I have a confession. I am not a fan of water. I will choose coffee and carbonated water above plain water 9 times out of 10 so when the opportunity arose to do a review for SodaStream I was excited. I loved the idea that I could make my own bubbly beverages at home with filtered tap water and without the excessive packaging that comes along with purchasing soda.
When I unpacked the box that I had received SodaStream from it included a Fountain Jet
To make soda you simply fill the bottle with water, screw it into the machine and press the button at the top until you hear 3 loud buzzes. Our first few attempts were not as successful as I had hoped. The water was fizzy but only mildly so, definitely not what I expected. I realized I was missing a crucial step in the instructions, I wasn’t chilling the water. Once I started chilling the water, prior to making the soda, it worked much better. Also after checking SodaStream‘s helpful FAQ I realized I could go up to 5 buzzes to make the water even more carbonated.
Once we go the carbonation down we started trying the different flavors. We were sent some of the regular flavors but what I was most interested in were the Sparkling Natural flavors. These contain no artificial flavors, no artificial colors and no artificial sweeteners, which is important to me. We tried a bunch of different flavors but by far my kids loved the Sparkling Naturals Cola the best. I myself liked the Green Tea Pomegranate Peach or the plain sparkling water enhanced with one of the the my water flavor essences.
Soda is a treat in our household and will still be one moving forward but being able to make it at home, in BPA free bottles with natural flavorings and our own filtered water makes it one that I can feel good about letting my kids indulge in. We have really enjoyed having the SodaStream and making our own sparkling water and soda at home. So if you’re a soda drinker, or even just love sparkling water, and you’re looking to cut down on waste, save money or just make “better for you” soda I suggest you pick up one of these, they are a great addition to any household.
Disclosure: Although I did receive a complimentary Fountain Jet system and flavorings from SodaStream to review the opinions I have given are mine and may differ from others but were not influenced by the company or the free product provided.
I have looked at these before and wondered if they actually worked. I’m a soda-a-holic and I know it’s terrible!! This might give me my fizz without the chemical yuckies!
They totally work. They work even better when you follow the directions and actually chill the water before you carbonate it. I made the mistake of not chilling it a couple of times. The water still became carbonated just not as well.
I love the occasional soda too. This was a great review.
I love Soda Stream! I’ve had mine for about a year now and I used to use it all the time. Thanks for reminding me I need to bring it back out. Especially now that you can buy the drink mixes and CO2 at Bed, Bath, and Beyond!!
That sounds great! I would love to offer a more natural soda to my hubby & son. Do you know about the sparkling clear drinks (flavored) at Walmart? Are the SodaStream flavor essences like that? If not, do they have something similar? My son & I really like those, too. They are “0″ calories & all, but have chemicals in them that who knows what they are. Is it kind of pricey for the initial purchase and/or to get the flavors? Or does it pretty much equal out eventually? I can tell that it would be better for the environment right away…not to mention not having to haul the soda home. Great review!
I haven’t tried the flavored water drinks from Walmart. The ingrediants for the My Water flaover enhancers are listed as natural and they have zero calories. You can check out their lables here. So they might be a great option for you. You can get a starter kit with the Fountain Jet Starter kit which comes with two flavors for $99. As far as cost they have a section on vlaue on their site where they say it’s just $0.25 a liter. I hate lugging home soda and for us the 2 liters always go flat before we finish them. With this we can make it when we want it, it really works for us.