Sodastream: Fantastic soda maker, terrible syrups
The Sodastream home soda maker will save you money and help keep plastic bottles out of the waste stream — just stay away from the company's Splenda-infused syrups.
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Comments
i agree with your review. the syrups that come with it are gross and unhealthy. i would much rather have had real sugar. we bought passion fruit in a jar with natural syrup and we added that and it was great. you can just get real fruit and cook it down with sugar and add that to your water. so you could use anything...cherries, peaches, plums. so far i love this thing, just minus the gross syrup they give with it.
Excellent review. I've been thinking about a Sodastream, but I can't get past the proprietary CO2 either. I feel shafted if it costs me more than $4 to fill a 20oz paintball tank. Let alone $25-30 for a 17oz SodaStream cylinder.
I'm a fan of natural, and I've found that homemadesodaexpert.blogspot.com has some good recipes from real fruits. There's a recipe for an attempt at homemade mountain dew, caffeine optional.
I too did not like the proprietary CO2 thing, but I found that you can buy an adapter to go on your paintball tanks and get them filled and the same place that the paintball tanks are filled. Better yet, I bought an adapter for the large 50lb CO2 tank and now I fill my own for almost free per serving.
I got the SodaStream specifically because their mixes have WAY less sodium overall compared to normal and diet soda. The syrups themselves can be quite cloying, and even their "all naturals" line seems to miss. I use the "diet" syrups, and don't mind the taste of the artificial sweeteners. The "regular" ones, which have half sugar, half splenda, are way too sweet for my palate, and the "naturals" line is doubly so, even for my wife who drinks normal cherry Dr. Pepper.
My main negative with.... More
I hadn't thought about the sodium content. Thanks for the information about the CO2 canister. I tend to go without using it much because I know I am toward the end of a canister and don't have interest in dealing with the lousy parking lot to get the refills at the store near us. How big is a 50lb canister?
The syrup alone costs more to make 2 liters than a two liter bottle (including deposit) sells for a Walmart! This is obviously aimed at the mathematically challenged!
The $5 bottle of syrup makes, for me, close to 40 of the half liter bottles. that's 10 2-liters. Show me where you can find a 2-liter of good soda for $0.50.
I have yet to make any "good" soda with this machine.
I HATE splenda, and it sucks they made all the "regular" sodas with this sweetener.
Do you like Coca Cola, Mtn. Dew, Pepsi, Sprite, A&W Root Beer, Sunkist orange, Nehi grape/orange or Dr. Pepper? The big beverage companies with hundreds of billions at their fingertips make it their business to know what tastes best to most people. When they find out, they put the stuff in a bottle and sell it. You can buy syrup for all those brands. Yes, "The Real Thing" too. If you only had a Fizz Giz, you could whip it up in a soda bottle that comes FREE with your drink. It's a handy and.... More
I love my Sodastream Fizz machine, but so far ANY syrup, even the ones with regular sugar, give me diarrhea, still trying to figure out why. I can't drink or eat anything with aspartame or Splenda, so I bought the regular Pink Grapefruit syrup.
I have a soda stream and I LOVE it !! I don't mind any of the syrups (not a fan of the red bull flavor but I don't like Red Bull anyway) however you can buy regular pepsi or coke syrup etc I believe Costco or even Sams may have them or even online.. just put some of the syrup from the box (it comes in like 3 gallon bags in a box with a screw type cap) into a pump style dispenser (like for ketchup lol) and you can either flavor it by the glass or by the bottle...OR you can make your flavors like.... More
pour a little bit of the orange in the "red bull" flavor...its awesome!
My boyfriend got a SodaStream for his birthday and it's great for him because he's diabetic and drinks diet soda all the time. I just tried the regular lemon-lime and it's terrible! I HATE artificial sweeteners and I couldn't believe they did that! Thanks for the tips on soda syrup recipes and the fact that they plan on making regular syrups without Splenda!
The non-Splenda syrups are available in my area. After writing off their syrups, I was pleased to see them, tried them, and they're very comparable in my opinion to traditional sodas.
I got a Soda Stream for Xmas along with sample packs. I tried a couple of them and thought, "euuw artificial sweetener"! So I looked on the ingredients and sure enough, there was artificial sweetener. Not enough to be a low calorie beverage, yet without the taste of the full-sugar equivalent. Why do they do this?? I have it without any syrups now, just plain. I know they do a 'natural' range but it's hard to find the full range in my country.
My wife is addicted to Diet Coke...we bought a Soda Stream a year or two ago and love it. We don't buy the syrups - the point for us was to save money and to find something healthier to drink. We use a ratio of about a 1/4 glass of juice and the rest fizzy water - quite a tasty and healthful drink. Freshly squeezed lime or lemon as a garnish is great! Certainly a lot better than Diet Coke...
My family agrees that the syrups are no good. But a few other complaints about the SodaStream system: the bottles can't be sterilized properly, You can't put them in a dishwasher, or use in hot water, and regular bottle mouths don't fit in the system. The proper measurements for the syrups can't be easily located, or are specified in the manual to make sure you use the correct amount of syrup with the carbonated water.
I can't tell the taste between the syrups and their brand-name counterparts. The only one that has be way off is the Cream Soda (way too caramel-flavored), but if you just use less of this flavor, then you get a once-again accurate taste. I've tried the natural line and it just doesn't have enough flavor. It don't take like the "throwback" flavors you've seen popping up. It taste more like diet flavors. I found with the natural flavors I had to use nearly twice as much syrup than recommended.... More
I use mio to make flavored water with my soda stream.
