sodastream - Dad of Divas

WHAT MAKES A PRODUCT SIMPLY GENIUS?

A beautiful design. Simplicity. Convenience. And the fact that every time you use it, you are making the planet a cleaner place to live. Enjoy the freedom of making your own sparkling drinks in just seconds, with the SodaStream Jet home soda maker. Powered by a reusable CO2 carbonator, the refined mechanics of the SodaStream Jet make it easy to quickly transform water into perfectly customized sparkling drinks. No more lugging. No more storing. No more plastic waste.

NO PLUG. CO2-POWERED

It may come as a surprise that the SodaStream soda makers do not need any batteries or electricity to operate. They are powered solely by the compressed gas carbonator that comes in the starter kit. A starter carbonator will prepare 6L of soda – enough to start you off with the system. As soon as the starter carbonator runs out, visit one of the 15,000 stores to exchange it for a full 60L one (visit www.sodastreamusa.com to find the store nearest to you. And do not worry, most of the big name retailers are already carrying them). Make sure you use the MAIL IN REBATE INCLUDED IN THE ORIGINAL BOX to get the first 60L cylinder for free.

FIZZ AS YOU LIKE

Simply press down firmly on the carbonating button and watch in amazement as CO2 whooshes into the water! The carbonation levels are represented by the whistle sounds, so you can both see and hear how much your drink is being fizzed. When done with carbonation, un-screw the bottle.

Pro Tip: Sparkling water and fruit flavors often taste best with lighter carbonation, while colas and New York-style seltzers are typically enjoyed with more intense bubbles. Experiment with carbonation levels until you find your perfect fizz.

FLAVOR AS YOU LIKE IT

SodaStream offers over 60 different flavor varieties to satisfy every taste and mood. Tilt the carbonated water bottle to a 45-degree angle, and pour the sodamix down along the inside wall of the bottle. Use a pre-dosed sodamix portion pack or pour your preferred flavor amount from a full-sized bottle to customize your taste experience. (Yes! You can adjust the intensity and sweetness of our drink by varying the amount of sodamix you put into the bottle. You can use a cup as your measuring devise.) Note, SodaStream flavors DO NOT CONTAIN HIGH-FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP OR ASPERTAME, resulting in better-for-you sparkling drinks with fewer calories and carbs than store-bought equivalents. In addition to regular and diet versions of many traditional soda flavors, refreshing fruit flavors, energy drinks and cocktail mixes, SodaStream also offers a variety of all-natural flavors, caffeine-free flavors and unsweetened natural MyWater essences.

MIX

Place SodaStream’s signature fizz-preserving bottle cap on your soda bottle and tighten. Gently roll or shake the bottle to ensure the sodamix is thoroughly combined with the carbonated water. Allow to settle for a few moments (now would be a good time to prepare your drinking glasses and garnishes!) and carefully uncap.

Pro Tip: you may find that – after having shaken your soda – it may be extra-fizzy as you open the bottle. Try twisting the cap a quarter-turn to release pressure, and then quickly tighten again before opening all the way.

My Take on the Product

I enjoy soda, but know that it is not always the best for me. I also know that I don’t know exactly what is going into my body when I take it into my own hands and purchase soda from companies that are large conglomerates. With this in mind I had for some time wanted to explore SodaStream to not only try out the soda that it could make but also to see what it could do for me and my family in general. A few things that initially intrigued me included:

A smaller bottle to store or to take than just having a 2L bottle which can be bulky to say the least.
It seems that I could save money with this when looking at the cost of the syrup and equating that to what I would pay for a 2L bottle
The number of syrups that were already available and it seemed that this was only increasing
Easy to use and refill when it was convenient for you

In trying this out I have to say that I have tried 3 syrups so far and all were very good. I still am not 100% on how I like carbonated lemonade, but the rest have been very tasty and the carbonation itself seems to last a long time, much longer than I usually find with older 2L bottles.

I have not yet had to refill my CO2 bottle, but have seen that this could cost about $25-$30. Once I have a better sense for how long one Co2 canister lasts I will get a sense for how good of a value this is. I think a lot of this depends on how much you use it. If you stay with the starter pack and only use one bottle at a time it probably will last some time, but I do know that you can go and purchase additional bottles to use with this as well and that would severely deplete the CO2 sooner. Also, I think much depends on how much CO2 that you insert into your drinks too.

I have to commend the makers of SodaStream for keeping the unit small. The unit itself sits in the corner of our kitchen and really is small in comparison to many other appliances that we own. In using the unit, be aware that inserting the CO2 can be a little bit noisy, but it does not take long.

The other thing that was very cool about SodaStream is that even though they have a ton of flavors of syrups to choose from you don’t have to only use these. You can also experiment to make your own concoction that might have less sugar within it, or combines flavors that you like with carbonation.

All-in-all I am very impressed with how well this works as well as the cost savings that I am seeing thus far. The SodaStream machine was easy to use the the soda easy to make. If you love carbonation and want to save some money and have a ton of flexibility in the flavors that you make, look no further that picking one of these units up for the holiday season!