Is the SodaStream Home Soda Maker worth the investment?

[lt1jane]

Last weekend, I broke down and bought a SodaStream machine. My husband drinks A LOT of Mountain Dew and it's close to $8 a case which I think is silly. I hesitated about spending the $100 for the machine. The place I bought it (Bed Bath & Beyond) has a 100% satisfaction guarantee. So, I decided to take the chance.

I had talked to someone who owns one and knew that the SodaStream syrups do not use high fructose corn syrup. So the Mountain Dew/Fountain Mist was going to be more like the Mountain Dew throwback. That's OK as my husband likes that and my son prefers the "white can" Dew anyway. I decided with the satisfaction guarantee, it was worth the risk. The machine came with a 12 pack of various flavors to try and the "Dew" was one of them.

Once we got home, we took it out of the box and carbonated a bottle of water, opened the "Dew" and had my husband try it. He was happy. Upon closer look at the CO2 bottles, they have a proprietary nozzle on them which will make it more challenging to refill the cansiters at home (provided you have a siphon tank, we do) We will be investing a little more in an adaptor to either refill the tank or so we can use an O2 tank we have at home. We're not sure which way we are going to go regarding the tanks.

The bottom line, is that even if you pay the $15-$20 to exchange the tanks that SodaStream makes, you can mix your own soda for about $0.30-$0.50 a liter. If you can refill your own, it goes down to about $0.10 a liter. My son and I have been having fun tasting the other syrups that came with the machine. So far, I was not impressed with the diet cola but liked the diet Dr Pete/Pepper. I don't like grapefruit, but liked the diet grapefruit flavor and the diet Cranberry/Raspberry. The real fun will be in the future when we start to experiment with mixing the syrup flavors to see what we can come up with. This is a toy we will have fun with in our house.

 

[ChefNelson]

Thanks for the review! I've been thinking about investing in one as well - some friends of ours have one and love it, too. I think my husband drinks far too much soda and would love to find a healthier alternative for him to get his "fix" with.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

Thanks for sharing this info. Ever since I first heard about this device, I thought it sounded a little too good to be true and wondered what the catch was. Proprietary syrups and CO2 tanks seem to be the catch. I'll be most interested to learn if you can get an adapter to refill the CO2 tank on your own. When I was a kid, a mug of A&W Root Beer was 5¢ and a large was a dime. Coke and Pepsi were in that same price range. More importantly, it tasted better than today's products.When Fidel Castro took over Cuba in 1959, he nationalized the American industries in Cuba, including beverage makers and he also cut off the flow of sugar. The result was that soda doubled in price overnight and continued to climb. Sugar cane is grown in equatorial climes, usually in countries that have much political intrigue and the cost of sugar often fluctuated greatly. With supplies of sugar cane cut off from Cuba, the increasing price of sugar drove food makers to find an alternative. Starting in the mid to late 1960s, high fructose corn syrup was the low cost replacement for sugar. In 1977, the government put a high tariff on imported sugar, pushing up prices even more and making fructose more attractive. No matter what advertising tells you, sugar tastes better than HFCS, and that isn't even getting into the argument over health. (Sucrose and fructose are digested differently by the human body.)Toward the end of each year, Coke and Pepsi both issue a limited run of kosher colas, that use sugar and not high fructose corn syrup. If you've ever spent the extra to get the kosher beverages, you know they taste differently from the usual run-of-the-mill Coke or Pepsi. The better taste of kosher soda is sugar, vs. HFCS, and it makes all the difference.

 

[ShellBeach]

Not a fan of diet sodas, so I thought all the flavors tasted gross. They all have Splenda in the syrup. They all had that chemical taste, I thought.

Just did a google, I see Sodastream has responded to this and has a new line of syrups without Splenda:
http://msfizz.sodastreamusa.com/2010/09/28/introducing-all-natural-soda-flavors/

If I ever see Sodastream demo this, I'd try these new flavors. It looked like a cool idea!

 

[Telynn]

I have the Soda Stream and I make carbonated fruit juices. I just defrost a frozen can of juice and add a tablespoon or two of the fruit concentrate to the carbonated water. If you wish a stronger juice flavor you can use more of the concentrate.

 

[lt1jane]

Hey KG,

Yes, you can get an adaptor. The website is the CO2 Doctor. It will cost about $50. For the long run, it's worth it. We haven't decided if we will get an adaptor to just refill the tank we have (this can be a bit of a pain because there is some sort of anti-refill device in it) or if we will get an adaptor and just use a different CO2 tank entirely. That is the question for us.

