As much as I love to eat healthy, I have always had one weakness that has kept me from losing weight for years – soda. Back in middle school, I started this dirty habit, getting a soda a day from the vending machine, and many times skipping lunch so I could purchase one of my favorite beverages. Not only did it get worse as I got older, but very quickly took its toll on my checkbook. As I started researching more about the chemicals in these sodas, I was a bit more horrified, leaving me looking for an alternative at home that was cheaper, and more importantly, healthier. Eventually, my search ended when I learned about the Sodastream. From the moment I heard about this in-home carbonator, I wanted one, especially when I read how eco-friendly they systems were, helping every soda-loving household that owned one to shrink their carbon footprint.
Even though I have wanted a Sodastream for years, it wasn't until recently I was able to acquire one. Last month, Sodastream sent me their Genesis unit and a bunch of tasty soda flavors for me to review. Having been decided on purchasing one of these even before I got one for free, I also noticed there was little comparing the two most popular units – the Sodastream Jet and Sodastream Genesis.
Sodastream: What is It
So, what is the Sodastream? For those who haven't seen this spiffy little gadget, it is a compact, home beverage carbonation system that turns water into sparkling soda or soda water. Unlike the home systems of the past, it is meant to be simple to use and has almost no cleanup. The best part of all, however, is that the Sodastream is more convenient and cheaper than buying name brand soda. If you do the math, it is about .25 cents for 12 oz of soda, or .25 for a liter of soda water. By using the Sodastream, you can also reduce your carbon footprint by no longer buying disposable plastic bottles made from crude oil or paying the transporting costs for shipping huge shipments of bottles to the store and back. I love that the Sodastream drastically reduces pollution, while also giving me a bit more floor space in my fridge and pantry.
Sodastream: How it Works
While I had wanted a Sodastream for years, I had no clue how it worked until I got one. I thought it would be difficult, and was even begging my husband to read the instructions first. As it goes with most guys, he started experimenting and totally ignored the manual. In less than five minutes as I was panicking looking through the manual, he had the carbonator in the unit, cleaned soda bottles, and was preparing to make our first bottle of soda water. To make soda water, all you have to do is screw on the bottle, and push the carbonator button up and down repeal, until you hear three beeps. The whole process takes less than 30 seconds.
Even though you can use tap water, we never do in our household. We use the filtered water from our fridge. I think it tastes ten times better and gives a cleaner, refreshing taste to the soda. As well, it is important that you only carbonate water in the Sodastream – this prevents contamination and guarantees you can keep things clean. If you want to turn your carboninated water into soda, you pick your syrup, measure the amount required in the cap, pour it in the bottle, and gently shake. It really is that easy!
Sodastream Jet & Genesis Comparison
Before I got my Sodastream Genesis for review from Sodastream, I had planned on buying my own Sodastream. This is how I ended up with my Sodastream Jet. When I first went looking, however, I was overwhelmed by all the different models and had no clue what I wanted. For price reasons, I was between the Sodastream Jet and Sodastream Genesis. Both looked amazing, and when you put the cost difference on paper, there was really no difference in cost. In the chart below, I outline the major differences between both units. To learn more, make sure to check out the Youtube video I have below as well.
Sodastream Model Comparison
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Sodastream Jet
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Sodastream Genesis
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Price: $79.95 |
Price: $99.95 |
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Flavors: 6 Flavor Trial Pack |
Flavors: 12 Flavor Trial Pack |
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Bottles: 1 |
Bottles: 2 |
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Colors: Black, Red, or White |
Colors: Black or Red |
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Button: very top middle |
Button: Top front of unit |
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Bottle Placement: Unit tilts out and screw on with one hand. Releases pressure when tilted out again after carbonating. |
Bottle Placement: Screw on in a traditional manner to unit – allowing you to screw it on or off. Feel a bit more pressure when release bottle |
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Size: Taller & wider than Genesis |
Size: More Compact for Smaller Kitchens |
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Carbon Dioxide Container Size: 60L or 130 L |
Carbon Dioxide Container Size: 60 L |
Sodastream Flavors
Want to know what really makes the Sodastream worth every penny? You guessed it, the flavors! When I first saw all the different flavors for my Sodastream, I was truly overwhelmed. What really impressed me about all the flavors, however, was that they all were corn free, allowing my father in law – who has a corn allergy – to finally be able to drink any soda he liked. Not even counting the corn allergy, I also try avoiding purchasing things sweetened with corn because from what I have read, I think it is a very unhealthy sweetener! You can currently find just about any type of soda with Sodastream, many in different formulations from natural sodas flavored with cane sugar, to traditional soda flavors with a mix of sugar and Spenda, calorie-free Crystal Light varieties, and their newest line of Stevia products.
