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Questions for SodaStream users
My wife is thinking about purchasing a soda stream or similar variant for Amazon prime day. I would like to hear the pros and cons of owning one. Are there any costs of ownership that were not apparent? I don't want to buy another kitchen appliance only to stop using it because we couldn't keep up with the maintenance or other required issues. We do buy regularly la croix like drinks from Costco so if there is truly a cost savings that would be great. Thanks for everyone's time and opinion.
Edit: Wow thanks everyone for the responses and insight. I will have to sit down later and work through the posts. I know I will have more questions.
My wife and I drink like 2-4 bottles of carbonated water a day, been heavy users for like 5 years. Both my parents got them too.
No unexpected costs.
We had one of the earlier model machines break as the plastic cracked over time of us being too hard with it over years of daily use. In general the build quality is fine. Also, the bottles aren't dishwasher safe, we lost a bottle that way too, but that's our fault.
I'll say I find all the syrups suck. We've tried them occasionally off and on. We just drink plain water. It's healthier too, so not complaining. Makes water feel like a treat, lol.
When the pandemic started I got into making my own syrups as a hobby. It's fun and you can get very experimental, though I had to cut back to reduce my calorie intake. Most recently I made a chai soda using powdered ginger, tea powder, and ground up cardamom, anise, and clove steeped into a liquid that I then dissolved sugar into and reduced to a syrup.
Very tasty! If I did it next time I think I'd do an extract of the powders and mix that into a more concentrated simple syrup. The way I made it I think I overextracted the tea and spices and it ended up being a bit tannic. The kola nut in Coca Cola is extremely tannic as well, but they dumb a crapload of sugar in there to offset it and I wasn't willing to do that. Overheating also obliterates some of the more subtle aromatic flavors.
Using the sodastream isn't fully ideal there. I usually put some syrup to taste in a glass, stir in ice and a splash of soda to fully dissolve the syrup, and then top with the rest of the soda and give it a very light stir. That way it doesn't flatten the soda out trying to dissolve it.
This is super cool, it's great you do this. I was originally interested in doing this, way before Soda Stream had it's surge in popularity and became more mainstream, but now that I've got the carbonated water I find I don't have the time/energy/willpower to focus on this.
Very cool though, and you're making me re-consider making our own, especially tea ones. Any suggestions on how to get started?
It's pretty simple honestly. You just make various flavored syrups and dissolve them in the soda. Cocktail or baking books/blogs will have tons of recipes and techniques for creating syrups, tinctures, bitters, and other flavor extracts. From there you can go as wild as you want. All you really need to get started is a saucepan.
(Although you maybe want to use a dedicated saucepan if you're making syrup a lot. If you burn sugar into the pan it's a huge pain to scrub away. Not a huge deal though, it's mostly cosmetic.)
The syrups are truly awful, no kidding. And I love LaCroix and the like.
Which soda maker do you have now?
I just checked the Soda Stream website and it looks like they've completely re-done their product line yet again. Seems a bit excessive when the old ones work perfectly fine, but I'm sure they have quarterly targets to hit. Ours basically looks like the TERRA and ART here, but, well, a bit older. Honestly I imagine the cheapest one would be fine, maybe even a used one. There's basically no internal parts, so as long as the plastic isn't cracking it should be fine. Or if you buy new, I would suggest getting the cheapest one (after reading reviews), as honestly I can't imagine any features here making a big difference. You plug a bottle in and it carbonates it, everything else is fluff.
https://sodastream.ca/pages/sparkling-water-makers
The fact that only one of their models can interchangably use either a glass or a plastic bottle, even though technically all that matters is making sure the diameter and threading on the mouth of the bottle is the same, tells me they're trying way too hard to differentiate product lines to upsell people.
I think you might be underestimating glass. As I remember, the glass model had basically a sleeve that the glass bottle fit into. This is to prevent it hurting someone when it shatters. Glass definitely has more design considerations than plastic.
Yeah, but the interface to the machine itself just depends on the mouth of the bottle.
I'm fairly certain the economics don't work out with the $15 CO2 refills and frequent sales for canned soda. That is without factoring in any flavors that you may need to purchase.
The taste and carbonation levels are also different.
Having said that, I do own one and use it intermittently. I also bought a 5lb CO2 tank from a homebrew store and use a converter, so price per bottle is far cheaper than refilling the proprietary CO2 canisters.
When I was doing the pricing on mine, the economics worked out, but only just. This was comparing the marginal costs of a sodastream (so only the co2 refill) against a case of carbonated water from Costco. I can’t speak to the price of soda, but it definitely works for plain soda water.