My husband tried the regular Dr Pete this morning and said it tastes just like Dr Pepper. You don't have to buy their syrups. There is a company in the Milwaukee area that will sell you the real syrups, but you have to buy 3 gallons at a time. (They cost about $35) The SodaStream syrups are much smaller (16.9 ounces/$5-$6) and make the equivalent of of 50 servings (12 liters).

 

[Teresa Lynn]

If you didn't use a 20% off coupon , take your receipt back they will adjust the cost.
I don't drink soda but I love Perrier and La Croix water. I use mine just for the water & an ocassional wine sprtizer

 

[pampered1224]

This is something we looked at as well but are majorly hooked on Coke Zero and me, diet Mountain Dew. But I love the idea of the carbonated fruit juices. Just 2 questions, how long before the bottles of soda go flat? And can they be re-carbonated?

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

The more I think about this, the more I think I need to look into purchasing one. I'm not really that big a consumer of soft drinks any more, but I just cringe when I look at the prices for a package of cans.On top of it, I'm still P'o'ed at Coke for doing that stupid "save the polar bears" white can last Fall (a complete flop, I might add) although I'm sure my little one-man boycott hasn't hurt them very much. When I was a kid, the Braves abandoned Milwaukee for Atlanta and broke my heart. The Old Man was also thoroughly upset and, right or wrong, he was convinced there was Coca-Cola money behind the move. (Coke is headquartered in Atlanta.) He was a life long Coke drinker, but after the Braves left town, he never drank another Coke product for the rest of his life.Lookit me, I've become my old man. He would have loved the Soda Stream!

 

[lt1jane]

Supposedly, the bottle caps are specially designed to keep the fizz. It keeps for a good while. We have one bottle in the fridge (root beer) that's a couple days old. We mix the soda as we need it. I cool the water ahead of time, but don't carbonate it until I want to drink it.

I wouldn't recommend re-carbonating anything. The tube sticks into the water. If you use plain water you don't have to worry about cleaning it or the tube getting clogged by the sugars in the mixes. They have a Cola Free flavor that is supposed to compare to Coke Zero.

My husband for spits and grins decided to mix his Gatorade Frost packet into a bottle of freshly carbonated water. He liked that too.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

I wonder if the syrups have less caffeine in them than the brand name sodas dew…er…do. I used to work with a guy who pounded down about 5 cans of Mountain Dew every day, and by three in the afternoon, we almost needed a ladder to go scrape him off the ceiling. The best part was that he used to lecture me about drinking too much coffee!Dr. Pepper is another one that is loaded with caffeine. The Doctor was a good traveling companion when I was all over the midwest in the middle of the night. I haven't been able to locate a definitive listing of how much caffeine is in a can of Dr. Pepper.I was surprised to find out that no one has created a ranking of caffeine content in major soda brands. I even found one called Kickapoo Joy Juice (thank you, Al Capp) that a user says is high in caffeine but you know what info is like on the Internet.I did find these caffeine listings:Jolt Cola 71.2 mg/can
Dew 55 mg/can
Coke 45.6 mg/can
Pepsi 37.2mg/can

 

[nikked]

LOVED Jolt when I was a teenager..."Twice the caffeine and all the sugar you could ever want in a soda"! Favorite amongst us drama kids back in the day!

 

[NooraK]

You convinced me, and while we were at Costco today we bought one. It comes with a 130 liter CO2 tank and 12 test flavors. The gal demoing it said the fizz lasts for up to two weeks. I doubt any of our bottles would last that long, though. She also said that you can pretty much use anything to flavor it, even powdered drink mixes, fruit juices etc.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

You convinced me, and while we were at Costco today we bought one. It comes with a 130 liter CO2 tank and 12 test flavors. The gal demoing it said the fizz lasts for up to two weeks. I doubt any of our bottles would last that long, though. She also said that you can pretty much use anything to flavor it, even powdered drink mixes, fruit juices etc.

Jim Beam? Jack Daniels? Bombay Sapphire?

That does it! I need one of these!

 

[NooraK]

Jim Beam? Jack Daniels? Bombay Sapphire?

That does it! I need one of these!

Sure, why not!

 

[NooraK]

By the way, it's currently on sale at Costco, so it's $99 for the Dynamo Deluxe model which is a Costco Exclusive.

 

[lt1jane]

I wonder if the syrups have less caffeine in them than the brand name sodas dew…er…do.

I did find these caffeine listings:

Jolt Cola 71.2 mg/can
Dew 55 mg/can
Coke 45.6 mg/can
Pepsi 37.2mg/can

They do have less caffiene and less sugar. Follow this link: Sodastream | Taste & Nutrition

Noora, I hope you like yours. I'm liking mine. Sounds like we may have the same model. Mine came with the 12-pack flavors and the CO2 cartridge also.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

Jim Beam? Jack Daniels? Bombay Sapphire?

