pseudoswede

Sodastream has been all the rage for the past year or two in Sweden. Naturally, Mrs. Swede wants one now. I see they will start making Stevia-sweetened syrups, so my attraction to getting one has increased.

I also see that there are many websites with their own syrups and/or DIY syrup recipes.

So... thoughts? Reviews?

Thanks in advance.

cblaisd

:raiseshand:

thelark

we have one and use it primarily to make seltzer water, as we very rarely drink soda. we do use the flavor additives for seltzer. we use it quite a bit and it should pay for itself in a short amount of time. fortunately, the refill canisters are carried at a number of retailers. it seems to lose carbonation rather quickly; however, I suspect that at least some of that may be related to us carbonating unchilled water.

FlyinHawaiian

We got one (Fizz) a few months ago as part of our wedding registry gifts and have to say that we are big fans. I drink 1-2 cans of soda a day and my wife likes seltzer. Switching to the Sodastream has saved us the hassle of buying the bulky items and also dealing with the resulting empty cans/bottles. We go through a 60L canister every 4-6 weeks and there's a number of places to get exhange refils. There is a store near us that also stocks the 130L canisters, which I am tempted to get, but worry about the limited places you can exchange those. I'm going through the different diet soda syrups and like most of them (lemon lime, ginger ale, root beer and the "Coke Zero" flavors are my favorites right now). We haven't dabbled much into the flavored waters yet.

MR_MAMA

I have one and have had it for about 3 years. It's a better quality one than the plastic one you see on TV. It is called The Penguin and I bought it at William Sonoma. I love it, I only use it for water but use it almost every day that I am home. Highly recommend. I also love the glass carafes, water chills better and holds the carbonation longer, IMO


http://www.williams-sonoma.com/searc...d-viewset=ecom

emma69

Hello, this is the 1980s, we'd like our 'technology' back please

Seriously, I had one when they first existed, and it was a novelty more than anything else. We used our own juices etc as frankly the mixes didn't taste great (may have improved) just fine.

Cost wise, it's an expensive way of doing it. You'd probably be better buying soda water and adding their syrups (if that is the attraction) to it yourself, than buying the machine + refills etc.

travelmad478

I'm interested in this question too. I go through at least 6 liters of seltzer per week (I drink it straight or with a little juice) and it drives me slightly crazy to have to buy/dispose of all those plastic bottles--not to mention the PITA of hauling them all home from the supermarket.

Seltzer costs about 75 cents a liter here, so for me, I'd break even relatively quickly. Cost is not much of an issue anyway--my larger concern is the convenience (or lack thereof) of getting the replacement CO2 canisters.

I would want either the Fizz or Fountain Jet model, both of which seem to take the larger-sized canisters. Anyone have comments to share on either?

FlyinHawaiian

The Fizz we got from Macy's came with a dead Fizz (display/indicator) chip, which I believe is a widespread problem due to shoddy batteries from their supplier. A new chip was sent to us after contacting Sodastream's customer service.

I believe that Costco has the 130L canisters but I am not a member. I've looked at national chains such as Bed Bath and Beyond, Williams-Sonoma, and Whole Foods and the locations I've checked in only stock the 60L.

james318

We had something similar around 1992. It was called "The Drink Machine" or something.

You could get actual branded syrups for it. So I actually had Diet Coke and not Diet Soda.

Buster

We have one and love it. I had been buying huge amounts of sparkling water and feeling pretty guilty about how not eco-friendly all of that plastic was (and that it was imported from Italy). Now, we just use the Sodastream. We don't really drink soda at our house, so can't speak to the syrups.

Redhead

Ugh, I hate carbonated drinks

Dugernaut

I buy Vintage brand on sales at 10/ $1.00 Can't imagine paying .75 for a ltr of seltzer.

iapetus

I got a Sodastream Penguin for mrs. iapetus last Christmas (using United MP points ). She loves it and uses it practically every day to make sparkling water. We also don't both with the soda syrups.

Jeeves

I was surprised to hear how many use it for seltzer/sparkling water. Never even thought about that.

I'm not much of a soda drinker and sparkling water isn't my thing. So I'm probably not in the market.

cordelli

Amazon lists the 130 liter one for just over $85
Or apparently you can get an adapter to refill them at any paintball supply store for a couple bucks.

Not sure of the value of going the official refill route,