Go Green with the Soda Stream – Carbonating the world one push at a time!

Thank you to Soda Stream for providing me with a sample to review.

 The weather is getting warmer and Summer party season is on the rise. With all the get togethers families will be having there comes the stress of providing guests with fun and tasty beverages. If only there were a compact, affordable, home appliance that was able to provide multiple carbonated beverage options AND helped to reduce the amount of plastics we used.  Meet the Soda Stream! An all in one carbonating beverage machine that gives you the ability to create fizzy drinks within 30 sec from normal tap water! Say goodbye to that stockpile of earth-hurting plastic bottles; with the Soda Stream, it’s all about re-usability with their Eco-friendly and easy to clean bottles. The Soda Stream comes in an array of shapes and sizes which range in price from $79.95 – $199.95 depending on how fancy you want to get. Each kit comes with a machine unit, a BPA-free reusable carbonating bottle,  a reusable carbonator to fizz up to 60L of soda and sodamix variety 6 pack. The carbonators, once empty, can be exchanged at your local Soda Stream dealer. Just bring them in and exchange for a new one!

Getting Fizzy!

We were given a Soda Stream Source to test out in our home. The Source is sleek and modern looking with a slight touch of 1950’s sci-fi fun mixed in. The Source offers you the option of three different fizz levels, which light up by LED’s inside the top portion of the machine once you’ve reach each level. This allows you to add as much fizz as you like and stop when you want. The machine arrived in a recycled cardboard box and was easy to remove from the packaging. One of my favorite features of the Soda Stream wasn’t even about the machine, but that the instructions were super easy to understand!  Assembly was a breeze since all I needed to do was twist off the top of the CO2 tank and screw it into the back of the machine. Once that was set, it was time to fizz!

Each Soda Stream kit comes with a sodamix 6 pack variety that allows you to create 6 different 1 litter sodas. We received Diet Pink Grapefruit, Cola, Diet Cola, Root Beer, Energy and Orange. I decided to test out the Orange Soda and see how that would go over with the family.

I filled the included bottle with cold tap water up to to fill line, inserted it into the loading area of the Soda Stream and pushed it backwards. I then pushed down on the top of the machine and waited for my fizz level to light up. Once my fizz level went off, I lifted up on the machine, pushed the top back up into the previous position and heard the release of CO2.  My normal tap water had been turned into a bubble filled concoction that was ready to be flavored! I just pulled the bottle back towards me and it came easily out of the machine. This whole process took about 28 seconds!!  I then chopped off the top of the Orange flavor mix, tilted the bottle and slowly poured it in. Once the flavoring has been added I slowly tilted the bottle back and fourth until the mix had been well dissolved into the carbonated water. VIOLA!! Orange Soda made right in my own kitchen!!

The only downside I’ve experienced with the Soda Stream, is how loud it is while it’s fizzing water. The longer you hold down the button, the louder it gets.  I’m not sure if it’s possible, but it would be great if they could tone it down somehow to make it less loud. Luckily the noise doesn’t last long. But it’s not easy creating beverages at night when you’re trying to keep quite.

Taste Testing Healthier Soda!

I was honestly surprised at how good the Orange soda was. I was afraid of it tasting medicinal since it seems a lot of fruit flavored drinks can taste too sugary and gross. Not this Orange Soda! It seemed to have a good balance of flavor but wasn’t too strong. It does taste a bit different if you compare it to popular Orange Soda brands, but  that’s because there is no high-fructose corn syrup in regular flavors. Nor is there aspartame in diet flavors. Soda Stream even offers new Stevia Flavors that are naturally sweetened and made with all-natural ingredients. So not only are  helping to preserve the planet by making soda at home, you’re getting a healthier soda experience!

Besides the trial size sodamixes that were included with the machine, we were also sent some economy sized bottles of different flavors. These bottles are concentrated syrups that can produce about 12 liters or 33 cans of fresh soda.  We received, Naturally Sweetened Cola, Sparkling Naturals – Ginger Ale, Root Beer,  Diet Lemon-Lime, Cranberry Raspberry, Cola Free, Sparkling Naturals – Black Currant and Pear, Diet Pink Grapefruit, and the MyWater – Flavor Essence 3 pack.

Over the course of the month and a half that we have been using the Soda Stream Source, we’ve tried about half of the flavors we were sent. I must say that the Cola Free, Sparkling Naturals – Black Currant and Pear, Sparkling Naturals – Ginger Ale, and the MyWater – Flavor Essence 3 pack have been my favorites! The MyWater is great for when I want a fizzy drink without the taste of soda. They are all-natural flavorings that can be added to the carbonated water that give it just a bit of flavor. Perfect for my young kids, whom I don’t allow to drink a lot of soda.

A Money Saver!

Besides helping us to rid the environment of throw-away plastic bottles, and creating a better soda product for us at home, the Soda Stream Source has also helped us save money. By creating our own soda at home, we’ve managed to save about $65 dollars in a month and a half. This may not seem like a huge savings, but through out the course of a year, that’s $422.50 that we are no longer wasting on carbonated beverages! Now that’s an amount that pays for the Soda Stream Source almost 3 and a half times! I’d say with those numbers, it’s worth the $129.99 price tag for the Soda Stream Source.

When it comes to being the perfect hostess, you can’t help but want to make sure everyone ends up with something that makes them happy. The Soda Stream not only allows you to create everyone’s favorite fizzy drinks, but lets you feel good doing it. Saving money and having a healthier soda experience are just a few perks to owning a Soda Stream. To discover the rest, you’ll have to test one out for yourself!

The Soda Stream Source can be purchased on Amazon.com for $129.99 with free shipping!

To learn more about Soda Stream and the different products they offer, be sure to head to their website!

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