Sodastreaming

[DailyDi]

Have wanted a SodaStream soda maker for a while now, but didn't want to spend the money when I didn't know if I'd like the soda mixes.... My Step_Dad just got one for his birthday and is FAR too lazy to make his own soda, so guess who just got a Soda maker for his half-birthday, lol.

The naturally sweetened cola is awesome, better than Coke or Pepsi.

[gah!ghost]

naturally sweetened as in sweetened with cane sugar? I know Jones Soda (who use cane sugar) tastes so much better than the major brands. LOVE their cream soda.

[DailyDi]

Yep, cane sugar.

[gah!ghost]

Makes a big difference. Sugar has an actual flavor unlike corn syrup.

[Angela Bauer]

Have wanted a SodaStream soda maker for a while now, but didn't want to spend the money when I didn't know if I'd like the soda mixes.... My Step_Dad just got one for his birthday and is FAR too lazy to make his own soda, so guess who just got a Soda maker for his half-birthday, lol.

The naturally sweetened cola is awesome, better than Coke or Pepsi.

DD, of course that is all a matter of taste.

Many of my relatives and friends prefer Pepsi. Even before I fell in love with Don, if I drank soda pop, I insisted upon classic Coke. Don and I were married before his late mother told me her father was one of the original Coke bottlers circa 1910. That could explain Don obsession with Coke.

Another of our mutual desires is fresh club soda. Friends of ours own mini-soda dispensers from a firm called 'Doctor Soda' which include a not very effective carbonator unit. Don rejected those and kept looking until he got a good deal on a 4 flavor plus plain soda system. That has a full-sized carbonator unit which connects to commercial refillable CO2 tanks. For syrup it uses commercial bag in a box. The four bags in a box, the carbonator, the refrigerator and the CO2 tank fit in a rolling cabinet below the dispensing heads. For the water it connects to a double osmosis filter system and also to AC tor the lights, refrigerator and carbonator pump.

It is so refreshing to have fresh, just made club soda in the middle of the night. Don also wants c glass of fresh Coke-a-Cola when he wakes up.

[drynot]

Here in Canada right now we have a product called Pepsi retro or something along those lines anyway. I bought a 12 pack and, while it tasted ok, I wouldn't replace my regular Pepsi or Coke with it any time soon. Its supposedly made with real sugar as opposed to HFC. I guess I'm just too used to the artifical crap that is in Coke and Pepsi these days

Actually, soda is one substance that I really need to cut out of my life all together. I just drink far too much of it and, like a drug, it has detrimental effects on my body......one of which is terrible weight gain.....

Maybe I need to make it my New Years resolution this coming year....

[gah!ghost]

I should also state I don't like cola in general. Doesn't taste like food to me, more like some sort of industrial chemical.

There are of course tons of people that won't drink anything but diet because they prefer the taste. Even the most recent non-colorie sweeteners like stevia gross me out.

[sarah_ab]

the soda stream had loads of flavors!!! any flavor out there they havea syrup for!! at our local grocery store a few times a year they will have someone making what ever flavor you want for a sample and even let you try out how easy it is to use .... i eventually will give in and buy one

[Mischa]

I've been hesitant to even consider buying one of the name-brand SodaStream systems because, as I figured, their claims of it being as cheap as they say were bull, and as I've read from online reviews, the cylinders for the SodaStream have proprietary valves and an anti-refill device, so you are forced to send them in to the company for a refill.

I've also heard that improper filling can cause the bottles to explode, causing shrapnel.

I'll probably just get a soda siphon and use that to make my drinks, it'd probably use generic everyday carbon dioxide or nitrogen cyllinders, which can be found anywhere for cheaper than SodaStream's cartridges, and would be interchangeable with the whipped-cream charger I want to get.

[warpiper]

i was actually looking at that today, isn't that funny. i don't like HFCS either, so when i drink coke, i get it from the foreign food aisle and get the mexican coke. it tastes awesome

[Creepymouse]

I can't stand plain carbonated water - it has a strange acidic flavor that I think is actually the carbonic acid that forms when you drink it. It's fine with even a little flavor.

Has anyone tried the Mio drops in it? They're tasty.

I've weaned myself off soda for the most part, though I still indulge once in a while when I'm getting fa(s)t food or at my mom's house - I just refuse to bring it into my house. Now if I could get the wife to stop bringing home cookie and candy-making supplies. Damn diabetics... XD

[DailyDi]

i was actually looking at that today, isn't that funny. i don't like HFCS either, so when i drink coke, i get it from the foreign food aisle and get the mexican coke. it tastes awesome

Mexicoke is awesome. Little bit more spice than US Coke, and not so sweet.

