iCovet – gettin’ fizzy with it
It’s not often that I find myself really wanting something with a high price tag. I don’t do designer anything, thank you very much. My feeling has always been that if somebody’s name is going to be stamped on a product I own, it should be mine. (Even if it’s only written in magic marker on the back of my underwear. :moon ) And I’d rather have $600 in my $19.95 handbag than in some quadrillionaire’s pocket because s/he designed a pretty purse.
But once in a while…once in a while, something catches my eye. :winkwink
This time, it’s a SodaStream Home Soda Maker.
Seriously…I can make my own carbonated drinks? Why did no one tell me about this before?! :dropmouth
I love carbonated drinks. Frankly, carbonation is the main reason I drink soda at all…& I honestly don’t drink much of it because—diet or regular—I don’t think it’s very good for you. :sick
But this do-it-yourself carbonation trick…it might just be the best thing that’s ever happened to me. :kitty
That being said, I’m not a fan of new gadgetry. I like simple, & I like to know how things work before I actually make a gigantic, expensive purchase.
So does anybody have one of these? Or have you maybe used one…you know, at the house of that friend who always has the latest everything? LOL (I need one of those, btw. :cuffs )
I have a general idea of how it works.
But does buying the flavored drink mix—also supplied by SodaStream—get expensive? And what does it taste like…actual soda or the cheap generic stuff?
What about carbonating other drinks you have on hand? For instance, can I simply carbonate my own iced tea or fruit juices? (Which to me would be a dream come true! :twirl ) Or will the entire thing explode if I try? :oops
And what about “accessories”? You know how every new gadget comes with its own size/shape pitchers, etc…. How often will I need to replace the C02 canister? Or the refillable bottles?
I’m definitely considering one of these, IF it does what I want it to do & isn’t going to end up costing way more on top of the purchase price. So any opinions or feedback you’ve got, I’d love to hear!
Let me know if I should continue to covet one of these…or toss it back on the nevermind pile. :runrun
Comments
29 Comments • Comments Feed
Jane says:
I’ve wanted a Soda Stream ever since I saw it at Costco and the lady demonstrated how easy it was to make the soda. The soda was pretty tasty, too.
On March 19, 2012 at 2:04 am
Mary Kirkland says:
My step nephew *My brother’s step son* got one of these for Christmas and he loves it. He drinks soda all the time and he says it’s cheaper to make this way and it tastes great.
He said each soda mix bottle makes approx..33 cans of soda. He did say the only draw back is once the CO2 cartridge is empty you have to send it back to Soda stream and you can set up a CO2 cartridge exchange. he said he hasn’t been able to find anywhere else you can get refillable CO2 cartridges for this machine, so you do have to send it back to get a new one from them.
He also said it really depends on how much soda you drink as to whether or not this is going to be a good investment but if you drink a lot…it’s a good thing to have.
He also said you cannot use this to carbonate other drinks..only water that you flavor with their flavorings.
he said that the CO2 cartridge will carbonate about 60 liters of soda before you have to get a new one. so it lasts a long time if you are using it by yourself.
He also said you can go to their website and find all this out but he loves it.
On March 19, 2012 at 3:09 am
Jessica Lemmon says:
Now, see, if this were a Keurig, the make-a-cup-of-perfect-coffee-in-60-seconds-wonder-machine, I’d have SO much to say! :jumping
But alas, I don’t have a Soda Stream. I drink a Coke every great once in a while. Chances are, if I have a carbonated beverage it’s going to be a beer with a lotta hops. :drinkup
My brother has one of these babies, though. I’ll ask him if it’s knocking his socks off. :runrun
On March 19, 2012 at 7:49 am
Laura J. says:
I really do NOT need to know about more cool gadgets!!!!!
I’m with you on justifying the cost of something. I LOVE shiny things, but I LOVE shiny “less expensive” things. Which is why I’m having a hard time justifying spending $77 for a pair of shoes. Of course, from that one pair of shoes you can make 49 so……But I *still* have to pay $77. Can you see the dilema here!?!? It’s also the reason I never bought a Keurig. I *really* want one…but $100+ is a lot of money! And that $100+ would buy a lot of books!
