Sodastream - Does anyone own one?
I'm thinking of purchasing one and am looking for feedback and deals!
Thanks!
by
izbryte
asked a year ago
I do own one of these, but I'm not a huge soda drinker so it doesn't get as much use as I'd like. Still, I do like it overall, it's a good concept and even if your just in the mood for some seltzer it beats running out to the store. I can't vouch for how easy it is to get replacement CO2 canisters since I still have yet to go through my first.
For the best carbonation results the water has to be icy cold, so I suggest if you are a big soda drinker having 2 bottles for soda, 2 to keep chill in the fridge. That way, if you are in the mood and polish off the first two fairly quickly, you can wash out and refill the used bottles, then just use the other 2 bottles already nice and cold to make more soda.
I also ordered the sampler pack of soda flavors which I highly recommend you doing to see what you like. Some of the flavor knockoffs IIRC such as the mountain dew one are not all that great. (cont.)
I honestly have found it cheaper being a rootbeer fan to go out to the store and buy rootbeer concentrate flavoring and make my own syrup at home. I've also made soda out of things such as Crystal Light (Which makes it EXPLODE! when added to the carbonated water much like mentos in diet coke, so be careful!) and was recently thinking of trying Mio into the water to see if it fizzes. The major problem with the crystal light flavoring at least beyond the initial explosion, is it loses a lot of its flavor so it's less less soda and more like a spritzer.
Of course, if you are like me and find it enjoyable playing flavor alchemist this could be a very fun side project to concoct your own personal blend! Just remember, you carbonate PLAIN WATER FIRST THEN ADD THE FLAVORING or you void the warranty! (cont, if you aren't bored yet)
If you and your family go through a LOT of soda this likely will save you some cash in the end. The more soda you drink, the faster you will reach the break even point and start to save money. Where I am, soda right now is at least $1.35 a bottle regular price nowadays, though you can still get it for $0.99 on sale. If you have a large family though, you may have to buy a LOT more bottles to keep up with supply and demand, and 4 bottles takes up slightly more real estate then a gallon of milk.
Really though, it is a luxury to have soda on demand especially if you find a syrup you like and keep stocked on hand. I may not be an authority on this thing, but then again I use this mostly to help gain the title of "Full Flavor Alchemist" with my personal experiments. ;)
Just for you I went downstairs and made up some Mio soda. It's actually pretty damned impressive, no fizzy flare ups, and it retains full flavor. So thumbs up for Berry Pomegranate Mio soda, another option to throw on the table.
tiamat114, THANKS! The crystal light concoction was EXACTLY what I was thinking about! I drink A LOT of soda but, really, I just like the "fizziness". I think if I could carbonate my lemonade, I'd be a happy camper and probably save a TON of cash!
I see Kohl's has a sale for one of these machines for $80! Seems like a good deal!
Thanks again!
@izbryte: i saw these at the BJs club near me and was intrigued but i love Coca Cola way too much. but for the lime and other flavors, i'd love to try some.
anyway check in your nearest wholesale club to compare prices: Costco, Sam's Club, BJs
W00tgurl is right, I just checked around myself and you can get the starter kit which is the one I have for 80 dollars quite a few places online, even the Foodnetwork store has it for 80 with a free ship coupon code, I wager you can get one for less shopping around.
I have had three different generations and while I don't use it every day - love it!
@izbryte: wait til you can get a kohls 30% off coupon via email if you're going to buy it there, don't worry about the sale price ending, it'll be on sale again in a few days, kohls changes their in store prices at least once per day, often twice per day.
I like it, but the flavors are hit and miss to me. I like the Root Beer and my wife like the Orange the best. I didn't like the cola or cherry cola. The ginger ale and cream isn't bad. Didn't care for their version of Mountain Dew. Grape and diet pink grapefruit are drinkable, but I don't think I will buy them again once I finish what I have. To me the worst hands down is the Energy. It tasted like cough syrup.
I'm still on my first bottle of CO2, and I have probably made at least 30 bottles of soda and I normally pump it until it make four of the "fart" sounds.
What I might try is to buy some real Coke syrup at Sams Club. I would try to buy some real Coke Zero syrup at Sams Club too, but I think it would go bad before I would use all of it.
Not sure if I'm saving any money, but nice to always have soda and to be able to make a different flavor each time I make a bottle.
My wife and I used to go through 2 12-packs a week of canned soda, so having the SodaStream is like a dream. We always have the bottles in our fridge filled, ready to go.
We usually make a 1-liter bottle of soda to have with supper and pack the half-liter bottles in with lunches for work. Replacing the canisters is easy as anything because there are numerous stores around here that will do that for us.
I cannot recommend a sodastream enough if you're a household that buys a lot of soda from the store.
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