This, folks, is a soda water maker. I've wanted one for a long time, and now that I have one, you'd have to pry it out of my hands.
Well, make that my husband's hands. He's jealously guarded this thing ever since we received it; he absolutely loves "bubbling" the water, as we call it.
Which just goes to show how much fun this thing is to use. It's very fun, very simple, and so straightforward that I initially thought that we were missing a piece or two. This machine doesn't even plug in!
How the SodaStream Works
Here's how it works.
• The machine comes with a plastic support, which essentially just a casing and interface for a carbonator bottle. The bottle is filled with carbon dioxide.
• You insert the carbonator into the plastic SodaStream machine, push the top on, and you're good to go.
• The machine comes with two special 1-liter bottles that are designed to fit into it. They are plastic too, but they are BPA-free, as well as free of phthalates and PCBs. This is good, because the water needs to be chilled before being carbonated. So we fill these bottles with water and leave them in the refrigerator to chill.
• To carbonate the water, you screw a bottle into the machine. Then you press the button on top of the machine a few times and pffftthhhhh... it spits out bubbles into the water. You can adjust the carbonation to your taste, but three pushes of the button is, on average, what you need.
• Disconnect the bottle, pour and sip! Simple.
I like to transfer the carbonated water into swingtop bottles from IKEA; the stopper preserves the carbonation very well.
Pros and Cons of the SodaStream
Pros
My husband and I drink a lot of soda water, and we were getting tired of buying (and recycling) all those bottles and cans of water. This machine is a great improvement; we can make fizzy water at home, and cut down on all those recyclables. It's easy, and lots of fun to use.
If you are a soda drinker, these machines also let you make your own soda. They sent some samples of soda flavoring syrups that you can add to the water after it is carbonated. (They do not recommend carbonating anything but water; any flavoring or syrups should be added after carbonation.) We don't drink soda, though, so I haven't really experimented with these. If you drink soda, then you can improvise or create them as you want them, instead of buying lots and lots of cans and bottles.
Cons
You do, however, have to replace the carbonator cartridge; this is not a one-time purchase. Our cartridge lasted about 3 weeks (yes, we drink a lot of this stuff!) — or about 60 liters. If you swap your old one in, a replacement cartridge will cost $15; you have to send in your old one, or take it to a location that will do swaps. (We went to Sur La Table; Williams-Sonoma and other cookware retailers will also swap out SodaStream carbonators.)
You can also buy extra carbonators; these will set you back $25 each.
The ultimate drawback to these machines, though, is their total cost. SodaStream promotes these as a way to save money, but the model that we tried sells for about $130. I found this shocking — the entire setup is a $25 carbonator cartridge, a plastic casing for it, and 2 1-liter bottles. Really?? $130? This does not include shipping, which runs $20. There is a cheaper model at $99, but even this is at least two times what I would think of paying.
Yes, if you drink a lot of soda water, this will eventually pay for itself, but it will take awhile.
So, I do give two thumbs up to this gadget, on its own merits. It is slim and sleek and it sits unobtrusively in a narrow corner of my kitchen. It works perfectly, and the carbonator cartridges are easy to replace.
But the price gives me pause; it does not seem commensurate with the product itself.
• Find it: Genesis - Seltzer Starter Kit, $129.95 at SodaStream
Do you use a soda maker? Is it from SodaStream, or elsewhere? What do you think of it?
Related: How To: Make Soda Water at Home
Apartment Therapy Media makes every effort to test and review products fairly and transparently. The views expressed in this review are the personal views of the reviewer and this particular product review was not sponsored or paid for in any way by the manufacturer or an agent working on their behalf. However, the manufacturer did give us the product for testing and review purposes.
(Images: Faith Durand)
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I have one of the ones with glass bottles and I kind of thought it was ridiculously expensive but now I think it's totally worth it. I love having access to it for parties and my own consumption and not having to remember to buy cans and cans of seltzer is a big help.
It's also stupidly fun to use, don't ask me why.
I've had a SodaStream for about three years and figured out that I hit the breakeven point on the price within the first year (I drank a lot of soda before getting the system). I buy 4 to 6 of the larger chargers each year. I have extra bottles, which makes the refilling/chilling much easier. One of my favorite kitchen items!
We have a soda stream and we love it, though ours is the older model. We received it for a wedding present (we registered for it). Compared to buying bottles of water, I think the price is pretty fair. We used 2 of the large chargers in 6 months, and we drink a fair amount of soda water.