On March 19, 2012 at 1:18 pm
Jamie D says:
We have one at my house and we love it. Its easy to use. I call it stupidproof :muahaha . The one we have we can buy new CO2 cartridges from Bed Bath and Beyond. So its not to much of a hassle also they sell extra bottles and have more of a selection of flavors then the other stores i’ve seen them in.
the only down side is you have to use the flavors that they have out you cant just make your own. that being said we like it
On March 19, 2012 at 1:31 pm
Michelle says:
We just got one and are working our way through the sample pack. My husband is an avid Coke Zero guy and he says it tastes the same. I think the diet Sprite, tastes like diet Sprite with the weird aftertaste. It’s good. I don’t know how long things last, but Bed, Bath and Beyond said that we could exchange our CO2 bottles there either get a new one for $15 or something like that.
It seems much healthier and it might save on cans and bottles of soda. The Boy Scouts might be upset when there are no returnables for their bottle drive..That’s the only problem I see at this point.
On March 19, 2012 at 1:50 pm
Hollie says:
I am not a fan of soda. I don’t buy it for our house and the only time the kids get it is if they have fast food. I’m not sure if all that extra carbonation is good for our bodies…sorry..just my opinion. :winkwink
I do hope that if you get it that it is what you want it to be! :jumping
On March 19, 2012 at 2:40 pm
Froggy says:
bed bath and beyond is where i bought mine, where i enchange my cylinder etc. I bought a second cylinder so I will never be without when one runs out and then i dont have to run to exchange it. can do it when i have time. it is $15 per exchange.
now the plain filtered water carbonized is what i drink 99% of the time..plain seltzer water. Love it. I use to have to buy 50 plus liters of selter a month..lug them to the car, home, in the house etc. what a pain. no no trash..no carrying and if i want flavors i can buy them. each canister is suppose to do 60 LITERS PER CANISTER. Thats 30 2 liters like the stores sell
I love the bottles they sell. they are good for 2 years and suggest after that replace them due to the pressure of the carbonation on the bottles plastic wearing over time. you can get them even at best buy and amazon and in different colors. seriously best investment we made..we are saving money and waste using this.
On March 19, 2012 at 8:32 pm
Laura J. says:
You all really need to quit trying to talk me into one of these!!!!! I’ve read all the “reviews” here and dang it now I want one!!! :moon
On March 19, 2012 at 8:38 pm
Froggy says:
you really will love it if you do… plus the bottles can be tossed in your purse, bags, etc which to me is great. I am such a klutz i spill things and trip over nothing so i know i wont spill these. LOL
On March 19, 2012 at 8:53 pm
Rhiannon Rowland says:
I have the Primo Flavorstation, which is the same thing. We’ve only had it about a month (I won it). It came with 6 ‘flavors’ to try, the CO2 canister, three sports bottles and the machine. My boys really like the ‘Sprite’ flavored one, to me its the one that tastes closest to the actual flavor. I don’t know about the Soda Stream, but Primo is all about this being “Better For You”, so to me it all tastes like Diet, even the regular cola flavor. They don’t have the High Fructose Corn Syrup, I suspect it has the same ‘sugar’ flavoring as diet. That being said, the Diet does taste like Diet Coke. It also came with PeachTea, Energy Drink and berry pomegranate.
In my paperwork, it says if you try to carbonate another liquid it voids the warranty. When you make it, you fill the bottle with water, screw it onto the machine, carbonate it, then add the flavoring, give it a little swirling to mix and drink. The Carbonation seems to last forever, I had one sitting in the fridge for over a week and it still “ssss’ when I opened it.
You can buy the flavorings from the website or from Lowe’s and I think the same goes for the CO2. But you have to take in the empty for exchange or it costs a lot more. One bottle of flavor is equal to a case of soda. Primo has 16 flavors to chose from, Several sodas, then they have enegy drinks and sparkling fruit drinks.
On March 20, 2012 at 12:44 am