chgoeditor wrote:

teatpuller wrote:He maxed out what the water would take. Yes the water was cold. Maybe his was broken.

When I got a demo, the woman suggested carbonating it to full pressure, then releasing the pressure, then giving it a few more buzzes. Not sure if everyone else does that, but it seems to get very fizzy.

If you don't do that then the airspace gets too pressurized and "blows back" without further carbonating the water.

spinynorman99 wrote:

chgoeditor wrote:

teatpuller wrote:He maxed out what the water would take. Yes the water was cold. Maybe his was broken.

When I got a demo, the woman suggested carbonating it to full pressure, then releasing the pressure, then giving it a few more buzzes. Not sure if everyone else does that, but it seems to get very fizzy.

If you don't do that then the airspace gets too pressurized and "blows back" without further carbonating the water.

We do the same thing. The recommended is 3 buzzes, but we generally go to 5 or 6 because the recommended just isn't fizzy enough. We have to release the pressure after 3 buzzes before adding more carbonation.

As obsessive consumers of sparkling water, we are thinking of taking the SodaStream plunge, but are bewildered by the variety of machines they offer. Does anyone have strong feelings or recommendations about one or another of the features? I think we'd prefer the glass bottles to plastic, but the official website is so unhelpful that it doesn't tell you which bottles are which in the "bottles" category. Thanks for the advice!

I'd forgotten about this thread until I saw annak's reply.

Just to close the loop from my original post: I returned the SodaStream to Costco recently after it sat, unused, on my counter for most of the last 6-7 months. As a confirmed water drinker (room temp, still, unflavored), I just didn't get into the habit of drinking cold, fizzy, sometimes-flavored seltzer.

chgoeditor wrote:I'd forgotten about this thread until I saw annak's reply.

Just to close the loop from my original post: I returned the SodaStream to Costco recently after it sat, unused, on my counter for most of the last 6-7 months. As a confirmed water drinker (room temp, still, unflavored), I just didn't get into the habit of drinking cold, fizzy, sometimes-flavored seltzer.

It's interesting that you mentioned this. I had a conversation with someone on this very subject just the other day. I couldn't justify a purchase based on the fact that plain water is my drink of choice, too. I calculated that I could go several years purchasing the occasional bottle of San Pellegrino when I feel like fizzin it up before I spent the amount the SodaStream would cost.

We use ours constantly. It's just one of the simple counter-top units with the standard gas bottle from Triple-B. Doesn't last long enough, of course, but I'm not ambitious enough to do the conversion to a big gas bottle. BTW, we switched from the straight plastic bottles to the dishwasher-safe bottles. Useful.

Geo

stevez wrote:It's interesting that you mentioned this. I had a conversation with someone on this very subject just the other day. I couldn't justify a purchase based on the fact that plain water is my drink of choice, too. I calculated that I could go several years purchasing the occasional bottle of San Pellegrino when I feel like fizzin it up before I spent the amount the SodaStream would cost.

When we were in Cleveland, the local surplus grocery sold club soda for 3 qts/ $1. When we felt the urge, we would buy juice concentrates and make our own soda.

I can see why, if you prefer room temperature still water, the SodaStream might not be a boon. But if you love sparkling water, it's wonderful. I drink other things besides fizzy water (primarily tea, still water, though cold, and occasional coffee), but there's just something about carbonation that is really satisfying, and if you live in an apartment and don't have unlimited space for storing water, and keeping the empties for recycling, SodaStream saves the day. I drink 1 to 2 liters per day of carbonated water, and that represents an awful lot of shopping and hauling and storing, if one doesn't have a SodaSteam.

So, for me, it's perfect. Obviously, it's not for everyone, but if you're someone who likes carbonated water - or who wants softdrinks without HFCS or aspartame -- the SodaStream is a dandy tool.

I'd kind of like one but I have a couple of old seltzer makers I picked up at Goodwill and whenever I need a fix I have been using them. I haven't gotten to the point where I make enough stuff at home to warrant the purchase but it does seem like it would be cool to have.

My favorite thing to do with the seltzer maker is to add 2 cans of Jumex fruit nectars (found at most Mexican grocery stores) and make fun sodas for mixing into cocktails. I take peach nectar and carbonate it and add vodka or rum and some muddled basil or pineapple-coconut nectar with some rum and mint for a lighter twist on a pina colada.

Cynthia wrote:I can see why, if you prefer room temperature still water, the SodaStream might not be a boon. But if you love sparkling water, it's wonderful. I drink other things besides fizzy water (primarily tea, still water, though cold, and occasional coffee), but there's just something about carbonation that is really satisfying, and if you live in an apartment and don't have unlimited space for storing water, and keeping the empties for recycling, SodaStream saves the day. I drink 1 to 2 liters per day of carbonated water, and that represents an awful lot of shopping and hauling and storing, if one doesn't have a SodaSteam.