[Mischa]

I don't like carbonated water, sparkling water, tonic water, or any of that stuff. Flavored sparkling water tastes horribad to me. When I make my favorite drink, a Brandy Old Fashioned, I use lemon-lime soda instead of seltzer water.

Off-topic, but I've never been convinced high-fructose corn syrup is a necessarily bad thing. Fructose and glucose both have the same chemical formula and differ only in how the molecules are bound to one another, of which, if I remember correctly, fructose is the easier of the two for the body to digest, so if you then use it in moderation, and exercise, your body shouldn't have much trouble with fructose. High-fructose corn syrup is so readily used in the United States because the United States grows twice as much corn as the second-highest producing country. The reason it's high-fructose, is because it's easier, cheaper, and safer to ship an 80% concentration of sugar than a 40% concentration. I say safer because many microbes can't live in such a high-sugar environment. It's cheaper because at 80% sugar, you need half as much as a 40% concentration.

The problem isn't corn sugar, it's people who would rather bitch about food producers using a readily available product and making their products more affordable, instead of taking a hike, and I've seen some who've bitched about HFCS, and yes they could use a good hike...

[jeremy12312]

It's cheaper because at 80% sugar, you need half as much as a 40% concentration.

It's cheaper because the Feds pay farmers to grow corn with subsidies, and sugar has massive import tariffs.

[gah!ghost]

That is true, but I think it's also true that HFCS isn't neccesarilly bad in and of itself. It's more that people just consume so much of it. Nothing is good without moderation.

But leaving aside health concerns I do like the way cane sugar soda tastes better than HFCS soda.

[Mischa]

That is true, but I think it's also true that HFCS isn't neccesarilly bad in and of itself. It's more that people just consume so much of it. Nothing is good without moderation.

But leaving aside health concerns I do like the way cane sugar soda tastes better than HFCS soda.

I can believe sugar-sweetened soda can taste differently than syrup-sweetened. I haven't tried the MexiCoke, but I'd give it a try next time I see it.

[bbgirlmichelle]

I love our soda stream, I just have to be careful with it. To reduce the calories they cut the sugar with sucralose (Splenda) which seems to give me heart palpitations if I have to much. I'm looking for a good source of stevia (preferably) or sugar or HFCS syrups. I did find some nice recipies for making my own Ginger Ale syrup, but I haven't had a chance to try it yet.

[Dubious]

Sure, its nice with some taste on the water sometimes, but soda is not the thing..

[Dubious]

Hopefully not from the fountain..

[messyman]

I'll probably just get a soda siphon and use that to make my drinks, it'd probably use generic everyday carbon dioxide or nitrogen cyllinders, which can be found anywhere for cheaper than SodaStream's cartridges, and would be interchangeable with the whipped-cream charger I want to get.

The chargers for those are not cheap. Using one costs about the same as buying club soda. Unless you know of some way to run them off a large tank.

[Mischa]

The chargers for those are not cheap. Using one costs about the same as buying club soda. Unless you know of some way to run them off a large tank.

Yeah, though I'd save money by being able to use the same tanks for the soda siphon and the whipped cream charger

[babykatie1]

Yeah, though I'd save money by being able to use the same tanks for the soda siphon and the whipped cream charger

Unfortunately you can not use the same gas to make soda and whipped cream. Whipped cream uses Nitrous Oxide and Soda uses Carbon Dioxide.

[Mischa]

Dammit, you're right. thought I'd be able to save money, oh well

[messyman]

Unfortunately you can not use the same gas to make soda and whipped cream. Whipped cream uses Nitrous Oxide and Soda uses Carbon Dioxide.

The nitrous oxide fizzes out much quicker and the end product has a different taste and texture. But it does work. The 8 gram cartridges just cost too much to be ecconomical. Soda siphons are cool toys but you don't save any money using them. Even if the gas was free club soda is less than a dollar a litre so it would take a while to break even on a $80 plus piece of kit.

The soda stream type machines are about as good as most people can get price wise unless they are willing to MacGuiver up something to use a big tank. To have a actual soda fountain you need to have either refridgeration or ice to keep the unit at the correct operating tempurature. If you had a kegorator already it would not be too dificult to add a soda tap to it.

[puffy_bottom]

I love our SodaStream. I've gone so far as to try to carbonate non-SodaStream approved stuff in it: homemade Aranciata, etc. There's this carbonated Negroni recipe that friends of ours shared that this thing would be perfect for. One of these days...