I am seeing these SodaStream sparkling water makers everywhere these days!
SodaStream promotes itself as a company that makes water exciting – encouraging you to drink more water by making water fun while being sustainable. The water it makes is just as good as the sparkling water you would buy and you can make whatever drinks and cocktails you want.
The SodaStream Play retails for $99.99, is super easy to operate and doesn’t require any electricity or batteries. SodaStream also provides a plethora of accessories that you can buy including extra carbon dioxide (CO2) canisters, carbonating bottles and endless amounts of flavoured syrups.
They even have a new collection of flavours called SodaStream FREE. These are free of artificial colours, flavours, sweeteners and preservatives making the SodaStream sparkling water maker a way that you can make ‘healthier’ carbonated beverages (especially if you are trying to wean yourself off of regular pop).
The machine comes with a CO2 canister when you buy it but additional CO2 and flavoured syrups will need to be purchased once you run out. The CO2 canister can carbonate 60 L of water and additional canisters cost $35.99 (you can also bring them to places that will refill it for $15-20). Flavoured syrups cost $6.99-$9.99 per bottle and can flavour up to 6 L of water.
SodaStream Canada has been kind enough to send out SodaStream Play sparkling water makers out to reviewers in the Greater Toronto Area. Please write your comments below and let us know what you think of the SodaStream sparkling water maker.
Do you think it provides people with a fun way to drink water better?
I used the SodaStream to use sparkling water with cucumber slices and with lemon wedges. Once I installed the gas canister, the machine is very easy to use – pretty much pulling a lever and pressing a button. Unfortunately, although I could see bubbles shooting into the water when I pressed the button, I found that my water was never very bubbly. I followed the recommendations in the video for maximum bubbles and that still didn’t help. Although it’s important to find new ways to encourage people to drink more water, I wouldn’t recommend this product to friends, family or clients based on my experience. I’m also curious about the ingredient list and calorie level of the SodaStream FREE flavours – but I didn’t try these, so I can’t comment.
I have always wanted to try a SodaStream machine but didn’t want to fork out the money in case I would be disappointed. I was so glad that I got to try this machine out for free! I love the slim and small footprint of it so it doesn’t take up a lot of space. And it was really easy to use. I like the fact that I can have sparkling water on demand and in a way that is more environmentally friendly because I am not recycling a ton of bottles. I just fizzed up some water and added some orange juice to make a fruit juice sparkler. I also used it to make mojitos (which I love making in the summer).
The SodaStream machine fizzed up my water really well and when I tasted it against San Pellegrino (which is the sparkling water I usually buy) it tasted identical. It definitely makes drinking water a lot more fun but I’m not sure if the novelty would wear off on me after awhile. I would have to drink sparkling water on a regular basis to make it worth it.
But I think for people who drink sparkling water on a regular basis, or don’t drink flat water (because they find it boring) that this would be a good thing for them to try.
I was excited to try the SodaStream machine as both my husband and I are avid sparkling water drinkers (Perrier, San Pelligrino etc.). We had considered purchasing one in the past, but were hesitant without ever having tried one.
Some of the things that I liked about the SodaStream were that it (surprisingly) didn’t take up too much counter space and it’s quite easy to use. We used it quite a bit over the 2 weeks, however – it is still not exactly the same as the sparkling water we are used to. I found that it didn’t keep the “fizz” for very long.
As a dietitian I am always encouraging patients to drink more water, and I think that perhaps this could help and it might be appropriate to recommend to some clients – but I don’t know that it would be worth the price. Since I am not a pop drinker, we didn’t purchase any flavours etc. to add to it, maybe if you were using it more for this it would be worth it?
Overall – I think it is a good concept, but probably not worth it for our household.
Thanks for the opportunity to try out SodaStream Play! I made a few fruit infused sparkling water drinks, including cucumber with mint and another one with mandarin orange with lemon and basil. I even got a chance to make a SodaStream recipe, the Smashed Summer Twisted Lemonade. (http://recipes.sodastream.com/recipe-items/smashed-summer-twisted-lemonade/). It was a super delicious drink for a girls night in.
I loved the slim design, simplicity, and user friendly instructions. More importantly, I really liked how it provides an opportunity for people to get creative with water and hydration. I would definitely recommend it to patients who struggle with achieving proper hydration status. However, the SodaStream does come with a price tag and can become quite pricey. Therefore, it may not be appropriate for all patients. Another drawback that I came across is that the carbonation can get a bit flat after the water has been left out for awhile.
From a healthy eating standpoint, I think it’s wonderful how it encourages people to infuse their water with fresh fruit, veggies, and herbs. Maybe it can even increase people’s fruit and vegetable consumption! However, SodaStream offers flavour mixes and some of them are pop, kool-aid, and other artificial flavourings… which may be a bit concerning.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed my experience and would use it again. However, I’m worried the novelty of the machine may wear off with time. Overall, it’s a good product and lives up to their slogan: ‘water made exciting’.
I made unflavoured water. I looked for the flavouring packets at Fortinos but couldn’t find them. I bought a San Pellegrino to compare. I found that it took 4 ‘presses’ lasting 2 seconds each for the carbonation to be comparable.