So, for me, it's perfect. Obviously, it's not for everyone, but if you're someone who likes carbonated water - or who wants softdrinks without HFCS or aspartame -- the SodaStream is a dandy tool.

I'm very happy with the SodaStream. We've been using it for 3-4 years. We tend to drink more flavored (diet) sodas in the summer and sparkling water all year long. My general opposition to buying cans/bottles (drinking water as well) is the wastefulness of the whole distribution system, not to mention lugging and storing what is essentially water from the store. I don't know that we save any money but it saves lots of aggravation and we do our tiny bit to not increase the flow of bottles/cans into the trash.

spinynorman99 wrote: I don't know that we save any money but it saves lots of aggravation and we do our tiny bit to not increase the flow of bottles/cans into the trash.

Definitely saves aggravation -- and hauling. But I think it also saves a bit of money, at least after the first year, when you're only considering the cost of the CO2 tank and flavorings. If you buy your gear at Bed, Bath, and Beyond, you can use the 20 percent off coupons, which makes it fairly cost effective. Not like getting the stuff free, but about 1/3 the price of buying it in the store -- at least if you use it almost daily, like I do.

Of course, the fact that I'm perfectly happy with the level of carbonation from the suggested "three buzzes" may make it more cost-effective than if you're going for the higher level of carbonation mentioned above. Making two litters of fizzy water/day, I find that one tank lasts me a month -- so close to 60 liters of seltzer.

If you're still just looking at SodaStream, be aware that the price you see on the CO2 tanks is not what you'll pay once you're using the system. When you return empty tanks, replacements are half the cost of new tanks.

SodaStream actually sent me one to try out as I'm a food blogger. And a slew of syrups to try with it. While we're not big soda drinkers it is nice to have. I'm actually planning on featuring it soon in some blended drinks.

The machine does exactly what it is supposed to -- makes soda. The flavorings aren't all that great in my opinion.

I love our SodaStream. I'm a seltzer drinker and this is much cheaper than even the least expensive canned stuff. My husband concocts his own flavors with those drops that come in little squeeze bottles. When we first got it, he tracked how many liters we made from one gas can then figured it was a big savings over sale priced canned soda.

We bought the basic model and use filtered water that our refrigerator conveniently dispenses.

To be honest, i had a system that came from Texas before sodastream came out that involved a 20# tank, a regulater and used standard 2l bottles. It replaced a soda system that came from Denmark? that set up local distributers and went under due to exploding units and weird connections to refill the tanks. The sodastream is a decent unit for the cost for carbonating. While they still have a very expensive swap for co2, they are a viable company that I actually trust.

Soda stream is a today special value at HSN.com or on TV. 99 dollars for the machine and some packets of the syrup come with it. Its supposed to be the latest model. It looks tempting. I am thinking about it. I do not drink that much fizzy stuff but do occasionally indulge in coke zero or another such drink. It does look huge and it would be another think to sit on the counter. I had a seltzer bottle once upon a time and really did not like it. I thought the selzer it made tasted weird.

toria wrote:I had a seltzer bottle once upon a time and really did not like it. I thought the selzer it made tasted weird.

Just to be clear, Soda Stream is a seltzer water maker. The syrups allow you to flavor it. But seltzer water, Soda Stream and sodas are all made with carbon dioxide.

toria wrote:Soda stream is a today special value at HSN.com or on TV. 99 dollars for the machine and some packets of the syrup come with it. Its supposed to be the latest model. It looks tempting. I am thinking about it. I do not drink that much fizzy stuff but do occasionally indulge in coke zero or another such drink. It does look huge and it would be another think to sit on the counter. I had a seltzer bottle once upon a time and really did not like it. I thought the selzer it made tasted weird.

I would hope they're throwing in something more, you can get the base model for $79.99 through SodaStream (and the next step up is $99.99).

Bed, Bath and Beyond sells the $99.99 model and you can probably get it for less with a coupon.

As for the SodaStream itself, we've had one for years and we use it all the time.

Here is some basic info and link. There is free shipping. four flex pays can pay interest free over four months.

http://www.hsn.com/todays-special

What You Get


•SodaStream Fizz Soda Maker
•60L CO2 carbonator
•1 L carbonating bottle
•(12) 1.7 fl. oz. SodaStream Sodamix taste samplers (Diet Cran-Raspberry, Diet Dr. Pete, Diet Cola, Diet Lemon Lime, Diet Pink Grapefruit, Diet Root Beer, Dr. Pete, Energy, Fountain Mist, Lemon Lime, Orange and Root Beer)
•(2) 16.9 fl. oz. Crystal Light drink mixes (Raspberry Lemonade and Peach Iced Tea)
•User manual
•Manufacturer's 2-year limited warranty on Fizz Soda Maker


