My husband is a Type 1 diabetic, which means he can't drink juice or milk without having to take some insulin. He hates plain water, so his beverage of choice is almost exclusively diet soda. The cost was killing me - I'd be buying 8-10 2 liter bottles a week, and the cost plus deposit added up FAST. So I was SUPER excited for the chance to test and review one of SodaStream's Fountain Jet home soda makers!
If you haven't seen one of these units, they're slick little gadgets. SodaStream/Soda Club entered the US market in 2002 but they're well known in Europe as an environmentally conscious, economical way for folks to enjoy soda straight from the pantry! (They've been making soda machines since 1903, they definitely know their stuff.) They provide BPA-free plastic bottles, so you don't pay the redemption fee or send more plastic to the recycling center. They recycle the carbonation canisters and pay for return shipping of empty units. And if that isn't good enough, the REGULAR soda mix has 8-9g of carbs per 8oz (compared to 21-28g of carbs in most regular soda), and about TEN PERCENT of the sodium. Diet sodas are 0 carbs and also very little sodium.
Out of the box: not too many parts, NO batteries or electrical! Easy to start using right away. Took me about 2 minutes to read through the instructions and connect the CO2 canister, then I was in business!
Ease of use: It really is this simple - fill the bottle with cold tap water, screw it into the SodaStream unit, and press the carbonation button till it buzzes until the water is at your desired level of carbonation. It took 3 bursts of carbonation to get a good "fizz". My 2.5 year old wanted to hear the "cool sound" from the machine and was imitating the buzzing noise all night :) Then you add the flavor syrup and you're good to go!
They offer a great array of knockoff soda flavors, in bottles with measuring cup lids that remind me of laundry bottles :) The great thing about this is that whether store soda is too sweet or not strong enough, you can adjust and customize the flavor to your taste buds! I had read some previous reviews of the SodaStream and a few people mentioned the flavor improved if you let it sit for a while. I made a bottle of diet cola and put it right in the fridge to let hubby try when he got home from work. He was impressed! The flavors definitely "mature" after a few hours in the fridge, but were still tasty if just made. After drinking nothing but SodaStream soda for a week, he actually found store-bought soda to be LESS flavorful and preferred his new homemade version!
SodaStream units can be purchased online at SodaStreamUSA.com and at select major retailers - units start at around $99 and include everything you need to get started. If you have a big soda drinker on your holiday shopping list, this is one gadget worth having!
This is a sponsored post, and I did receive compensation in the form of free product for this review. I did not receive any other compensation for this review. This review reflects my honest opinion based on my experience in using the product, and this post was not edited or reviewed by anyone.
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