I had the opportunity to try my first home-made soda this past weekend. My friend has always wanted to get a soda fountain in his house. That was his dream. Some of us dream of becoming President. Some of us dream of inventing a live-changing product. My friend had a dream of having a soda fountain in his house. Well, since soda fountains cost thousands, and the installation thousands more, he opted for SodaStream instead for the low price of $99.95. His dream came true….in a manner of speaking.
SodaStream is an at-home soda maker. The machine carbonates regular tap water and you mix in the flavored syrup you want. Of course, the syrups are all knock-offs of the brand names. Sorry, no Mountain Dew….but you can enjoy a bubbling Fountain Mist!
SodaStream’s benefits are (according to their website)
- Convenience – no more having to go to the store to buy soda
- Eco-friendly – think of all those bottles and cans you’re not throwing away!
- Value – cheaper than buying soda. $99.95 for the kit, $15 for a CO2 refill (makes 61 liters), and $9.99 for flavored syrups (each one makes 6 liters).
- Health – most 8 oz. servings have only 35 calories and less than 10 grams of sugar!
So, how did I like it? Well, we made a few flavors – Fountain Mist and Dr. Pete (bet you can’t guess what Dr. Pete is supposed to taste like!). SodaStream was really easy and quick to make. It took about 3 minutes to make a liter of soda. The carbonation was great – plenty of it. The look and smell were adequate….about what you would expect. The taste was pretty good. Actually, it was better than I expected. It wasn’t as good as the real thing – Mt. Dew and Dr. Pepper – but close. Since most of the flavors use Splenda for a sweetener, the taste is somewhere in-between diet soda and regular.
Overall, I’d give SodaStream a 8 out of 10. The real question is, would I recommend it. This is a tough question to answer. It comes down to two things: Do you drink a lot of soda and are you OK with the taste. If you drink a lot, the value will be worth it. If you don’t drink much, you’re better off buying your soda. With the taste, I’d see if you could find a sample somewhere first. Maybe a friend has one. Maybe a store is giving samples. I drink a fair amount of soda and I would be OK with the taste.
Here are a couple of photos I took of us making Dr. Pete:
So there you have it. SodaStream made one dream come true. Will it make more? Only time will tell.
Where’s the interview???
Good call, Jake. Where is the interview?
I agree with your assessment. It is about a 7 out of 10. What I’m curious to see is will I personally rate it a 9/10 once I get the normal flavors (Mello Yello, Mtn Dew, Coke, etc.). I’m hoping so. The ability to quickly make your own Mello Yello Fountain pop at home, and for an awesome price might equal a 9/10.
The audio didn’t really say anything valuable. Sorry.