Instead of the Soda Stream, I got the Isi Twist and Sparkle, it carbonates any beverage except dairy and is only around 50 dollars. You can choose any beverage and not just aspartame sweetened ones :)
We also could not stand Soda Streams syrups. Absolutely horrible tasting. We have bought a gallon of RC Cola syrup and a Mt Dew knock off and are mixing our own now. Took us a couple of times to get the mix down correctly but wow what a different taste. As good as what you can buy in the store
http://www.athomesoda.com/syrup.htm
Try these guys. This is where we got the syrup at. They sell name brands and generic brands. We bought the 1 gallon containers and then transfered them to 1 gallon milk jugs
where did you get the RC Syrup?
True. The syrups are vile. We make our own, now.
I had read other reviews that raved about the machine. I agree that the machine and convenience of it are great, BUT the syrups are making me sick. I have tried the cola and lemon-lime. Beyond the fact that they don't taste like the originals, I am physically ill for 8-10 hours after 1/2 a liter. I don't know if it is the Sucralose or the Acesulfame Potassium but something is not right with these concoctions!!! Buyer beware!!
Have you tried the new SodaStream naturals (I think that is what they call it) line with cane sugar instead? I found them to be much better and no nasty side effects.
They say not to use fruit juice before you mix it up in the machine, and to say put it in a glass and pour the sparkling water over it. But, they never say why. Does anyone know why? Does it hurt the machine? Or does the machine just not work great with it? If you can make your own syrup and put it in, why can't you add fruit juice?
Because it will fizz like crazy the moment you unseal the bottle from the machine. I tried it. One-third of the soda quickly foamed out all over the kitchen counter. Cursed myself while I cleaned up the mess. No harm done, just messy and a waste of good soda. So now you know :)
You can add it, but it has to be after the carbonation.
If you put syrups--theirs, your own, or juice in the bottle before you add the carbonation, it "explodes" out of the bottle when you remove the bottle. It makes a huge mess. I tried it early on ignoring the instruction.
My guess is that there is no good way to clean the machine.
All artificial sweetners are crap, and taste like crap....try pouring any soda on the ground with an artificial sweetner...and nearby also pour a bottle of real soda and see which one the insects/bees will go to....there's your proof.
I just received this for Christmas.I have to say I am not a soda drinker and never have it in the house, however if someone drops by I can now offer them soda and make iit fresh. They can also have their favorite flavor.
Wow. I'm surprised so many people disliked the Sodastream syrups. I love them. So much better than commercial sodas. Commercial energy drinks are gagsome, but the sodastream version is great--more like a cream soda. And of course, I won't blow my blood-sugar with sugary sodas, and I prefer the taste of Splenda anyway.
Why don't you just make your own syrups? It's really easy and fun to do.
Why would you trust ANYTHING said by the FDA? They also claim MSG and Aspartame are safe, despite MANY studies to the contrary.
My wife and I have owned a Sodastream for a while now and love it! The sucralose (Splenda) is a fantastic sweetener, and allows us guilt-free sodas all day. I just wanted to put this out there, because this board is overwhelmed by nay-sayers who just don't like the sucralose.
However, the FDA analyzed data from all 110 studies on both humans and animals and concluded no sucralose toxicity for humans. If you don't like the taste, then I guess it's not for you. There are plenty of.... More
We gave up on the syrups a looong time ago. I use the fizzy water with orange juice and love it. Another nice alternative is the fruit flavored syrups (that use sugar) like Torani or Monin. A splash of vanilla and you have a cream soda. I've also done peach and orange sparklie over ice with the syrups and they were dang tasty!
for those of you that use the bag n box syrups from sams or cos co how do you get the syrup out of the bag?
We took the bag out of the box, cut a corner and funneled it into a 1 gallon milk container.
can you just put the syrup from the box in with the carbonated water and thats it ? or do you have to add anything else cause i was gunna buy a cola syrup and i was just woundering
Did you ever find out how to get it out of the bag? I'm looking into this system and buying from a dist. in my area but also need to find out how to get out of the bag.
Have had the cheap 100 buck SodaStream for awhile now, and the syrups made us put this away. My wife and I cannot stand the taste of Splenda. We tried to make some syrups from concentrate from Prairie Moon, but that is a pain in the butt.
Tonight I bought a bottle of the new Root Beer with real sugar. It tastes pretty good. One downfall though, at ten bucks for 6 liters worth, you can buy 10 store brand 2 liter bottles of soda for the same price! Yeah this is healthier, but the.... More
I was thinking the same thing about the new syrups--good but not really less expensive. Then I realized a couple of things: I use less than the label amount and there is still the possible environmental benefit of the reusable bottles/co2 canisters.
Just bought it on the advice of my doctor to cut sugar. He advised mixing the water with juice, which I love. I took one sip and wanted to through up. It's going back to the store!!! I think I'd rather just drink water and have coke less often than drink this crap.
Love the Sodastream and the syrups that they create. Of course I've been a life long diet soda drinker and can't stand the taste of a real soda for anything. I can't even stand the taste of regular sugar in foods. I must be the odd one here =D...but give me artificial sugar any day over regular.
I totally agree. The syrups are terrible. I got the machine at a fundraiser and love making soda but they have got to do a better job with the flavored syrups. Failure. Where were the tasters when they made that. The only flavor that I can stand is the lemon lime.
I happened to get some of their new syrups this weekend--the ones with no artificial sweeteners and with cane sugar. Much, much, better than the originals.
Update: Sodastream now offers a line of "Sparkling Naturals" syrups that have cane sugar instead of those artificial sweeteners. That's the good news.
The bad news is they COST TWICE AS MUCH! So thanks for nothing, Sodastream!
Check the label, twice the price an half the servings. That's 4x the cost.
