Not too long ago I was generously sent a Sodastream to review. I was so excited! I've heard a lot about Sodastreams, but have never had the chance to use one or taste the soda it makes. Now I have had the chance to do both! :) I'd love to say that I thought everything about it is wonderful and fantastic, but I honestly can't say that.
Before we get into all of those details, let me show you what I got to try out. This is the Sodastream Jet Starter Kit and quite a sampling of Soda Mix flavors that we got to try including Root Beer, Cola Free (Coke Zero), Cranberry-Raspberry, Diet Lemon-Lime, Naturally Flavored Cola, Naturally Flavored Ginger Ale, and Naturally Flavored Black Currant and Pear. They also included a 3-pack of My Water Flavor Essence, which had Raspberry, Orange, and Lemon-Lime flavors.
First, let me focus on the good things about the Sodastream system. We like the actual carbonator unit. It is easy to use, and it worked very well. We were able to quickly and easily carbonate a liter of water with no problems. The carbonating process is a little loud, and in my experience, can scare babies, so keep that in mind :). You may want to wait to use the carbonator until after nap time.
We like the look and design of the carbonator unit, too. It has a clean, compact design and I really appreciate that it doesn't use electricity or any batteries to run. The liter bottle even looks fancy with its cool design.
We like the eco-friendliness of a Sodastream system- saving metal and plastic, as well as gasoline to transport it. Along with being known for being eco-friendly, it is also known for saving money. At first, I thought it would save a lot, but now I'm not so sure. The Sodastream Jet Starter kit retails for $79.95. Each Soda Mix flavor bottle is either $4.99 or $6.99 and makes 12 liters- the equivalent of 33 cans of soda. The Naturally Flavored Mixes are much more expensive at $9.99 and make only 6 liters- about 16.6 cans of soda! If you want extra carbonating bottles to have more than one soda mixed up at a time, you'll be paying $19.99 for a 2-pack of liter bottles. If you are using your Sodastream regularly, you will want an extra carbonator so you never run out. If you buy an extra 60 liter carbonator and one exchange (an empty for a full one), it will cost you $44.99. If you buy 2 refills at a time from there on out, each liter will cost you 25-50 cents to carbonate. This just gives you an idea of ongoing costs involved.
We have one main complaint about the Sodastream system- the Soda Mix flavors. We didn't like the Splenda aftertaste that accompanies and seems to amplify with each sip. Honestly, the very first taste of some of the flavors were decent- we especially liked the first sip of Root Beer, that is, until we were hit by the Splenda taste. If you are someone who likes Splenda, then the Sodastream might be for you. One nice thing about the Splenda is that it cuts the calorie content by about 50% when compared to regular soda.
Since we didn't like the Splenda flavors, we thought we might like the Naturally Flavored ones. We tried the Cola one first. We didn't think that it was too bad, but it definitely didn't taste exactly like Coke. I had a lighter flavor and didn't seem as thick or heavy tasting as Coke does. It tasted more like fountain pop. If you like a lighter flavor, or don't drink Coke very regularly and don't have such a stringent idea of what it should taste like, you may like this one.
We purchased a bottle of Fountain Mist to try since we are both big Mountain Dew fans. The Splenda flavor really came through on this one. To us, it wasn't as sweet as Mountain Dew and definitely had a lighter flavor.
Ryan and I disagreed a little on the Naturally Flavored Black Currant and Pear. He really didn't like it. He thought that the pear flavor was good, but that the black currant flavor was much too strong. I didn't mind this one much, but it was a bit light tasting and not overly sweet. If I'm drinking pop, I want it to be sweet! If you like Sprite, you might like this one.
I was excited to try the My Water Flavor Essence. I chose the Raspberry, mixing it up according to instructions. I could barely taste any flavor at all, so I added more... and more. After half of the bottle was poured in to my glass, I could taste the flavor, but I really did not like it. It had zero sweetness and was not good at all to me. I expected it to taste more like a store bought flavored water and was very disappointed with this product.
Overall, we think the Sodastream is a great idea, but needs further development. The flavors need work and the prices should be brought down to offer more savings.
Before we get into all of those details, let me show you what I got to try out. This is the Sodastream Jet Starter Kit and quite a sampling of Soda Mix flavors that we got to try including Root Beer, Cola Free (Coke Zero), Cranberry-Raspberry, Diet Lemon-Lime, Naturally Flavored Cola, Naturally Flavored Ginger Ale, and Naturally Flavored Black Currant and Pear. They also included a 3-pack of My Water Flavor Essence, which had Raspberry, Orange, and Lemon-Lime flavors.
First, let me focus on the good things about the Sodastream system. We like the actual carbonator unit. It is easy to use, and it worked very well. We were able to quickly and easily carbonate a liter of water with no problems. The carbonating process is a little loud, and in my experience, can scare babies, so keep that in mind :). You may want to wait to use the carbonator until after nap time.
We like the eco-friendliness of a Sodastream system- saving metal and plastic, as well as gasoline to transport it. Along with being known for being eco-friendly, it is also known for saving money. At first, I thought it would save a lot, but now I'm not so sure. The Sodastream Jet Starter kit retails for $79.95. Each Soda Mix flavor bottle is either $4.99 or $6.99 and makes 12 liters- the equivalent of 33 cans of soda. The Naturally Flavored Mixes are much more expensive at $9.99 and make only 6 liters- about 16.6 cans of soda! If you want extra carbonating bottles to have more than one soda mixed up at a time, you'll be paying $19.99 for a 2-pack of liter bottles. If you are using your Sodastream regularly, you will want an extra carbonator so you never run out. If you buy an extra 60 liter carbonator and one exchange (an empty for a full one), it will cost you $44.99. If you buy 2 refills at a time from there on out, each liter will cost you 25-50 cents to carbonate. This just gives you an idea of ongoing costs involved.
We purchased a bottle of Fountain Mist to try since we are both big Mountain Dew fans. The Splenda flavor really came through on this one. To us, it wasn't as sweet as Mountain Dew and definitely had a lighter flavor.
Ryan and I disagreed a little on the Naturally Flavored Black Currant and Pear. He really didn't like it. He thought that the pear flavor was good, but that the black currant flavor was much too strong. I didn't mind this one much, but it was a bit light tasting and not overly sweet. If I'm drinking pop, I want it to be sweet! If you like Sprite, you might like this one.
I was excited to try the My Water Flavor Essence. I chose the Raspberry, mixing it up according to instructions. I could barely taste any flavor at all, so I added more... and more. After half of the bottle was poured in to my glass, I could taste the flavor, but I really did not like it. It had zero sweetness and was not good at all to me. I expected it to taste more like a store bought flavored water and was very disappointed with this product.Overall, we think the Sodastream is a great idea, but needs further development. The flavors need work and the prices should be brought down to offer more savings.
*I
was given this product for review purposes. All of my opinions
about this product are solely my own. Your opinions may differ. I
was not compensated to write this post in any way.*
I've thought about getting one just to make carbonated water. Does the plain carbonated water taste ok?
ReplyDeleteIf you like plain carbonated water, it works well for that. I don't like plain carbonated water, personally, but I can say that using the Sodastream to carbonate the water was extremely easy and fast.
ReplyDelete