So, while I was out on Black Friday, I treated myself to something that I had really been wanting. I’d only wanted it for a few days, but it was about all that I could think about for those few days. Really, Dobby would ask me for my opinion on something and I would reply “Soda Stream.”
I’m not joking. That’s actually literal.
For Thanksgiving Dinner, we went to a local restaurant for their Thanksgiving buffet (I love to cook Thanksgiving Dinner; I just don’t like to clean up the mess that it leaves behind). At the restaurant (which was ridiculously busy, I had a 3:00 pm reservation, and still wasn’t seated until 3:45), the waitresses were crazy busy.
You really wouldn’t think so with a buffet. All that they had to do was refill drinks and bring the check at the end of the meal. But we watched them, and with that crowd they were running like crazy. At several points during the meal, we were waiting for drink refills. Every time, I would say, “If we had Soda Stream, we wouldn’t be waiting right now.”
So, my husband decided to resolve his own suffering. He looked over our budget and found the $100 that it would take to purchase the Soda Stream. It was money well spent. Not just because it allowed me to begin to function again, but because that thing is awesome. I haven’t had one second of buyers remorse.
The Soda Stream is a great thing. It allows you to turn plain tap water into soda water. It also comes with packets of syrup that you can use to turn your soda water into soft drinks. I purchased mine at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. They have them available at Amazon, as well as at the manufacturer’s website, but I like the idea of laying my hands on one before buying it. I also liked that the B,B,&B version came with the soda sampler and two refillable bottles (which you fill with chilled water and attach to the machine to make soda). All versions also come with a CO2 canister.
The soda sampler has twelve single use syrup samples. Each use makes one litre of soda. Bottles of Sodamix syrup (which make 12 litres each) cost $4.99 (except for a few specialty flavors which cost more). I had a great B,B,&B coupon (20% off any item - saved me $20) so I purchased some extra refillable soda bottles, as well as a few bottles of syrup.
It uses no electricity. It has a compressed CO2 canister that you put in the machine. Then you simply attach a bottle of water (use their bottles only) by screwing it in just like you would screw on a bottle cap, press the button a few times and viola! You have soda.
Then you pour in the syrup and YUM. The syrup comes in little bottles that have a measuring cap, similar to those on laundry detergent.
All of the Sodamix flavors contain Splenda. They do have some Sparkling Naturals flavors that use only sugar (no artificial sweetener or high-fructose corn syrup). Their diet flavors use Splenda only. Their non-diet flavors use a combination of Splenda and sugar. They also have some little bottles of unsweetened flavor that you can use to make flavored water (or flavored sparkling water). The B,B,&B version that I bought came with three different flavors of those. I’ve never really been into the flavored-water thing (I like a little sweetener in my flavored beverages), but I have used them to add a hint of another flavor to my sodas (like turning orange soda into orange-raspberry soda).
When you use up your CO2 canister, you can purchase a new canister for $30.00. You can also return your refillable canister to B,B,&B (or any Soda Stream retailer) and get a replacement canister for only $14.99. This is the option that I prefer, not only because I am cheap, but also because it is environmentally friendly.
There are some benefits to the Soda Stream. The first is that you never have to carry heavy bottles or cans back from the store. The second is that you don’t have a bunch of waste left over from your soda, because the bottles are reusable. I like both of those reasons. I’m lazy and hate to carry things. I’m also into conservation, so less waste is good for me.
But the third benefit is my favorite. And for purely selfish reasons.
The third benefit of the Soda Stream is that you can have any flavor of soda any time that you want with minimal time and effort.
This is awesome. You can have a bevy of flavors in your house without taking up anywhere near the amount of space that a bunch of 2-litres would take up. You can keep a couple (or a few) of the refillable 1-litre bottles in your fridge at all times (my four bottles only take up the fridge space of about one 2-litre bottle, and they fit on any shelf in my fridge, unlike 2-litres, which only fit on my bottom shelf). Then, you can just make whatever flavor soda you (or your guests) are in the mood for. Whenever they are in the mood for it.
I like that. It also means that because I make my soda on demand, I never have any soda going to waste because it’s gone flat. I make it just before we drink it.
I had some company the other night, and I offered them a list of about ten different flavored sodas. Fresh, and made to order in minutes. And they were perfectly chilled (because I could use my four bottles of chilled water to make whatever flavors they requested) without my having to get a cooler or being stuck with the leftover sodas that no one liked or wanted.
How cool is that?
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Christy Parker is the author of two blogs: Ruminations from and Unkempt Mind and
For comments, questions, notes or suggestions; Mrs. Parker can be reached in the blog specific forums on the product information pages listed above or via email at unkemptruminations@comcast.net.
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