2.28.2011

Soda Stream Review


First let me start out by saying that I was skeptical.  How can I make my favorite soda (or pop, depending on where you’re from) at home?  Take some filtered water, carbonate it and add some syrup and I’m done?  Seems too good to be true.  
Well, when our SodaStream arrived, I was pretty excited to open the box and see how it compared to my favorite drinks.  Set up is very easy, just take the SodaStream out of the box and attach a CO2 cartridge to the back.   Don’t worry, the directions are easy to follow.  After washing the 2 bottles that came with it, just fill one to the water line as indicated.  Each bottle holds 1 liter of water.  Next, screw bottle onto SodaStream until hand tight.  Now it’s time to add the carbonation.  Here is where I went wrong on the first couple of tries.  I was so excited to try it out, I did not read the directions to this step properly.  It says to push the button on top, down firmly and release quickly until you hear a loud buzz.  Well I pushed down firmly and released quickly and never heard a buzz.  I added my syrup, shook the bottle, and poured into my glass.  Flat, flat, flat.  So I dumped it down the sink, rinsed and repeated.  Same result.  I figured with millions of these begin sold it was operator error.  It took a few tries and my wife to read the directions, but I can say we were finally successful.  I finally heard the loud buzz.  Adding the proper amount of syrup was the next step that takes some tweaking.  There are properly marked lines in the caps, but again I rushed the process.  Again it took a few tries, but for my taste, I needed to fill the cap to the very top.  
We were given 7 different flavors of soda to try,…………….and 3 flavored waters. 

I would have to say that they all are very good and comparable to the real brands.  The energy drink flavor tastes just like Red Bull and the Cola Zero tastes just like Coke Zero.  I am very impressed that I can make my favorite drinks at any time without having to go to the store.  With this unit, it helps me reduce waste by not having to buy bottles and cans.  Also I will save money as each bottle I make equals about $.25 per can.  Another benefit if you enjoy drinking soda as much as I do is the reduced amount of calories.  For the non-diet flavors, there are only 34 calories, 9g carbs, and 9g sugar in an 8 oz glass.  The flavored waters are amazing, it makes your dull water "sparkle."
Soda Stream machines can be ordered online or at a few of your local stores such as Bed, Bath and Beyond, Macy's, Sears and a few more.  You can see what they offer here, and find more locations.  There are so many options, something for everyone!  We would like to thank Soda Steam for letting us try their product, and make us believers. It is sure to last us a long time in this house! 
Have a great Monday!  Steve and BJ

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