Soda Stream

[DawnM]

It says not to carbonate anything but water with the machine.

Try fizzing some white wine

 

[DawnM]

What do you mean they aren't concentrated?

You mean the 20ounce bottle is really only 20 ounces worth of drinking liquid?

Dawn

The "original" flavors have Sucralose in them. That makes them taste funny to me (and give me a headache besides).

The naturals don't, but they are just ok.

That said, you aren't going to get the same product as you would if you used a Pepsi syrup or a Coke syrup. Those are different formulas. (Same with lemon lime, root beer, etc).

I like to order my flavors from this guy. It takes a lot more to make it, as they are not concentrated, but at least they taste good.


http://pittsburghsodapop.com/
The cola is very strong. I love the cream soda and vanilla root beer; dh really likes the cola and spiced root beer. The butterbeer is
Best of all, they use cane sugar. Brings back the taste of soda when I was a kid.

 

[njziggy]

Our family likes the pink grapefruit and coke zero. Mostly we add the powdered drink mixes we have on hand to the carbonated water. You might have to adjust the water level a little as it sometimes bubbles but way cheaper than the liquid mixes.

 

[hsmamato2]

Using 20% off for bottles of syrup at $4.99 , making them $3.99 and a $5 off $15 for the CO2 refills at Bed Bath and Beyond, makes it a money saver.

So you buy the co2 at BB&B? And they cost 10.00 using the coupon? how many bottles of seltzer does that make? I am seriously trying to calculate if it is worth it to me,on sale. We drink a LOT of seltzer....like 2 liters a day minimum

 

[Kae]

I only one we have not liked is the Crystal Light Strawberry energy one, yuck. I do use the Crystal light drops in a single glass. I use in mainly for adding "club soda" to my Vodka Cranberry

Kae

 

[sweet maxine]

We just got handed down one from my SIL and LOVE IT.

DH and I are big seltzer drinkers. The premixed were all pretty gross to us, but regular extracts from the baking section have been great. Tastes just like LeCroix or Seagrams flavored seltzer. You only need a few drops to flavor a half liter. Orange, raspberry, lemon, and coconut have all been great (and cheap!)

I did not know about using extracts to flavor club soda or seltzer water. I'm definitely going to try this one.

I weaned myself from drinking Coca Cola by mixing club soda or seltzer water with orange juice. It's really refreshing when both are cold. I've also used grape juice as a mixer, and it's pretty good as well.

So you buy the co2 at BB&B? And they cost 10.00 using the coupon? how many bottles of seltzer does that make? I am seriously trying to calculate if it is worth it to me,on sale. We drink a LOT of seltzer....like 2 liters a day minimum

I have wondered about the cost efficiency of buying a Soda Stream for my use. Lately, my local grocery store has had 12-pack cans of either store-brand club soda and seltzer water for 5/$10. No one else in my family likes these drinks, and since they are in a single serving, I've considered it my best option. I'll be following this thread for more thoughts about cost.

 

[JoiseyMom]

We bought one, but don't drink much soda anymore. We like the orange, root beer, diet coke, coke and ginger ale. Kids drink em! I have bought both regular and natural. I make it just for seltzer..especially for egg creams! YUM!

 

[scrapquitler]

We just got handed down one from my SIL and LOVE IT.

DH and I are big seltzer drinkers. The premixed were all pretty gross to us, but regular extracts from the baking section have been great. Tastes just like LeCroix or Seagrams flavored seltzer. You only need a few drops to flavor a half liter. Orange, raspberry, lemon, and coconut have all been great (and cheap!)

Thank you for mentioning this! It sounds like a great idea and I would have NEVER in a million years thought to try the extracts in the baking aisle! I've been trying to figure out what I could try that might be different, and they never crossed my mind.

 

[Jedana]

What do you mean they aren't concentrated?

You mean the 20ounce bottle is really only 20 ounces worth of drinking liquid?

Dawn

The stuff from SS is concentrated--you use a capful (for example) for a bottle.