That does it! I need one of these!

Sure, why not!

What a time saver!

Bourbon and cola in one bottle - just open, pour and pass out!

 

[pampered1224]

OH Bacardi and Coke! And no loss of fizz when adding the Bacardi!

 

[lt1jane]

in Europe, they sell Jack Daniels & cola in cans...


what did I start with this one? All I was trying to do was give my opinion on a device you see on TV and the internet. 99% of anything I see advertised on TV is so cheaply made that I don't believe the claims. It's rare to find an infomercial that is actually worth the purchase...

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

in Europe, they sell Jack Daniels & cola in cans...what did I start with this one? All I was trying to do was give my opinion on a device you see on TV and the internet. 99% of anything I see advertised on TV is so cheaply made that I don't believe the claims. It's rare to find an infomercial that is actually worth the purchase...

When you launch a thread in this forum, there are no guarantees about what direction it'll take. Hijackers are Us!Jim Beam test marketed Jim Beam Bourbon in cans with cola and sweet soda many years ago. It didn't go over very well and they discontinued it. I still have a couple of cans that I kept because I figured that someday, the young whipper-snappers would believe the old man spinning that yarn.

 

[pampered1224]

Sorry more questions. Pat and I did some math. A two liter bottle of Coke Zero is $1.80. And a lot of times it is $1 on sale. We know that the 4.99 syrup is about 12 liters. That makes this .77 per two liter refill. The carbon takes .46 for two liters. So that is 1.23. Then of course there is S&H for carbonators I would assume and I can not find a store around here with the diet soda flavors we want. No one carries the Coke Zero replica. So now I am not sold on this. Especially as the initial out lay also needs to be figured into the cost per liter. So how does this save me money? I know about the environmental aspects but financially, I am wondering. Help me see why this is great.

 

[Teresa Lynn]

you can exchange the cartridges at Bed bath & Beyond & they have tons of flavored syrups. i think I have also seen them at Target and Walmart

 

[lt1jane]

BB&B does the carbon exchanges for sure I believe it's about $15 for the exchange. If there is a Shopko near you (there weren't when I lived there in the late 80's early 90's) they also carry the products.

We are planning on refilling the CO2 ourselves which will make this much cheaper for us in the long run. It is going to cost us an extra $50 to obtain the necessary hardware which will help us to recoup the inital investment. Also, my husband tried his first "Dew" with 3 shots. He decided when you make your soda "fresh" it was too bubbly. He's using two shots.

It's an investment up front that will work better for some people than others. It's like the solar panels we have. We have a few lights in the house that are only hooked up to the panels. Have we gotten our inital investment out of them in the two years we've had them? I will never know for certain. I will say that we've lost power a handful of times since the panels went in and those lights were all we had at night. At those points, the panels were worth every penny...

I drive a Prius. It costs more to buy a hybrid up front. I believe that the extra money I paid for my car in the beginning I recouped in gas savings by the time I paid it off. It's all a matter of perspective.

 

[pampchefrhondab]

Is it just my imagination or do I remember a soda maker in the 70's? I don't drink more then one can of soda a week anymore so this would not be worth it to me. This from a girl who would drink at least 2 liters of diet dew every day! It will be 3 years in August since I've had one. I'm like an alcoholic though, I could have some every day!When I have one now it's only regular coke. I can't do the artificial sweetner. I'm with you KG - can't stand the Coke polar bear campaign! No Santa cans this year - idiots!I'm glad all of you are having fun with yours.

 

[pampered1224]

OK got it. I have to check but the nearest Shopko is way north in Grafton I think. Target's website shows only a couple of diet syrups but the store may carry more. Then I need to check as I think we do have access to Bed, Bath & Beyonds so cartridges may not be a problem. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Pat and I like you were Rhonda, are addicted to our soda. I hate water of any kind for some weird reason. My mom thinks it stems from my almost drowning in Geneva Lake back in the late 60s. But who knows. And funny thing, I can not bring myself to like the taste of sugared soda!

 

[pampered1224]

Bed, Bath and Beyond. Genesis. $99. Plus about 5 flavors. All diet. Two extra bottles for total of 4. Jane - did you find that you always go beyond the 3 buzzes to 5? We tried three and well, it is not fizzy enough for us so tomorrow we will try again until we get it right. Also, the flavors we buy included the Zero Cola and is that good! The diet ginger ale, not so much. Think I need to add more of the syrup though so we shall see!

