To be honest, I am not a big fan of carbonated drinks to begin with and I normally don’t drink sodas because I always think they fill your stomach with gas and take away room from the yummy food. I also dislike that constipated gassy feeling of wanting to burp but couldn’t. My perception, however has changed with the newly launched SodaStream home soda maker that I was fortunate enough to test out from their product launch event.


The soda maker has different models to choose from. I have the Source maker starter kit. It is fairly light and compact so I brought the kit over to a friend’s house party and thought it would be fun to try it out together as a group. Everything you need is stored in its original box, a 60L carbonate cylinder, a box of 9 sample soda mixes (Cherry Cola, Ginger Ale, Orange Mango, Orange Grapefruit Sport, Superfruit Pomegranate, Tonic, Diet Tonic, Diet Lemon Lime, Diet Root Beer) and a BPA free bottle that keeps your drink fresh and fizzy. I’m actually quite surprised that it is so simple to assemble. No electricity involved and a cool slick design to add onto the kitchen counter without commanding too much space. Just a few pumps from the maker and watch the bubbles set free in your water. Not to mention, now you don’t have a mountain of plastic bottles going to waste that will harm the planet!


Here is a short video I put together illustrating how easy it is to make your own soda at home. All in a few quick steps.

{Photo Credit: Martha Stewert}

Now, taste-wise, I like the fact that the maker allows you to add the level of fizziness to your drinks. Easy to adjust the sweetness according to people’s taste preference. The intuitive LED light design on the front lets you know how strong the fizz is and how much you are adding into your drink. If you want more fizz just add more pumps. Simple as that. The sodas also don’t taste awfully sweet with its lower sugar content and definitely lighter and healthier alternative to the store-bought ones.

So far, I’ve tried the Orange Mango, Pomegranate and Orange Grapefruit flavours. They all tasted natural with no artificial after taste. All you need to do is add the mixes to the soda water after you’ve “fizzed it”. I’m definitely going to explore more flavours and mixes in the future, and possibly make my own syrups (love the endless possibilities)!

The only downside I find is that you have to purchase the carbonators once it runs out. These things can be costly. Thoughtful enough though, you can purchase the refills for half the price less on their website (about $15). The maker itself costs around $150 depending on the model but you’ll probably save more money in the long run if you drink a lot of sodas on a daily basis.

Thanks to SodaStream, I’ve started to drink my sodas again. I never knew making sodas can be this easy and fun!

Happy soda-making!

{No more plastic bottles!}

{Set the bubbles free}

Some behind the scenes during the house party with the soda maker: Here and here.