Watertok is the corner of the internet where people make water taste like dessert. A tumbler full of ice, one or two flavor packets, a couple pumps of syrup, water to the top, a stir, and a name like "Birthday Cake" or "Peach Ring." The videos are short and the recipes are endless.

Getting started costs less than you think. You need a tumbler, ice, a handful of packet types and somewhere to keep them. That last part is the one everybody skips, and it is why most people quit by week three: the packets end up in a drawer, the drawer becomes a pile, and the pile is not fun. Here is the whole kit, and how to store it.

The kit

A big tumbler with a straw

Most Watertok recipes are written for a 30 or 40 ounce tumbler with a lid and a straw. The size matters because the recipes are measured for it: one packet in a 12 ounce glass is a very different drink than one packet in 40 ounces. Any insulated tumbler with a straw lid works.

Ice, and a lot of it

Ice is the first ingredient in nearly every recipe, and it is usually half the cup. If your fridge has an ice maker you are set. If not, a couple of trays or a bag from the store goes a long way.

The packet types

Creators use a rotation of five or six packet types. You do not need all of them on day one.

• Powdered fruit flavor sticks. The long slim packets, about 1 inch wide, sized for a bottle of water. Lemonade, fruit punch, peach, cherry. The backbone of most recipes.
• Zero sugar drink mix sticks. Same shape, sweetened without sugar. Often mixed half and half with the fruit sticks to control sweetness.
• Electrolyte style sticks. The slim ones are the same shape as the flavor sticks and store the same way. The wide flat electrolyte pouches are a different size and do not fit the dispensers, so keep those in the tray or a drawer.
• Liquid water enhancers. Small squeeze bottles. A few drops go a long way, and they are the easiest way to adjust a recipe that came out weak.
• Sugar free syrups. The flavored syrups made for coffee and soda. This is where the dessert names come from: vanilla, caramel, cotton candy, coconut.
• Tea bags. Cold steeped in the tumbler for an iced tea base, then flavored like anything else. A surprising number of recipes start here.

A stirrer or a long spoon

Something that reaches the bottom of a 40 ounce cup. Keep one at the station so you are not opening a drawer.

Somewhere for all of it to live

The piece that decides whether you are still doing this in a month. See below.

How to store it

Flavor packets come in boxes that fall apart, and once they are loose you cannot see what you have. Watertok creators solved this early with a "hydration station": one spot on the counter where the tumbler, the packets and the syrups sit together, with the packets standing up in an organizer so every flavor is visible.

We make three drink packet organizers for this. The dispenser slots are cut for slim sticks about 1 inch wide, so the flavor sticks, zero sugar sticks, slim electrolyte sticks and tea sachets above stand upright and readable. Wide flat electrolyte pouches do not fit. Full tea bag envelopes go in the tray.

On the kitchen counter: the 8 Slot Open Dispenser. Eight flavors, one slot each, 8.6 by 6.3 by 5.3 inches on the counter. You load it from the top (lift off the lid and drop a stack into each slot) and pull the next one from the arched opening at the bottom. A display window on each slot shows the flavor, so the whole lineup reads at a glance. This is the one for anyone who buys by the case.

Next to the coffee maker or the kettle: the 6 Slot Stepped Tray. Six angled compartments that lean the packets back so the labels face you. Holds about 8 sticks or 12 tea bags per compartment. Low enough to sit under upper cabinets. Good if your station doubles as a tea bar.

On a desk, dorm shelf or mini fridge: the 4 Slot Box Dispenser. Four slots, a lift off lid, and a display window on the front of each slot that shows the flavor. Footprint smaller than a paperback, 4.3 by 6.3 by 5.3 inches. Pull the next packet out of the front opening with one hand.

Whichever you pick, the setup is the same: one flavor per slot, most used flavors in the easiest slots, syrups and enhancers lined up behind, tumbler and stirrer in front. All three have a smooth matte finish, nothing to assemble, and wipe clean with a damp cloth. Colors are Matte Black, Matte White, Gray, Olive and Tan (the tray comes in Olive, Matte Black and Tan). Olive and Tan photograph especially well against a white counter.

The recipe format

Every Watertok recipe follows the same shape, which is why they are easy to make and easy to film. Once you know the format, you can invent your own.

1. Ice to about half the tumbler.
2. Packets. One or two. Half a packet is legal. Mixing two flavors is where the magic happens.
3. Syrup. One to three pumps of a dessert flavor.
4. Water to the top.
5. Stir, then name it.

A few starter combinations that follow the format, written with generic flavors so you can use whatever brands you already have:

• Peach Ring: one peach stick, two pumps of vanilla syrup, water, ice.
• Cherry Limeade: one cherry stick, half a lime or lemonade stick, water, ice.
• Tropical: one pineapple stick, one pump of coconut syrup, a few drops of mango enhancer.
• Sweet Tea Lemonade: one tea bag cold steeped ten minutes, one lemonade stick, one pump of vanilla.

Keep a note in your phone of the ones you liked. After a month you will have your own rotation, and each flavor in the rotation earns a slot in the organizer. Flavors that never earn a slot come off the shopping list.

The restock video

If you want to post, the easiest video in the entire space is the restock. No talking, no face, ten seconds. Here is the shot list:

1. Overhead, the organizer with two or three slots running low.
2. Hands open a fresh box of sticks.
3. Tip the box into the top of the dispenser. The sticks slide into their slots.
4. One pull from the bottom opening, packet into the tumbler.
5. Caption: "restocking my water station." Soft music. Done.

It works because it is satisfying to watch a messy pile become a neat row. If you are a creator and you would like to work with us on this line, the details are on our TikTok affiliates page.

Get the kit stored

The 8 Slot Open Dispenser, 6 Slot Tray and 4 Slot Box are at our drink packet organizer collection, in singles and multi packs. Orders before 4pm Mountain time ship the same day, and shipping and return questions are answered in the FAQ. For a longer walk through of the whole counter setup, read How to Build a Hydration Station at Home.