 

[lt1jane]

We are using 2-3 buzzes. Coke products have always been too bubbly to me anyway. I saw on YouTube that if you want a Coke flavor, it does require more buzzes. I have always been a Pepsi drinker and find that the 2-3 buzzes is perfect for me. Since I drink it right away it doesn't lose it's fizz either. I would use more buzzes if I were not going to drink it right away. I'm still working on how much syrup to add too. The bottles aren't well marked for what an "average" 1 liter would be. I was fine with the trials that I just added the entire packet...

 

[lt1jane]

Is it just my imagination or do I remember a soda maker in the 70's?

Beleve it or not, the SodaStream has been around for that long!
http://msfizz.sodastreamusa.com/2011/02/06/super-bowl-sunday-sodastream-style-commercial-showdown/

I think it's finally gotten to the point that soda is getting so expensive that people are looking for less expensive alternatives.

 

[pampered1224]

Thanks Jane for that info. I noted too in the FAQs on the website that ""Enough" is a very subjective term!". Whether it is the fizz or the flavor, this comment is applied. I noted the Ginger ale is extremely weak to me based on their measurement and the colas are actually a little to much so...
And yes, finding the measurements in those caps really stinks! I think I am going to start using the Mini Easy Read Measuring cup to get an exact measurement. I mean, I want it to taste the same every time I do it. Now to get over the fear of something exploding if I put more fizz in! Pat says every time I hit the button after the first buzz, I squint my eyes and turn away slightly! (What a scardy cat!)

 

[DeannaK1022]

I had one for about 4 months.. liked it well enough, I don't drink a LOT of soda at home (at work is another story) so I thought it would be more convenient. It was - until the cap stopped holding the carbonation and it was spraying everywhere when you "shake gently" to mix the syrup. We took it back to costco, and they didn't have any left in stock, so now I'm without my soda stream.But I bought a 36 pack of diet pepsi 3 weeks ago and I still have half of them left. so we decided it's not worth it to replace.

 

[lt1jane]

you can buy replacement caps at sodastream.com

I haven't looked to see if Shopko or BB&B (the two places near me that I know carry the stuff) have caps. I know BB&B carries extra bottles. I have several extra bottles already. I'm bringing soda to my next team/cluster meeting. Guess what they're drinking?!?!?!!

 

[lt1jane]

John, that's a GREAT idea to use the mini easy read. I'll tell my husband. I think that will work better for us. I see a few more easy reads in my future now...

 

[pampered1224]

Yep Pat and I think those lines are a bit&* of a problem! The black caps have the measurement lines on the outside!! And as far as I can tell they ain't transparent!! He put a bit too much syrup in the Cola Zero and it was well, yuck! The Diet Mountain Mist is really good! I think they put the caffeine in it too! Now to re-try the diet ginger ale.

 

[NooraK]

I'll definitely have to get extra bottles. The rate DH goes through soda, the two just aren't sufficient. The instructions said the water should be very cold when you carbonate it, so I've been filling up the bottle with water once it's empty. With just two bottles, at the rate DH drinks, we'd only be able to have one flavor at a time: one with what he's drinking, one with water chilling for when he's done with the first.

 

[lt1jane]

Noora, here's a tip. I keep water chilling in the fridge all the time. That was how we initially tried the Fountain Mist. I took the cold water from the fridge, put it in the SodaStream bottle and carbonated and mixed it. You CAN get by with just the two bottles if you want to, but it is convenient to have more.

 

[pampered1224]

We too are keeping two gallon jugs in the fridge. So far we have found that 4 buzzes works best for us. It does not for the cat though! He goes flying out of the kitchen on the first one! I love the diet Fountain Mist and the diet Ginger Ale. Pat loves the diet orange. We both really love the diet grapefruit! The Diet Cola Zero, Diet Root beer, and even the diet Cola is good. We finally have a total per soda. it comes to $.92. A liter bottle of diet dew is $2.09 down here. So... Speaks for itself doesn't it! The only thing I can see as being a problem, we are gonna be so soda'd to death fast as we can not stop trying all the samples! We have 9 left. The Energy drink is not appealing to either of us but the rest sure do sound great! Cranberry-Raspberry, Dr Pete and the diet equivalent. Yeah we will do the regular one too so... Pat is so disappointed though that they do not do a diet grape. Although I have to admit, neither of us have checked the site. But I tell you, you are definitely right in that it is a major money saver. Less than half the cost per liter of retail!!!

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

 

[wadesgirl]

Don't forget if you sign up for BB&B's emails or mailing list they will mail you 20% off coupons every so often. Last I knew they even take the expired ones (that could be old news though).

