I’m pretty sure the problem is that those machines do not have the ratio correct of syrup to soda water. They taste heavy on soda, short on syrup. I think they designed them that way to save a few cents per drink thinking that they could mask the lack of flavor by allowing you to add in a bit of cherry or peach or whatever flavoring, but it never is enough to claw back the originally intended ratio and they taste like watered down swill.
Basically all soda fountains mix the drink on the spot BTW. Every restaurant I’ve worked in has giant CO2 bottles in the back and a wall of BIBs (Bag in a Box) of syrup. The fountain has water, gas, and syrup plumbed to it, and usually you can adjust the ratio at the fountain head between all three once you get the cover off.
I’m pretty sure the problem is that those machines do not have the ratio correct of syrup to soda water. They taste heavy on soda, short on syrup. I think they designed them that way to save a few cents per drink thinking that they could mask the lack of flavor by allowing you to add in a bit of cherry or peach or whatever flavoring, but it never is enough to claw back the originally intended ratio and they taste like watered down swill.
Basically all soda fountains mix the drink on the spot BTW. Every restaurant I’ve worked in has giant CO2 bottles in the back and a wall of BIBs (Bag in a Box) of syrup. The fountain has water, gas, and syrup plumbed to it, and usually you can adjust the ratio at the fountain head between all three once you get the cover off.