Remember when I had a SodaStream on my holiday wish list? I put it on there because when I have sinus pain and pressure, nothing is more delightful to drink than some sparkling water. But I have always hated the packaging waste of bottles of water. My friend Faith saw my list and said "Why don't you just ask Soda Stream for one? They are promoting them with bloggers." Duh.

I asked and amazingly the company quickly sent out a SodaStream unit and a selection of their SodaMix flavor syrups.

I spent five minutes setting it up and then had my first drink. I giggled. Fizzy water from a machine right in my kitchen!

How It Works

Lil doesn't care for sparkling water or sodas but she loves to use the SodaStream. Here's a quick video of how it works:

Flavorings SodaStream produces an array of flavoring syrups called SodaMix including common soda knock-offs, a line of all natural (i.e. sweetened with cane sugar) selections, and no-cal flavored water. We found the taste of the flavors to be satisfying when we were looking for a shot of sugar.

The carbonation unit can only handle plain water, so to use the SodaMix syrups you have to pour it in after adding the bubbles. Each package comes with a measuring unit to fill the entire 1 liter bottle.

We found that we prefer to measure a bit of syrup into a glass and then pour soda water on top. We just don't drink enough sweet drinks to go through a whole liter before it de-carbonates.

Other Uses

Honestly, I prefer the un-flavored fizzy water. Sometimes I enjoy a glass with a twist of citrus or splash of lime juice. Sparkling water makes for a great no-calorie drink.

And of course we also use the sparkle to make cocktails. Limoncello over ice topped with soda water is the most refreshing thing in the world. We top whiskey sours with soda water and mix cranberry liqueur with bubbles. Once our store bought tonic water runs out, I will experiment with making my own tonic syrup so that summer gin and tonics will have a lower environmental footprint.

Is It For You?

The basic SodaStream costs around $100. CO2 cartridges cost $30 for a new cartridge or $20 for a refill. As each cartridge lasts for about 60 liters, the cost of bubbles per 12-ounce glass is $0.12.

It's hard to adjust for the amortization of the initial $100 investment for the machine because I don't know how long it will last. The unit is simple with few moving parts so I expect it to withstand many refills.

We typically pay about 60 cents for a 12-ounce can or bottle of club soda. Even if the unit only lasts through two refills, the SodaStream will beat the price of store-bought club soda AND eliminate recycling or reusing the cans/bottles. Plus, there's no denying that pressing the button and buzzing the water full of air bubbles is fun!

Disclosure: SodaStream provided me with a Genesis Soda Maker, Sodamix Variety 12-Pack, and a half dozen bottles of SodaMix syrups. My opinions remain my own.