I think the price gets get even here in Norway. However, it’s so much simpler since I don’t get any waste plastic bottles to return.
It's way, way cheaper than buying individual bottles.
The only thing is you have to refill the CO2 bottles, which costs like $15USD in my area and will fill... maybe 100 bottles?
It's definitely not 100 bottles, to depending on how much you put into each one. Id say closer to 30
The individual refill canisters are actually not a significant cost savings over stuff like La Croix if you buy on sale or at Costco, etc.
You do get the ability to customize how much carbonation you have, how much flavoring, etc.
Now where the savings comes in is when you use a 5lb brewing tank and an adapter, like this https://www.simivalleyhomebrew.com/homebrew-hardware/keg-lube-4oz-for-kegerator-jockey-box-x6p87-ex6xs-cswpk-xdlx3-88h7k-nbjlk-d7ym5-c87cm-t3g69-42yep-lycem
Is that true? If a $32 refill canister can carbonate 60 liters of water, that's the equivalent of 169 12 oz cans ($0.189 per can, plus a little for flavoring). At my local costco, LaCroix costs $13.79 for 24 cans ($0.575 per can). I doubt you could find 24 cans of LaCroix on sale for $4.54 to match the sodastream. The lowest I've seen is around $9/24 cans.
You could further reduce the cost by exchanging your refill canister for $17 instead of buying a new canister each time and bring the per-can cost to about $0.10 per can, plus flavoring.
Oh wow, your Costco is significantly more than mine! Are you looking at business delivery prices online?
We get cans $6.50/24, so 27c ish? I think we're a little heavier handed on the carbonation, but I pegged the 12oz cost at 20 cents. So 7c difference but you have to buy the machine, the special bottles that have an expiration date, etc.
My comment was just that it isn't a significant price difference (unless you go homebrew), but there are other benefits.
Your estimate of 20 cents per can is actually pretty close to the expected 18.9 cents per can if you're buying $32 canisters. There's definitely something to be said for having to make up the cost of a $70-100 up-front investment. At a savings of 7 cents, that's 1000 cans just to break even!
Seems like a bulk CO2 supply like you're suggesting or at least exchanging cylinders for $17 instead of buying for $32 is the way to go. Exchanging gives a savings of 17 cents per can, but even then you'd need to drink 588 cans to break even on a $100 machine.
Not disagreeing completely with your math, but I think "la croix like" is key. I definitely see $10 for 3 or 4 twelve packs of other brands very frequently in grocery stores. La croix is definitely one of the more expensive brands.
It's also better for the environment I believe (1 disposable canister vs many many disposable cans)
I bought one probably around 6-7 years ago.
I don't recommend them if you are a soda drinker. With the cost of their CO^2 refills and syrups, I was paying about the same I would have if I were to buy the name-brand soda at the time.
If you are a seltzer drinker, then it might be a better value for you. You're only supposed to carbonate plain water, but I don't think that you'll cause too much problems with fruit-infused water so long as you don't make it sweet. If you like your seltzer to be particularly bubbly, you might not be too happy with one of these because it takes quite a bit to get it to "can" levels of carbonation.
(Some people also take umbrage that SodaStream is an Israeli company, but I'm not touching that can of worms)
If you still want one, I'd recommend spending a bit more on a model that can use the industry-standard CO^2 connectors instead, because you can save a bit of money by getting the gas from bulk refill stations. IIRC there is an article on Serious Eats about how to make your own sodastream-like machine from parts you can find easily online.
I got one recently and it’s the best purchase I had this year. Refill costs me local equivalent of 3$ and I don’t have to carry heavy water from store and deal with empty plastic bottles which was problematic considering that I drink 2-3 litres daily.
Yup, I bought one a little over a year ago and have used it daily. I'm sure one could argue the pros/cons of drinking soda (or in my case, diet soda) all day, but it is what it is, and I drink a lot of carbonated beverages. It is so nice to be able to stock up on the syrups instead of lugging another 12pk or a couple 2-liters from the store every week.
I did set up a 5lb co2 container with an adapter, but found it tended to freeze up/leak causing more headache than it was worth. I will definitely be getting a new adapter in the future and try my luck again, but for now I went back to the canister exchange program which just works.
It also adds a bit of fun to the process! You get to be a soda jerk. You can make it with more/less syrup, try out flavor combinations, etc. The little "drops" bottles to flavor sparkling water are potent so start small if you end up going this route, otherwise the regular flavorings are pretty forgiving.
I have a Sodastream Source (no longer available I think) and use it almost daily. It's fun to try different carbonation level, different syrup concentration (I use like half of the recommended value) or even make your own flavor.