Good to Know
•Signature required for delivery.

toria wrote:Here is some basic info and link. There is free shipping. four flex pays can pay interest free over four months.

http://www.hsn.com/todays-special

What You Get


•SodaStream Fizz Soda Maker
•60L CO2 carbonator
•1 L carbonating bottle
•(12) 1.7 fl. oz. SodaStream Sodamix taste samplers (Diet Cran-Raspberry, Diet Dr. Pete, Diet Cola, Diet Lemon Lime, Diet Pink Grapefruit, Diet Root Beer, Dr. Pete, Energy, Fountain Mist, Lemon Lime, Orange and Root Beer)
•(2) 16.9 fl. oz. Crystal Light drink mixes (Raspberry Lemonade and Peach Iced Tea)
•User manual
•Manufacturer's 2-year limited warranty on Fizz Soda Maker


Good to Know
•Signature required for delivery.

That model lists for $129.99 on the Sodastream site so it's not a bad price.

I am a little confused at the taste. Some reviews say the taste of the soda products are awesome some say terrible. Some say they are different tasting than the name brands but just as good but a little different, some say they are better. I will primarily use the diet options as there is a diabetic in the family. We like to minimize our consumption of soda by drinking water and ice tea but sometimes diet soda is the choice. I try to stay away from aspartame and like that these syrups do not contain it. Also the ability to use your own or natural flavorings. So are the soda stream drinks good tasting???

toria wrote:I am a little confused at the taste. Some reviews say the taste of the soda products are awesome some say terrible. Some say they are different tasting than the name brands but just as good but a little different, some say they are better. I will primarily use the diet options as there is a diabetic in the family. We like to minimize our consumption of soda by drinking water and ice tea but sometimes diet soda is the choice. I try to stay away from aspartame and like that these syrups do not contain it. Also the ability to use your own or natural flavorings. So are the soda stream drinks good tasting???

I'm also a water drinker, with some iced tea and the occasional diet soda thrown in for good measure. I owned a Soda Stream for 6 months or so before returning it to Costco. The soda flavorings didn't taste good enough to convert me into a soda drinker, and it's much easier/faster to pour myself a water than to make myself a drink with the soda stream. Your mileage my vary, but you sound fairly similar to me and in the end the Soda Stream just took up room on my countertop.

For what its worth for all soda stream owners, Pinterest has boards that are dedicated to making home made syrups for the soda stream and other stuff like fillling the CO 2 things. There are others touting something called MIO which is a water flavoring that some use instead of the soda stream syrups.

I don't find the SodaStream flavorings anything to write home about, but I have to give the product credit for weaning me off of Coca-Cola. I'm now a straight seltzer/club soda drinker, sometimes with an added splash of a Snapple flavor.

toria wrote:So are the soda stream drinks good tasting???

The diet cola is like a store brand. For me it's absolutely fine. My wife and kids say they detect a difference. That's pretty much the case across the board. The flavors are all close but not direct copies. Coke sold Diet Coke syrups in vending containers available through online retailers until recently. There are many online syrup options available (just Google "soda syrup"). The more of these machines that are sold, the bigger the market for syrups.

We've been very happy with the SodaStream. We are drinkers of flavored seltzer, rather than sweetened sodas, and we were initially not thrilled with the seltzer flavors that were made by SodaStream. However, we've found that Bakto flavors make a wide variety of natural flavors. The only problem is that you need to order $50 worth to avoid prohibitive shipping charges. Anyone else find other good seller flavoring choices?

Looks interesting and you can make your own boxes up. But over fourteen dollars for shipping charges for 3 bottles that cost twelve dollars is a bit much.

toria wrote:Looks interesting and you can make your own boxes up. But over fourteen dollars for shipping charges for 3 bottles that cost twelve dollars is a bit much.

Amazon sells 6-flavor packs for $19 with free Prime shipping.

http://www.amazon.com/Natural-Fruit-Fla ... t+extracts

Question about flavors or extracts and syrups. The soda stream flavorings seem to be syrups that would make something close to regular soda pop but adding a flavoring or extract would seem to make a non sweet flavored or scented water it seems. What is the real difference?

toria wrote:Question about flavors or extracts and syrups. The soda stream flavorings seem to be syrups that would make something close to regular soda pop but adding a flavoring or extract would seem to make a non sweet flavored or scented water it seems. What is the real difference?

Pretty much what you'd think. A Sodastream syrup added to carbonated water makes a carbonated beverage like Coke or Seven-Up. Ditto diet syrups. The extract makes a flavored seltzer, like LaCroix's various flavors. No sugar, trivial calories. It's the same as if you added a squirt of lime or lemon into seltzer (which is probably the easiest way to add flavor to water - no extract necessary). The flavor's there, but it's still sparkling water.