 

[Teresa Lynn]

OMG!! Kitchen Guy I loved that stuff!! You just brought back a flood of memories of sitting at my grandma's table on a Saturday afternoon. I have tears dripping on my keyboard.

 

[ChefNelson]

Heads up - according to my local Target ad (Oshkosh, WI) SodaStream starter sets are on sale for $79.99 this week and you get a $10 Target gift card with purchase. It says all SodaStream accessories are also on sale, so you could use that $10 to get a deal on syrup flavors too then!
I'm starting to think this might be a good idea for our house too....

 

[Teresa Lynn]

I saw that too, but think it might be a better deal at bed bath & beyond if you get the starter one. It comes out to the same price (yes, you don't get the gift card) BUT, you get the sample flavors which will save $ in the end if you don't like some of the flavors.I only use mine for flavored water, tea and wine spritzers none of us are sodas drinkers

 

[NooraK]

Noora, here's a tip. I keep water chilling in the fridge all the time. That was how we initially tried the Fountain Mist. I took the cold water from the fridge, put it in the SodaStream bottle and carbonated and mixed it. You CAN get by with just the two bottles if you want to, but it is convenient to have more.

I had considered that. I was thinking of just putting my FSQSP in the fridge with water. My only problem is, we have a fairly small and already pretty full refrigerator, and I'm not sure if it would fit. One liter bottles are easier to fit between other things.

 

[pampered1224]

Not to mention that the seals on these bottles are so good they will not leak when placed on their sides even. Water filled gallon jugs, water filled soda bottles and all the flavors to keep them chilled as well. We found out that warm syrup really warms up the soda so we put ALL the syrups in the fridge as well. Plus it is recommended by the company to refrigerate after opening. But then again you noted that there is not a lot of room in your refrigerator so...

 

[pampered1224]

How is this for an AHH HAA - DUH moment! Pat bought the Diet Grapefruit mix today and used it. He said it is not the same as the sample pack. Not as flavorful. I asked if he filled it to the line in the cap. He said he thought so. Then it dawned on me. I grabbed the sample pack box from the fridge. They package these so they are just the right amount of syrup. Guess what? They are all 1.7 ounces! So now we know exactly how much syrup the company thinks is the perfect amount of syrup. I gotta find my Mini Easy Read Measuring cup and see if I can mark that. We will use that instead of the caps! I can always get another Mini! But a perfect soda is a now thing!

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

Not to mention that the seals on these bottles are so good they will not leak when placed on their sides even. Water filled gallon jugs, water filled soda bottles and all the flavors to keep them chilled as well. We found out that warm syrup really warms up the soda so we put ALL the syrups in the fridge as well. Plus it is recommended by the company to refrigerate after opening. But then again you noted that there is not a lot of room in your refrigerator so...

…you can use all your savings from the SodaStream and buy an additional refrigerator!

 

[Careyann]

It would be a great savings if my kids/husband would bother to use it!! I got mine in the recruiting promo last fall, they all thought it would be great and we used it for a month or so and now it sits in the closet and the syrups sit in the cupboard!! I don't drink soda at all, so I never initiate pulling it out!
They had no complaints about taste at least at the time!

 

[NooraK]

…you can use all your savings from the SodaStream and buy an additional refrigerator!

Wonder how long it would take to save up if I put in the price difference of every two liters DH drinks in a jar?

 

[NooraK]

How is this for an AHH HAA - DUH moment! Pat bought the Diet Grapefruit mix today and used it. He said it is not the same as the sample pack. Not as flavorful. I asked if he filled it to the line in the cap. He said he thought so. Then it dawned on me. I grabbed the sample pack box from the fridge. They package these so they are just the right amount of syrup. Guess what? They are all 1.7 ounces! So now we know exactly how much syrup the company thinks is the perfect amount of syrup. I gotta find my Mini Easy Read Measuring cup and see if I can mark that. We will use that instead of the caps! I can always get another Mini! But a perfect soda is a now thing!

The sample packs also say they're 52 ml. I doubt the 2 ml would make a huge difference, so you can just go by the 50 ml mark that is already on the MERMC. It's easier to read than the ounces on the side anyway.

 

[pampered1224]

Oh ain't that the truth!! We also measured the line amount in the cap. Seems to 1.5 ounces. We do know that if you do use the ounces side, it is right at the top of the 1 1/2 lettering. I guess the syrup is far more concentrated as that mere .2 ounces really does make a difference in the taste. We do have one really big problem with it though. Our cat loves to sleep on one of the kitchen chairs. That BUZZ scares him half to death to the point that when we even go near it, he is outta there! Otherwise he literally jumps about three feet off the chair and runs like crazy! Poor guy!