One thing to look for through: try to get the dumbest model you can. Those device can (and should ?) be entirely mechanical. Those fancy one-touch automatic one feels like unnecessary complications of a simple process : you basically release the CO2 from the canister into the bottle by using a valve, and use another one as a security in case of overfill; that's it
So try to buy one with a level or button that you keep pushing instead of a device that you have to plug to the mains.
If you're keen on using your own canisters, there are sodastream 'mods' available that allow you to hook up to a bigger tank than the ones provided by sodastream. They're way cheaper!
I haven't tried it out, but here's some pertinent discussion: https://www.reddit.com/r/SodaStream/comments/rcmqm0/bottle_fill_adaptor_for_terra/
But from personal experience, I drink sparkling water infrequently, and I've been surprised by how long a single canister lasts (I still haven't run out of the first one provided!).
One tip I can share: Be sure to carbonate chilled water, this is critical to making sure you get the most fizz out of each pump. Room-temp water can barely hold any fizz in :)
My partner is a die hard diet Pepsi fan, and we got one to try it out. So far, a month in, she swears by it. It's overall cheaper for us than even the dollar store, and putting a bottle together takes about 30 seconds. Fill with water to the line, pump the c02 in with a bunch of short bursts, then add flavour syrup.
I rarely bought carbonated drinks before owning a sodastream, so I can't really speak to the economics of it. But what I do like about it is that you have carbonation on tap (as long as you have a full canister) whenever you need it and just the amount you need. For example, if you're having friends over and you need to make a variety of drinks, like G&T, rum and ginger, highballs, and soft drinks for kids, you just need a collection of syrups and your sodastream. You don't need to go out and buy big flats of cans and then have loads left over after the party.
On the negative side, I don't find the carbonation lasts as long in your drink. It can sometimes be flat by the time you're getting to the end of it. But this might depend on what you mix with it...
I have an Aarke, and I have 2 Sodastream gas cylinders that I rotate. I refill them from a 6.25Kg CO2 cylinder under the stairs; it lasts about a year between refills and we (2 adults) drink lots of soda water every day. If I had a car, I could get the big cylinder refilled locally and it would be way cheaper than soda stream; once Ive paid for the cylinder delivery/return, though, it's not a huge saving (but still worthwhile).
In the UK at least, there's a SodaStream subscription service where you can get a cylinder every month with free delivery; this is good value and if it's available to you, I would recommend it for your first year, but if you're still enthusiastic after that, then invest in a big cylinder (and an adapter to refill the SS canisters from it).
I absolutely love having it; for me it was 100% a game changer. I never really drank much actual water before, but now I can't get enough soda water (seltzer water)! It's absolutely worthwhile IMHO. The Aarke is an expensive alternative to a cheapo plastic soda stream, but its a lovely piece of kit and it's hopefully going to last me a lifetime.
I have an Aarke on my wishlist to upgrade to! I do think that my year+ Sodastream's days are numbered as it's mostly made of plastic. I was thinking of the Aarke Carbonator 3 as I really want that pull handle and the solid build, which did you go with? I also got a 5lb but ran into issues with using it with my Sodastream (probably the cheap adapter) it sounds like you actually refill the Sodastream canisters from the big one, how is that process for you?
I think mine is the carbonator 2; I upgraded after a few months of using a basic SS and it felt like an insane amount of money to spend, but it was a treat. It comes with a few spares and stuff, and it carbonates the HECK out if water; way fizzier than the SS does.
Refilling the canisters takes 30 seconds; it's easy. The home big canister doesnt have as high pressure as the factory, so it doesnt fill the smaller canisters as a full; they are specced for 425g of CO2, a home refill is usually about 300g. So where a bought refill might last 4-5 weeks, a home refill lasts 3-4 weeks.
When the big canister is running low, there's a good few weeks at the end where I end up swapping/refilling as much as twice a week. Which can be a bit annoying, but it's what it takes to eke the most out of the big canister! I can get an extra month or two out of it if I can be bothered to keep going! I'm at that phase now; I'll probably order an exchange when I get paid. IIRC Its about £65 for the gas refill, plus another £30 for delivery; this lasts me 13-14 months (depending how long I keep going!). The annual subscription to SS would be £120 / year.
I got a high quality adapter that was £50 when I got it, and there was also a £60 refundable deposit on the big canister. So it was an investment, but one that paid for itself soon enough. I honestly don't really spend money on things; I'm extremely frugal normally, and dont have very many "nice things" but this whole thing really was worth it to me. If you're considering an Aarke, then I definitely recommend it!