We have the Fountain Jet and love it too. We also drink about the same amount of water and consider it easily paid for within the span of a year. There are no other comparable systems on the market, and while you can cobble one together with beer making supplies for about $300, it is still not nearly as convenient or cost effective in my opinion, as the counter model. We love ours and every time we use it I can't believe that it works so simply and perfectly.
We had the basic model for a while and recently upgraded to the Penguin which uses glass bottles. We don't really chill the water: just run your tap until it's really cold.
As far as convenience is concerned, I actually liked the cheaper model better: the Penguin's level is on the back and it comes with an awkward mechanism for inserting bottles. However, we're trying to keep plastic out of our lives all together so we appreciate the glass.
I cannot speak highly enough of this machine. I got one last year as a gift, and I don't know what I would do without it now. As someone with no car in Chicago - meaning, the amount of groceries I can buy at one time is limited - the mere convenience of never taking extra trips to buy soda water is worth the cost in and of itself! And it's so much fun!!
Count us amongst the devoted. My husband had his eye on one for the longest time and we finally bought one at the California State Fair (one of the exhibition halls) back in 2006. The initial purchase is hefty but given how often we used to buy carbonated bottle water at the grocery store, broke even pretty quickly. I had no idea that Williams Sonoma exchanged the carbonators though. That is good to know!
Yeah, we use the Sodastream at work all the time. In fact, we convinced the grocery store on our street to carry them! They're a big hit!
I also did a post and video review of the Sodastream: http://eyezinacookbook.com/?p=3607
I am addicted
I too am a soda water lover, and I think the biggest reason for the price is that there is no competition in this space. Soda Stream is, as far as I can tell, the only company who makes a product like this. There are traditional soda syphon bottles, but those are hardly comparable.
Also consider that these devices deal with fairly high pressures, so there is some precision engineering that goes into them to allow them to work safely.
I have a question regarding the plastic bottles that come with it. It appears that they have caps. Do the caps on the plastic bottles not keep the carbonation in for any period of time? I would like to be able to transport a bottle to drink during my work day without transferring it to another bottle.
the sodastream has changed my life! we got sent one to review for my blog, and since then everyone in my family has bought one too.
We have the older model and love it. Wish we had the glass bottles.
And yes, the carbonation will last during the day with the cap on.
I've secretly wanted one of these forever. I sneaked it onto our wedding registry but nobody got it for us. A friend rubs my nose in his Penguin every time we go to his house for dinner.
I'm the only one in my house who likes fizzy drinks so I may not be able to justify it. Oh but my birthday is coming up...
In the 6th picture it looks like the plastic bottle itself expires (in 2013) - do you have to pay $ to replace those as well or will they be a free exchange? Maybe in the scheme of things it's not that much but glass is looking like the way to go.
Meanwhile I'm going to look into old timey soda siphons.
I must agree with Faith on the price. Soda makers are available for under $50. Fizz Giz makes one that's only $30. There are dozens of mfrs worldwide. Google some more - don't stop at the first page of hits.
Does anyone know if you can use your own syrups? They're a little different than the bottled ones, consistency wise so I wasn't sure.
Knowsie: I wouldn't necessarily suggest putting the syrups in before carbonating the water, but there's certainly nothing wrong with mixing in syrups afterwards (I don't find anything remarkably different about it). I do this all the time and it works well. :) It also allows one bottle of carbonated water to become more than one thing.
Good lord I love my soda stream. Honestly, most useful wedding present we received.
I make all sorts of potions and flavors for it: rhubarb, rosemary, lavender, peach-- just simple syrups to mix in once you've fizzed up a bottle. I tried the flavors they offer and they're kind of gross.
Faith, depending on where you live you may be able to find it for far cheaper. I manage a local kitchen store in Portland, Oregon, and we sell the Genesis sodamaker for under $100. If you purchase directly from SodaStream, the shipping is expensive because the CO2 container is considered hazardous by UPS (because it's compressed gas). Buying local will save you lots of money on this item!
@dmstudio The caps to the bottles are screw-on, and they do keep it carbonated for approximately 3 days. I've kept it for 5 but by then it's fairly flat. If you don't drink that much, I recommend getting a pair of 1/2 liter bottles with your SodaStream.
