Sodastream, anyone have one?

[papsrus]

As someone who drinks a fair amount of soda, I'm thinking of getting one of these things. Make your own soda.

Has anyone sampled the beverages?

[JSngry]

Will it make pop too?

[GA Russell]

How much are they?

How long would it take for it to pay for itself?

[papsrus]

How much are they?

How long would it take for it to pay for itself?

The basic kit is $80, and includes:

* Fountain Jet Home Soda Maker

* 1 60 liter Carbonator

* 1 Carbonating Bottle

After that, you can get a variety of soda mix flavors at a cost of between $5 and $10, depending on the flavor. Each bottle of flavor soda mix makes about 12 liters of soda. They say the cost works out to about 25 cents per 12-ounces.

So basically, after your initial investment for the kit, you're buying bottles of the soda mix flavors at between $5 and $10 a pop, and then the 60 liter carbonators as needed. They go for $30 for two, with an exchange of two empty ones.

Plus, you're not throwing plastic bottles and cans away anymore. I'm kinda surprised it took this long for someone to come up with this.

[Big Wheel]

Haven't these things been made for years? I'm pretty sure I've seen companies sell soda mixes as a complement to their seltzer makers, though maybe nobody's been slick enough to market them all together as a single concept.

The main flaw if I had to guess is that the mixes usually taste like crap. Or at least not enough like name brand flavors for people to want to drink them. Plus homemade soda isn't portable like a can is so you can't bring it to work/fishing/bbqs etc.

Edited May 21, 2011 by Big Wheel

[A Lark Ascending]

Is soda what we Brits call lemonade?

My parents had something like this in the late-70s/early 80s. Recall my younger brothers and sisters using it quite a bit.

Went completely off carbonated drinks ten + years back. Give me a cup of tea (or a bottle of unfizzy beer!)

Edited May 21, 2011 by A Lark Ascending

[kinuta]

Don't take this the wrong way but I've always been puzzled at American's consumption of seemingly large amounts 'soda', we call it pop in England and have recently learned that it's also called 'pop' in Detroit.

I used to like Tizer

and Dandelion & Burdock when I was a kid but almost never drink pop now. I do like a can of Daddy's Root Beer now and again but find Coke & Pepsi unpalatable.

I

Edited May 21, 2011 by kinuta

[JohnS]

I had a sodastream years ago. It was fun at but like a lot of gadgets it fell into disuse after a few months.

[Rooster_Ties]

They say the cost works out to about 25 cents per 12-ounces.

I would imagine the per-can price for brand-name sodas at Costco and/or Sam's club, when you buy a whole flat, or a two or three case bundle -- would come out pretty much the same.

Aluminum recycles very easily, and (unlike recycling plastic), is a very efficient process and can be done infinitely. #1 & #2 plastic bottles can only be recycled once (into a lesser quality of plastic, which then cannot be recycled further).

I'm not suggesting the Sodastream isn't efficient, but buying in aluminum cans (if you can get them cheap enough), isn't bad either.

[jeffcrom]

A little off topic, but Kinuta's post reminded me that when I visited Japan a few years ago, I was fascinated by the soft drink machines that seemed to be everywhere. And of course, I didn't recognize anything except Coca-Cola. So I developed a soda gambling habit. A couple of times a day I would stop at a drink machine, put in my 100 yen, and press a button at random. Some of what came out was pretty grim, but on the day before I returned home, I discovered a wonderful melon soda that came in a little round bottle. I made sure to get one more bottle at the train station on my way out the next morning.

[papsrus]

A little off topic, but Kinuta's post reminded me that when I visited Japan a few years ago, I was fascinated by the soft drink machines that seemed to be everywhere.

Yes! I had the same reaction when in Tokyo a few years ago. I used to love that you could get hot coffee (latte, as well as other varieties) in a can from some of those machines. Right there on the side of the road. Fantastic.

Not sure about this soda stream idea now. No recycling's a plus. Portability wouldn't really be an issue, I don't think. They may have containers that lock in the fizz. But it would basically be for home use, or 'one for the road.' However, flavor would be the key, as Big Wheel said.

[JSngry]

Glass bottles, that's the way to go.

[Jim Alfredson]

I recently read in Spirit magazine (the inflight magazine on Southwest flights) that the average grocery store has over 47,000 items in stock. Can you guess what the most purchased item is here in America? Yep, soda. I rarely ever drink the stuff. Especially since it's all corn syrup and artificial dyes. No thanks.

Since I'm already on my soapbox, one of the reasons that 1/3rd of American adults are now overweight or obese is because of how much soda we drink. It's literally cheaper than any other drink you can buy at a store. I see mothers giving it to children that are so young they can't even talk or drink without a sippy cup. I think our obsession with it is disgusting.

But to the OP, I agree with Rooster that it's still probably cheaper to just buy the crap in bulk. Unless you want to start experimenting with making your own flavors.

[JSngry]

Especially since it's all corn syrup....

I actually prefer diet sodas, and have ever since they stopped using saccharin. For the most part, the sweet ones leave a sticky residue that is quite bothersome to my peace of mind.

OTOH, Dublin Dr. Pepper & the various "throwback" formulas use the cane sugar, and that's a little better. And that Frosty cherry limeade is the nectar of the gods, especially when pulled out of a cooler full of ice after having sat there for several hours.