Review Wednesday: SodaStream

For the past eight or nine years I have made sure to get in a regular and healthy amount of water in daily.
Last year after returning from my birthday trip to Bora Bora I decided reducing my alcohol intake might be a good idea.
Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t eliminate wine and beer and the occasional cocktail. I just reduced how much I was imbibing.
I started buying sparkling water to sip in the evenings with a slice of lemon. It was a nice alternative to booze (all those calories) and I was drinking even more water.
A friend told me she got a SodaStream to make sparkling water.
Recently I bought my own SodaStream Fountain Jet Home Soda Maker Starter Kit from Amazon. (SodaStream offers eight different sparkling water makers.)
I’ve been adding bubbles to my water quite regularly. I no longer have to stock up on bottled sparkling water, which is better for the environment.
I shopped on Amazon and found the SodaStream Jet on sale for about 60 bucks.
When I received the SodaStream I unpacked everything and started looking through my starter kit. It came with drink samples, which can be added to the water after it is carbonated and also came with one carbonating bottle. The bottles have expiration dates and mine had already expired.
I contacted Amazon and they helped me right away. Because I didn’t buy the SodaStream directly from the company I couldn’t get a new bottle. My options were to return the whole starter kit or have Amazon give me a partial refund so I could buy my own bottle. I went with the second option.
The SodaStream is easy to use. Sparkling water is made in just seconds.
I bought the SodaStream for bubbly water. But you can also add drink mixes to make soda, Kool-Aid, Crystal Light, energy drinks, juice, tonic water, etc.
I’m not a regular soda drinker. I may try a soda mix at some point.
I did buy the Crystal Light Lemonade mix. I added it to the bubbly water. Wow, so yummy. A little tart and tangy. A nice treat to have on occasion.
The starter pack comes with a small carbonator. I used that up pretty quickly, within a week. It was easy for me to take it to a participating retailer (aka Fred Meyer for me, Target will work, too) and turn it in for recycling. I bought a new carbonator. Next time I need to replace I can return it and exchange it for a refill for half the price of buying a carbonator off the shelf.
The Jet is perfect for my needs. Since I haven’t handled any other SodaStreams I can only speak to the Jet. I did pick it because it was the cheapest. And it seems a little flimsy. But everything is in working order. I just wonder if I will wear the button out, the button that carbonates.
I haven’t had the SodaStream long enough to really know if it will save me money vs. buying bottled sparkling water. A carbonator is supposed to make about 60 liters. The initial carbonator is 30 bucks. Refills are about $15.
A 1.25 liter of the Crystal Geyser sparkling mineral water, which I have recently been buying and drinking, is anywhere from $1-$1.25 plus the recycling fee.
I was a journalism major, but if my math is correct, in the end it will save money. For those who are soda drinkers this will definitely be a huge money saver.
The initial costs (especially if you want more bottles and when you have to buy a full carbonator) are a little spendy. But in the end, it seems worth it. And I don’t run out of sparkling water. If you are a soda drinker, the cost saving gets even better and access to soda is more convenient and better for the environment.