Love my SodaStream. Can't remember what model we have but it takes the larger 110 liter size CO2 cartridge and it lasts a good long time. Plus I think the larger cartridges end up being a slightly better deal.
I got my SodaStream off of craigslist for $20 and the guy included a few CO2 cartridges too so our investment paid off long ago. The only thing is that I wish it was able to carbonate straight into a glass bottle. I'm not crazy about the plastic. (The original SodaStreams from the 70s and 80s came with glass bottles, when it was popular in the UK.)
And for the experimenters there are a bunch of people who have rigged up various ways of refilling their SodaStream cartridges with cheapo CO2 (I think from sport supply stores, paint ball equipment or something?) but it seems kinda risky to me and it's not the kind of adventure I seek.
knowsie: there would be absolutely no reason why you couldn't use home-made syrups - it's just like mixing cordial with water. I do it all the time with (bought) blackcurrant cordial and (homemade) elderflower cordial. My sodastream thing isn't one of the ones that sits on the counter, it's just a big opaque glass bottle that you fill with water and chill, then attach a CO2 cartridge and press the little lever. The soda water is carbonated as you need it, rather than having to carbonate a whole bottle at once. Well really it is all carbonated at once, but just like store-bough bottles the CO2 is dissolved in the water until you open the bottle/press the lever. It's fantastic.
I had a hard time convincing my husband that we should register for a SodaStream, but he's a total convert now! The basic kit runs about $100 on Amazon, and we've found replacement chargers and a huge variety of their syrup mixes at our local Ace Hardware. LOVE it.
@korewahimitsu: you are totally right. Don't mix the syrup into the bottle before your carbonate. If you accidentally over-carbonate, the syrup and water mixture will backup into the machine, and there really isn't a way to get it totally clean.
Just carbonate the water only. I find that it carbonates best if both the water and bottle are cold.
This machine is crazy fun!
I'm not sure this one is for me - I appreciate the review, I'm just not sure I can get on board with the price (especially given my sparkling water consumption).
Becca
I have a red genesis SodaStream, and it is the BEST purchase I have ever made. My boyfriend and I go through around 1-3 bottles a day (more towards 3 on the weekend when we're around more during the day). It's so nice not to have to lug the heavy bottles from the grocery store and we never have to worry about running out. All we do is fizz up a new bottle! I highly recommend getting at least 2 carbonators so that when one runs out, you just switch it out with a full one. Also, being that we live in a tiny NYC apartment, it really helps to slow down our recycling output; throwing out seltzer bottles used to mean our small recycling bin would fill up almost instantly.
SodaStream, how do I love thee:
I love filtered water with a bit of lemon or better yet something from my bitters collection
I love drinking as much seltzer as I want at my desk at work without guilt
I love egg creames made in my kitchen
I love not having to schlep heavy bottles up to my second floor kitchen
I love not having to add to the waste stream just because I like seltzer. Recycling helps but it isn't much better than straight trash.
Sometimes, doing the right thing by the planet costs us a little more cash... ah, but it is worth it!
I'm sad to see that you aren't supposed to carbonate anything but water. I was thinking about registering for one of these because I thought it would be nice to carbonate fruit juice.
If you're tired of paying for the soda stream refills, do some googleing on how to fill your tanks yourself. I have a 20lb co2 tank in my garage and fill mine and a few others up at a fraction of the cost. Like most cost savings measures there is an upfront cost but if you buy it jointly or just make alot of soda it can pay off quick
I read recently about co2 pressure being used for pressure infusion of marinades. In short, when a marinade and meat were mixed and pressurised, the marination time was cut. Dramatically. There's some footage on youtube, but while I do say don't try this, the scientist in me is wondering out loud if the conditions could be created in a sodastream...
Try My Pop Soda for the best carbonation and lowest cost carbonation. Make soda or seltzer directly in any soda bottle.
www.mypopsoda.com
The first gift I ever bought my husband was a SodaStream, and it's still going. A little hack, instead of soda: add 1 part fruit juice to 3 parts soda water. Orange juice and soda water = poor man's mimosa. Lovely.
For a price comparison: In the UK, the SodaStream system is cheaper, but the refill canisters are much more expensive.
I use my SodaStream to make homemade / natural sodas by mixing carbonated water with fresh fruit juice and some kind of sugar / syrup. I've also found that it works really well for carbonating wine (do this at your own risk as they don't recommend it) and some juices. Carbonated water with bitters is an amazing drink too!