SodaStream: The DIY Soda Factory

Looking to kick the Coke habit? Check out the SodaStream, a cool kitchen gadget that whips up delicious drinks in 30 seconds flat.

I have a small confession to make: my husband Jeff and I used to be Coke fiends.

No, not the illegal kind—just the kind loaded with high-fructose corn syrup and five-syllable chemical ingredients. Not long after we first met in Europe, we walked a mile to a Venice train station vending machine after midnight just to get our fix, since it was the only place still open in town. Yes, it was that bad. We tried, several times, to quit the habit, but always found ourselves lured back to the old familiar drink. Somehow, much as we tried to be virtuous, water just wouldn’t cut it all the time.

But now, we’ve found a pretty perfect solution, as far as I can tell: SodaStream, a simple, DIY soda fountain. It takes about 30 seconds to mix up a batch of your favorite flavored fizzy beverage, using plain old tap water and a capful of SodaStream’s syrup. The sodas never include high-fructose corn syrup, and are significantly lower in calories than their brand-name counterparts, but taste just as refreshing, and many delicious diet flavor options are available (which feature Spenda, rather than the much-maligned aspartame). If you like, you can go all-natural by creating your own flavored syrups for the sodas, and simply use the SodaStream to carbonate your homemade beverage—or just make a delicious seltzer water with a squirt of fresh lemon juice in place of expensive Perrier.

Since the bottles are reusable, there’s no need to worry about all the plastic and aluminum you’re going through—there’s no wastage with these drinks. And each syrup bottle can make 12 liters of soda, which means the machine is a great purchase for the thrifty as well as the (semi-)health conscious.

Of course, we realize soda is never going to be the first choice of uber-healthy living advocates. But if you, like us, find it difficult to live on water alone, SodaStream might just be the lesser evil you need.

The SodaStream Starter Kit is available for $99 from Soda-Club (no membership required—it’s just the name of the company), and includes all sorts of delicious flavors to try out. Try the cream soda—it’s our favorite.

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