's like sunscreen Dr Pepper. 

Joe - Are you getting Dr Pepper though? I'm still just getting coconut. 

Ian - Worst one so far. 

Mickey - Lick your sunscreen and take a sip of Dr Pepper. 

Joe - It's kinda weird. I like coconut but I wouldn't want to drink that.  

Patrick - I love it. 

Joe - Now lets go back and taste them again to figure out our favorites. 

Mickey - Zero Sugar is first. Then the Cream Soda and Cherry. The coconut was the worst, even though I like regular coconuts. 

Theresa - Zero Sugar, Cream Soda, then Cherry. Least favorite is creamy coconut. 

Patrick - Favorite is Zero Sugar. Then coconut. Then strawberry. Least favorite is regular diet. 

Theresa - Diet does have that funny aftertaste. 

Megan - My favorite is regular Zero Sugar. I don't even know the second and third. Maybe the coconut and cream soda ones. I hated strawberry.

Alli - My favorite is the cherry, then normal zero sugar. Creamy coconut is last. 

Joe - I liked the Dr Pepper Cherry best, followed by Zero Sugar and Cream Soda. Coconut is last. 

Sheila - Dr Pepper Cherry. And then Caffeine Free and Cream Soda. Coconut was the worst. 

Avery - My favorite was the strawberry one. Least favorite was Caffeine Free (but she also skipped trying the coconut).

Ian - My favorite is Cream Soda, then Cherry, then Zero. Least favorite is Coconut. 

So, the favorites were Dr Pepper Zero Sugar and Dr Pepper Cherry Zero Sugar. The coconut was not very high on the list for most people. 

And I thought that would be the end of it, but in the time it took me to write this one up, Dr Pepper released a new one! In January 2025 we got Dr Pepper Blackberry Zero Sugar!

I wonder how this is different from the Dr Pepper Dark Berry we tried back in 2022. It wasn't listed what the "dark berry" was. Since we were in Washington and it was blackberry season, we made our own by picked fresh blackberries, crushing them and adding the juice to regular Dr Pepper. Once we tasted the Dark Berry flavor, we guessed it was maybe a combination of Blueberries and Blackberries. 

Now, just like the Coconut flavor has the potential of tasting like sunscreen, Blackberry is going to be walking a fine line between "tasty" and "medicine". 

What did people think? 

Megan - I reeeeally disliked it. I took two sips total. The second one just to make sure I didn't like it. It was too medicine-y. 

Patrick - I liked it. Wasn't my favorite and it had the most Dr Pepper flavor. Not the worst mix I've had. 

Theresa - I only smelled it. I wouldn't even drink it. It smelled like medicine and I didn't want to drink any. 

Ian - It smells good. And it is good. But it has a bit of a medicine flavor to it. And it's really sweet. Overall, I like it. 

Alli - Kinda tastes like medicine. I like it though. It does really taste like Blackberry. Fake blackberry, but still. A little weird, but I like it. 

Joe - I actually liked this one. Maybe I didn't have enough Blackberry flavored medicine growing up, but I thought it tasted really good. I'm getting a strong berry flavor from it and I can't even tell that it's a diet soda. I'd say it's my second favorite, right after Dr Pepper Zero Cherry.