It was very easy to use. Could be a fun way for people who enjoy carbonated water to consume more water. Nice that it doesn’t take up a lot of room on your counter and there are no cords. Minimal clean up and only a few parts to clean/wipe down. Personally I wouldn’t use it again only because I’m not a fan of carbonated water and only have carbonated beverages occasionally. This could be a good product for some people though if it promotes increased water consumption, especially if it can replace sweetened carbonated beverages to lower sugar intake.
Thanks for the opportunity to review!
Thanks for letting me sample the SodaStream play machine. I made sparkling water flavoured with peaches. After carbonating the water, I added canned peaches including its syrup for a light, fruity drink. The water machine was surprisingly easy to make, I wasn’t sure at first if I had carbonated it properly because it seemed almost too easy.
If I was hosting a food party, I would use it again. This makes for a fun conversation starter and could be used to swoon your dinner guests. However, I wouldn’t buy a machine to use just for myself since I don’t drink sparkling water often. I would recommend this to people who are looking for ways to increase their water intake, though I’d keep in mind its cost (including the carbon filter and the flavour pods/sweeteners), how often they drink sparkling water, if they have time and the motivation to use the machine on a regular basis.
From a dietitian standpoint, this is a good way to improve someone’s fluid intake if they enjoy sparkling water. Although I’d also indicate that there are several other ways to reach that goal as well.
I was looking forward to trying the SodaStream since my family and I enjoy sparkling water.
Surprisingly, the SodaStream was very easy to use and didn’t take up much room on my counter.
I made unflavoured water a number of times and served it with dinner. On my first attempt I used non refrigerated water. I pressed it down 3-4 times in order to make it really fizzy. Unfortunately nobody enjoyed it this way. The next few times I used refrigerated water and the product was much tastier.
When comparing the SodaStream water to “other” sparkling waters, my family voted on the “other”. The SodaStream didn’t seem to be as tasty as the “others”.
I still enjoyed the SodaStream over non carbonated water and I will certainly recommend it to clients who are looking for something different than plain water. Health wise it is always a good idea to drink water. I’m not sure I would recommend the sugared flavorings as I am not familiar with them. It would have been a good idea if some of the flavoring packets had been included with our trial.
Thank you for the opportunity in trying SodaStream.
I really enjoyed testing the soda stream. For starters it is very easy to use and there is barely any set-up necessary. Also, I was surprised to find that the design is very sleek and it takes up very minimal counter space which was a concern for me because I have a small kitchen. I only carbonated plain water but I found that if I did three pumps (approx. 2 seconds each) that I could create a comparable beverage to San Pellegrino or Perrier. I enjoy plain water but it was a nice twist to add sparkling water to my regime and I believe I drank more water than usual. I would recommend this product to patients/clients as a way to jazz up their water especially if they are someone that normally likes to drink pop. I understand that there are also flavoured packets that you can purchase to use with the SodaStream but I did not try them. I would be concerned that there may be added sugars and recommend that patients/clients read the nutrition label. The soda stream is also very cost effective in comparison to purchasing bottled carbonated water. I am definitely considering investing in the Soda Stream myself as well! Thank you for the opportunity to review the SodaStream.
The SodaStream product is a nice convenient alternative to going out and purchasing your favourite sparkling water. It carbonates easily. It’s not too expensive for the purpose of an on going system to produce sparkling beverages. I do not drink or recommend sugared pop. If I want a treat, I’ll use juice to sweeten and play with creative flavours. We use it with fruit or cucumber slices to kick it up, or maybe some maple syrup, honey or other natural sweetener. “Its a good thing” as Martha would say, for those who are into sparkling. Not sure what health issues a steady diet of carbonated water would bring. Go ahead a get one if this is your thang…smiles.
A friend of mine has the machine at home and she has been making drinks for us every time we visit so I was very excited to hear I am going to be able to try one at my home for free.
I have been drinking a lot of lemon water lately and so I decided to make it sparkly. The machine itself was easy to put together. It’s a little big for my liking as I don’t like to have a cluttered counter but I figured I don’t have to have it out all the time so that’s alright. The instructions are user friendly and there are so many youtube videos on how to put this machine together that nobody should have any issues with it.
I wanted my water to be natural so I decided against buying the flavored packets. For my first water I used only lemon. It was great. Delicious, sparkly and refreshing. I later made some cucumber water with mint. It was a hot day so I found that refreshing as well.
Would I spend 100 dollars for one of these babies. Probably not. I am okay with drinking just regular water with lemon and/or fruit.
It was fun having the machine at home. I even made some sparkly drinks for some dinner guests on Sat but again I found it just takes up a lot of space I don’t have.
Nonetheless my experience was a fun one.
Thank you for sending me this product to review! I was really looking forward to trying to out but unfortunately I was personally disappointed with the SodaStream maker. I never actually found the water got very bubbly (which is what I was expecting) and I would rather drink plain water than a slightly fizzy water. I did purchase some of the flavoured caps you can buy as I do have a weakness for the occasional diet pop, but I didn’t like the way they tasted at all and since it wasn’t very bubbly it made it felt like drinking a flat pop.
Given the cost of the product, this probably is not something I would suggest to clients to help them increase their water intake.