Overall cost savings for me. I am 140 days sober from a half case of beer/night habit. I replaced it with any seltzer water I could get on sale. Polar from Amazon when on sale and La Croix from Costco. I got the sodastream just recently and I love it. Experimenting with flavors is fun and the Pepsi zero is remarkably close to the canned stuff I was also buying (1 can in AM to wake up).
The only warning I would make, if you could call it that, is consider where you will store the bottles full of water. Our fridge dispenser isn't cold at all, so I put the bottle with still water in the fridge until it's cold, then bubble up. So I bought some spare bottles to rotate but they take up a ton of room I'm the fridge. So either that or I guess pour it over ice when drinking.
I find that the water takes the gas better if it's chilled before I fizz it. I usually keep a bottle or two in the fridge, but if I've taken them out for some reason, I just chill water over ice in a pitcher on the counter for 5 minutes, then pour that into the bottles. I dump the remaining ice into the dog's water bowl after.
My MIL got us a soda stream and I thought it was gonna be an appliance sitting lonely and dusty on the bench. However we used it so much it broke (after 3-4 years of use during covid etc!) and recently had to replace it with another one.
I was surprised by how cheap it was (maybe not cheap for some but for some reason I thought it would be like $150+ or so!?). I got us an upgraded one that doesn't require to be plugged in AND bottles are dishwasher safe! 😊
Pros: lots of use out of it - as others have said try the flavours etc. We personally haven't as just prefer fizzy lemon/lime/other type fruit(?) added to water
Cons: I've forgotten what 'sparkling' water is and asked for fizzy water that many times I'm almost no longer embarrassed! 😅 😂
But seriously, it's fully worth it and not expensive to replace etc!
Not the information you're asking for, but Soda Stream initially built their factories in Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Even after the purchase by Pepsi Co. folks are still encouraging a boycott. So I chose not to buy one.
Buuuuuut, I love carbonated water and hate waste so I purchased the Drinkmate version instead. Considering the technology in question is a small plastic nozzle that delivers CO2 into your beverage I can't image there are many difference between the two other than that the Drinkmate doesn't have a contentious origin story. I love mine, I probably make about 2 containers of sparkling water a week, more during the summer. Drinkmate has a similar returns program as Soda Stream for their CO2 bottles as well.
If you are trying to replace soda/pop/coke, no it's not really worth it. The syrups are about the same price and don't taste as good imo. If you are mostly a la croix drinker, then 100% yes it's worth it.
I'll parrot what most others said. We have a Terra and use it regularly. One thing I wish I would have done is get something that can bubble more than water though. There are some machines out there that let you carbonate just about whatever you want which I think I would enjoy more.
Huge fan of soda stream for years. Saved us SO much money and can't recommend it enough.
We've had one for years and rarely use it. My wife never liked the results as much as her preferred branch of carbonated water and the kids don't like the "soda" it makes with the syrups. Now we only use it once in a while when something calls for generic seltzer water.
I had one about a decade ago and wasn't too hot on it, and eventually gave it away. No idea how much they've changed since then.
My use case was as a substitute or accompaniment to canned soda. Pretty much all of their branded syrups I tried resulted in soda that wasn't at all pleasurable to drink. (And I'm usually comfortable with most everything!) I experimented with several others things: water additives, juice mixes, and making my own fruit syrups, and I wasn't happy with any of those. Carbonation was another issue: I prefer cans because each serving is separately carbonated, and I would find that the bottles of soda I made would be too flat for my tastes by the second glass.
I wouldn't have use for a sodastream, but I do have a drinkmate which I find much for valuable for me. The difference is the drinkmate can carbonate any liquid while the sodastream only works on water. I don't drink much soda or sparkling water, so I use the drinkmate for: cocktails, sparkling juice for kids, re-carbonating a half empty bottle of soda that's been in the fridge for a month, carbonating water that has some some fruit juice squeezed into it.
The tanks are interchangeable so I end up using sodastream tanks mostly.
IDK if either make sense for you, since sparkling water from costco is pretty cheap
I've been using mine for about 12 years now. I replaced the old one about 3 years ago because the threads where you screw in the cylinder got worn.
I find that I can carbonate 50 or so L worth of water for about $15 worth of gas, and I tend to mostly drink it plain, so the price works out a bit in my favor, and it makes me happy not to go through so many disposable bottles. (Prior to the sodastream, I used to go through a couple dozen 1L bottles of soda bottles from the grocery store every week or two.)
I have a sodastream but I wouldn't really recommend it. I just got tired of taking in cylinders to get refilled and the pickup service was kind of a pain for someone who lives in a gated apartment. I found that it's just easier to buy a bunch of LaCroix if I want carbonated water.