As a pop star, Dua Lipa needs no introduction.
If her 2021 collaboration with Elton John didn’t secure her megastar status, her headlining performance at Glastonbury this summer proved that the English-Albanian singer was now a global sensation.
But despite her extraordinary success in the music industry, the One Kiss singer has also made her mark as… a drinks pioneer.
The 29-year-old caused a stir earlier this month when she shared a video on TikTok showing how she prepared her special Diet Coke recipe.
Dua took a glass filled with ice and poured a Diet Coke into it, before adding pickle juice, a few pickles, jalapeno juice and jalapenos, before declaring ‘that’s mmm’.
Online statements ranged from “this is the worst thing ever” to “this is all I could ask for.”
Here MailOnline tries it out for itself.
Via TikTok she shared the strange combination she started with: ‘Step one, diet coke and then pickle juice, and then a few pickles’
Dua Lipa sent fans wild when she shared her bizarre Diet Coke recipe with pickles and jalapeño juice on TikTok on Friday
MailOnline employees try Dua Lipa’s pickle and jalapeno-infused Diet Coke. L-R: Gabriella Cassandro, former assistant video editor; Tom Cotterill, senior reporter; Jon Brady, UK senior news reporter; Stella Radeva, British video journalist; and Scott Coomber, deputy editor
‘It smells suspicious’
Stella Radeva, British video journalist
Stella Radeva (pictured), British video journalist, was a fan of Dua Lipa’s Diet Coke concoction
UK Video Journalist Stella mixed her drink and added the pickles and jalapenos, along with the pickle juice and jalapeno juice, to her Diet Coke.
She lifted the glass to her nose and sniffed it carefully. Her first reaction was, “It smells suspicious.”
But as she took another sip, Stella believed that this was a drink she could try.
“That’s actually so good,” she reflected, before describing it as “a very fresh Eastern European drink.”
Stella’s final verdict: ‘I really love it.’
‘It just disappeared ketchup’
Tom Cotterill, senior news reporter
Yet senior reporter Tom Cotterill (pictured) described it as ‘horrific’
Senior Reporter Tom’s face, after mixing his pickle and jalapeno-infused Diet Coke, gave the game away.
After sniffing and taking a sip, he was visibly disturbed and quickly recognized the culprit: “It’s the pickle, it’s the pickle juice in it.”
Still, Tom, committed to the taste test, took another sip and ultimately described the drink as “spicy.”
Unable to tell exactly what it tasted like, Tom likened it to “thrown ketchup.”
Tom’s final verdict: ‘No, that’s not for me. No, sorry, that’s terrible.’
‘It’s still better than Pepsi’
Scott Coomber, deputy editor
Deputy editor Scott Coomber (pictured) likened the drink to ‘a really awful curry’
Scott Coomber, deputy editor of MailOnline, also tried Dua Lipa’s Diet Coke infusion, first noticing the strong taste.
Remarkably shocked by what he had just tasted, Scott commented, “Ah god, that’s not going away – it’s going to stay there for the rest of the afternoon.”
Like Tom, Scott persevered, but after taking another sip he was still unconvinced, if not completely disgusted.
Shaking his head, he compared the drink to “a really awful curry.”
However, there was one saving grace.
After putting down his drink for the last time, Scott added, “It’s still better than Pepsi, I’ll admit.”
‘It tastes good’
Gabriella Cassandro, assistant video editor
Gabriella Cassandro (pictured), former assistant video editor, couldn’t taste the difference between Dua’s recipe and a regular Diet Coke
Gabriella, assistant video editor, diligently mixed her drink, adding all the components and stirring it before taking a sip.
After preparing it with love, even she was surprised when she couldn’t perceive anything else.
“I don’t really taste anything else,” Gabriella laughed.
She took another sip and acknowledged, “It tastes good… it just tastes like a regular Diet Coke to me.”
Gabriella insisted she wasn’t ‘taking the p***’ and concluded: ‘It tastes good.’
‘It does something strange to my stomach’
Jon Brady, senior news reporter
UK Senior News Reporter Jon Brady (pictured) was extremely skeptical of the drink, believing it had done something ‘suspicious’ to his stomach
Jon, Senior News Reporter, added a large amount of pickle juice to his Diet Coke, along with jalapeno juice and the pickles and jalapenos.
After taking a sip, Jon surprised himself by wanting to take another sip.
But despite bravely giving it another chance, he wasn’t sold on Dua’s bold recipe.
On the contrary, aware that it might be doing ‘something fishy’ to his stomach, Jon didn’t dare finish his drink.
But even though he didn’t care about Dua’s Diet Coke, Jon wanted to understand.
He appealed to the pop star, saying, “Dua Lipa, if you’re out there or watching this, I have some questions about where this came from.”