Product Review:
Soda Stream
Reviewer: Jason Gillard
For those of you who listened when I did podcasts way back, then you might remember me talking about a product called Soda Club. It was a way of making your very own soda pop at home. Both Eric and I tested a different drink each show. Back then I wasn't too thrilled with some of the tastes. It's been a couple of years since then and now the company has changed there name to Soda Stream. I recently contacted them to see if anything has changed. They sent me out a new fountain jet starter kit and a variety of different syrups to try.
First I thought I would talk about the fountain jet they sent. The set comes with the carbonation machine a 60 litre carbonator canister, and two 1 litre capped bottles It definitely looks sleeker and comes in a variety of colours to match any kitchen decor. The one they sent me was a nice black and silver model. One of the first things I noticed was that it was much easier to insert the bottle. On the old machine, I had you pressed a button to raise the carbonation tool and I always found it difficult to hold the button and screw the bottle on. With the new unit you just press on a hinge and the whole piece moves forward and that makes it much easier to screw on the bottle. Attaching the compressed gas to the machine is also very straight forward. When you take the machine out of the box, one of the 2 bottles is in the rear of the machine. Just pull the back cover off, remove the bottle and then screw on the canister, it couldn't be simpler.
At this point you are ready to make some soda. One thing I think I should mention is, when we tried some of the old flavors I found certain ones tasted bitter. I have come to realise it may have been the water I was using. In a variety of places on the Internet I found people talking about how town water was affecting the flavor. Most municipalities put chlorine in the water, and this is what was affecting the taste. Once you have the unit ready to go, it is so simple to make soda! Take the bottle and fill to the fill line on the bottle with filtered water. Then put it in the fridge to get it nice and cold. The manual mentions that cold water holds carbonation better. After your bottle is nice and cold, push the hinge at the front of the unit and screw the bottle on. At this point there is a button at the top that you press to carbonate the water. You keep pressing it until the unit makes a buzzing noise. Once it starts buzzing you press it three times for average carbonation. This is another advantage of the Sodastream product. You can customise how much carbonation you want. I found that I only needed two buzzing button presses to achieve the carbonation that I liked. One other thing I should mention is that these plastic bottles have an expiry date. Also they can only be washed in lukewarm water. If they get damaged or scratched they also say you should replace them. I would imagine this is because you constantly putting pressure on the plastic!
Now that your water is carbonated the rest is up to you. You could add one of the syrups that they sell, you could make your own flavors by adding fruit juice, or just drink it as is! In the package they sent me a variety of flavors to try. The flavors I received were "Cola", "Lemon Lime", "Orange", "Root Beer", "Cream Soda", "Energy Drink". Out of these flavors my favorites would have to be "Orange" and "Lemon Lime". Both of those taste fantastic. Each bottle of syrup makes 12 liters of soda. Both of those flavors are almost gone, so you can see that they do taste good. "Cola" actually does taste like the brand name flavor, but I found that there is a slight aftertaste to it. "Root Beer" is actually pretty good as well. My favorite pop has always been "Cream Soda". I tried there version but I just didn't like it that much! I have never been a fan of energy drinks and this one is no exception. I should also mention that they have a diet line of flavors that does not use aspartame. They are flavored with Splenda. Also even the non-diet flavors have less sugar than most store bought pop.
The next question I had is what happens when the carbonation canister runs out? They are supposed to be able to make 60 bottles before running out. Looking in the manual and online they have a pickup service. Technically you don't own the canister and it's on "loan" to you. So you place an order for another canister and they give you a new one and you return the old one. If your not in an area they service I believe they send out UPS. It's a nice way of getting you a new canister and they are recycling the old ones!
So what is the verdict? I really like the new machine and have enjoyed using it. Most of the flavors are good, the unit could not be simpler to operate. It's great not having to lug bottles or cases of pop home from the store. Plus I can make it fresh, who knows how long the pop has been sitting on the store shelves. If your family is big into soda pop or seltzer for that matter this is a great product to use. You can find more information about the product at http://www.sodastreamusa.com. You can also order everything on this website as well.
Highly Recomended