What are good ways to flavor water? [closed]

Lemon juice

This one is fairly obvious and self-explanatory. Although the idea is mainly associated with highly sugarey lemonade, just a few drops of juice in a bottle of water and no extra sugar gives it a nice touch.

Vinegar

A matter of taste. Many will find this just gross, but it has of course a similar tartiness as lemon and less sugar.

Cucumber

This surprised me a lot when I first tasted it: you'd think cucumbers hardly taste of anything at all. But put a few fresh slices in a jug of water for half an hour, and they'll impart a subtle, but astonishingly interesting and really quite refreshing flavour.

There are a wide range of sugar-free products for flavoring water. Most of these are artificially sweetened.

They come in liquid form, where you can choose how many drops you add to your water and thereby control how strong the flavor is. Brand names include Mio and Sweet Drops; you can find many more by searching for "water flavoring drops." These products tend to be quite concentrated, so a small bottle of flavoring will do for many drinks of water. So even if you can't find them at a store near you, it's quite practical to order online and have them shipped.

They also come in powder form. Some powders are individually packaged, which is convenient to carry with you and use on the go, but allows you less control over the flavor concentration. They usually come in long, skinny packets that easily fit into the mouth of a water bottle, so you can pour in the powder without spilling it. Others come in bulk form, where you measure them out with a scoop or spoon. That lets you control the concentration, but it's not as portable and can be a bit messy. Brand names include Crystal Light and Gatorade Zero, and you can find many more by searching for "sugar free water flavoring powder."

Both types of product are, in my experience, widely available. As in, basically every gas station and convenience store has a few, and most grocery stores have a shelf with upwards of 30 flavors in several different brands.

You can also get sugar free flavored syrups, like the kind they use at fancy coffee shops. These tend to be quite sweet, and the flavor is not as concentrated as the products that are designed for flavoring water. The bottles are large and usually glass, so you would need to use them at home or put some in a smaller bottle if you want to use them on the go. Many grocery stores and liquor stores will sell some flavored syrups, and they usually have a few sugar-free options. If you want a specific flavor you may need to buy online.

If you want an unsweetened water flavor, use a flavor extract. There's a pretty standard selection of flavor extracts available in the baking aisle of any grocery store: vanilla, almond, lemon, orange, star anise, mint, coconut, and rum. Large grocery stores and specialty baking stores have an enormous range of flavors. Some flavors taste quite natural, while others taste artificial or weird. Extracts tend to have quite concentrated flavors, so a little goes a long way, but it may be challenging to get the right amount without adding too much. You may find it helpful to dilute your extract in a small bottle, and use the diluted extract for flavoring your drinking water. If you dilute the extract below 20% alcohol, it will no longer be shelf stable, so you'll need to treat it as perishable.

Note that most extracts are made with alcohol; adding a dash of extract to your water won't get you tipsy, but it might be a good idea to ask a close friend if your breath smells like alcohol after drinking your flavored water. At least in some distant future when you can A) can ask a friend to smell your breath for you; B) go out in public without a face mask; and C) get close enough to other people that they would actually notice if your breath smelled like booze.

I have used fresh mint. Easy if you have mint growing in your garden or in a pot in your house.
You can also use the bunches of mint sold as cooking supplies.

You do not need much, the top bit of a stem with a few leaves will do.

At the end of your water you can re-use the mint for your next bottle of water.

And mint will happily combine with lemon juice or other flavors.

Other ways I have flavored water:

• Fresh ginger, cut in small pieces as the cut side is giving the most flavor.
• Hibiscus based teas, you can put the tea bags in cold water and let it steep overnight, take out the teabag before you go out. Or make a small strong tea (either hot or cold) and mix with cold water and/or icecubes to cool it down and thin it down to what you like. I never added sugar but people who do often use honey. These teas come in many different versions, plain, with fruit flavors and with added spices or herbs. Often the same brands have other usable teas, based on ginger, apple and more.
• Capsules with vitamin C powder, you can break open the capsules and put it in your water. I was told (by a doctor) to add artificial sweetener to it, but I preferred a light mix without sweet additions.
• Other herbs you can buy in the supermarket, be careful, just a little bit for the first try, as some will be strong. (Only use those you can eat uncooked, like in a salad.)

Added many months later:
I have now used a cinnamon stick, as suggested by @Willk in an other answer and it works for me. One stick will last a few days to a few weeks, although at the end it needs a longer soak and will still be rather weak.
Based on that I have tried cloves. Just two of them, taste was strong and not bad. But I found the small items come into my mouth which was less nice. So I should take them out before drinking. Again a few uses were possible, but with the cloves coming into my mouth I did not feel right to keep using them till all the taste was gone.

Cinnamon stick. Google cinnamon in water and you will see lots of people recommending this.

1: Cinnamon is good and not cloying.

2: Cinnamon stick can be reused. When you finish your water, put the cinnamon stick in your pocket or bag. Use it again.

3: Tired cinnamon stick can be reinvigorated with a little rub on the nutmeg grater.

4: Cinnamon stick is big enough that you wont accidentally eat it.

If you are not digging cinnamon other spices you could try are cloves or nutmeg, or a cardamom pod. Those are smaller than cinnamon stick but if you have a baggie to keep them in you can reuse them too. If you accidentally eat the spices, do not reuse them.

Try just refrigerating it, or putting ice in. Temperature affects flavor, and cold water is commonly perceived to taste better than room temperature water.