The good stuff from PSP isn't as concentrated. So, you add a half cup (for example) for the same size bottle that you make with the SS stuff.

 

[DawnM]

So it IS actually concentrated, it just isn't as concentrated.

The stuff from SS is concentrated--you use a capful (for example) for a bottle.

The good stuff from PSP isn't as concentrated. So, you add a half cup (for example) for the same size bottle that you make with the SS stuff.

 

[msmama]

So you buy the co2 at BB&B? And they cost 10.00 using the coupon? how many bottles of seltzer does that make? I am seriously trying to calculate if it is worth it to me,on sale. We drink a LOT of seltzer....like 2 liters a day minimum

I got mine for Xmas. Make seltzer probably 3 times a week and still have plenty of co2, according to the gage. It obviously depends show much you use it, but $10 would buy less than 20 bottles (around me anyway)

 

[tinker&belle]

Are there any mixes that use stevia? I won't use aspartame anymore and try to avoid sugar. Stevia drinks are expensive and I thought this might save money.

 

[Tink575]

I've had mine for 2 years and love it. The mixes I love are the diet root beer and diet cream. I also make a lot of seltzer and love it with a lemon wedge squeezed in it. The diet cola is just OK. Did not like the Country Time lemonade mix.

 

[DawnM]

I am not sure, but there are recipes online to make your own.
For example:

http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=2005454

Are there any mixes that use stevia? I won't use aspartame anymore and try to avoid sugar. Stevia drinks are expensive and I thought this might save money.

 

[DawnM]

As for Stevia, you could also get drops from Amazon in flavors like Root Beer, Vanilla, Berry, etc.....and add them. You don't need many drops.

 

[gower525]

I got mine for Christmas and I LOVE it! I don't make the cola flavored drinks - those are gross to me, but I really like the Crystal Light Strawberry Energy, Crystal Light Lemonade, Diet Cranberry Raspberry, & Diet Pink Grapefruit. I also like to just add a little Aldi brand Mio to the sparkling water.

 

[chunkygal]

Great ideas here. I didn't like the taste of most, espcially since family memebers mix variably, so differing taste of mix from person to person.
I never thought of regular syrups or mixes.

Love sparkling water and it is what we use it for mostly.

Not sure about savings..the first week one of our kids put the bottle in the dishwasher and it was ruined and this is a big part of the upfront cost and we had to buy another.

 

[pjlla]

Even their non-diet beverages are sweetened with Splenda, which I cannot/will not use. Their "naturally" sweetened syrups end up costing more than just buying 2 liters.
I was amazed they have Kool-aid now. What ever happened to just making a pitcher yourself? It isn't that hard to do,LOL.

I bought mine for myself for seltzer water. That being said, DS loves root beer occasionally as a treat but like the above post says, most of even their non-diet syrups have artificial sweetener which I won't give to my kids. I did some searching and found that Soda Stream does make a few all-natural syrups that are sweetened with cane sugar. They are a bit pricier and hard to find, but when I find them I buy a few and save them for Christmas stockings and such..........P

 

[tinkmom2]

We got our Soda Stream for free via Housparty that I found about here on the DIS. They are having another summer party where you can get the machine for free also.
I am currently drinking their version of Sprite and like it. For some reason the diet flavors make me break out. I also enjoy their sparkling fruit combinations. Those are a bit more expensive at $9.99 and make less liters. My hubby drinks the Dt. Fountain Mist and loves it. I was surprised because he was a diehard Dew fan.
After experimenting we found the right combination of syrup and how much fizz we like. It took a bit but I am happy we don't have to waste money on soda now. We were spending about $15 a week and now we spend about $20 a month including carbination. I try to use a Bed Bath and Beyond coupon every time we go too.

 

[iheartwalt]

I love mine! I use it to have fizzy lime water (either with lime wedges or True Lime crystalized lime packets) and to make juice spritzers (usually use frozen juice concentrate and mix it by the glass).
Huge savings over RW Knudsen juice spritzers and having the sparkling water just gets me drinking more water which is important to me.