Of course, I wanted to try all the traditional flavors. The only thing that surprised me at first was that most of the traditional syrups are lower calorie since they contain Spelnda. Not being a huge fan of Splenda, I was found that most of the traditional flavors were very hit or miss, with my favorite traditional flavors being Cranberry Raspberry, Mr. Pete, and Fountain Mist (the Mountain Dew equivalent). My true love for the Sodastream didn't happen however until I tried the natural flavors. These flavors were made instead with all natural cane sugar, making them truly amazing and even better than Coke and Pepsi. Out of the natural flavors, however, I have to say my favorite is the Natural Ginger Ale. This soda is a bit sweeter than normal ginger ale and has a great, refreshing taste in my opinion.
Sodastream Overall
What do I think of the Sodastream? To be quite honest, I have no clue how I lived so long without it. I could never imagine just getting bottled soda again. For that matter, I don't even buy soda out anymore, preferring to go with lemonade or even water. As long as you drink soda in moderation and make healthy choices, the Sodastream is a must for every family. For this reason, I give it an A+ rating! If you would like to learn more about the Sodastream, make sure to check out the Sodastream website or the Sodastream Jet & Sodastream Genesis product pages on Amazon.com.
Disclosure: Budget Earth did not receive monetary compensation for this review, but did receive a Sodastream Genesis & flavors for review purposes from Sodastream. The Sodastream Jet, however, was purchased with our own money. All of the opinions on this blog are the opinions of said author and these opinions may differ from your own.
About Susan Bewley
Susan Bewley is a professional writer who has been writing content online & in print format for over 10 years. As well, she is an alumni of the University of Louisville with a Masters Degree in Special Education. When not working as an online business consultant or ghost writing, she can be found writing on Budget Earth, on her own novel, or working with various entities in the pet industry.
I've seen Sodastream demo at Wiiliams Sonoma and it puts the bubbles into any liquid. It's a lowcost way of having bubbly water and you can add subtle flavors like fresh lemon and make a beverage for special get-togethers and holiday dinners for a crowd.
We love seltzer water and this would be perfect for us. The kids like lemon lime soda and this would be perfect for them. Perfect item for our family
I have seen the commercials for the soda stream and even seened them in store but I had a few questions that the box nor commericals answered and in your review you answered my questions and make it really swwm as easy as the commericals Thanks for the true review
So glad I could help! I had so much trouble learning about the Sodastream when I first went looking for reviews so I wanted to make sure I answered all the question I had when I wrote the review 🙂
I want one of these so bad, we spend so much money on soda each day. Also, my husband prefers the natural sugar flavors as well, this would be a great option for our family.
I never know where the fill line is inside the flavored sryup..how much syrup do you use??
There really isn’t one. I have found that its most of the cap. Some flavors take a little more syrup though since it’s taste.
The idea of making your own soda on demand is an awesome thing. My sister has a SodaStream and she thinks it's great.
My step-daughter has one and loves it, but it is your thorough review that has put me over the edge – I am going to get one, too! I love soda (bad, bad!) but will feel much better about it health-wise and eco-wise with this unit.
Great review. We are big pop consumers here. I got one for Christmas and we all love it. I love all of the different flavors they offer.
So……………I've been wanting one too. For a little over a year now. After reading your review & seeing you have done all the research work for me; I'm ready to buy. My husband & I don't even drink soda. But we have 14 soda-drinking grandchildren. This would not only come in handy. They would think Nan Nan is even cooler than they think now! Wanna sell me one of yours? 🙂
My inlaws have already claimed our extra Sodastream. You may want to check Amazon, Meijer, or Bed Bath & Beyond. They always have the units on sale. 🙂
I like the idea of being able to control the amount of syrup myself. Most brands of regular soda are too sweet for me, and I don't care for diet soda.
The soda stream product looks interesting and fun and would love to have one of my own.
I can't stand artifical sweetners, I would be interested in trying the natural flavours though. That sounds yummy.
I want to try one out! I am seriously temptted to buy one because I do try to drink less pop and would like to reduce my carbon footprint. This seems like a happy medium- drink healthy brevages and less waste. I had no idea therre were different models.
My kids keep asking me to get us one of these.
Seems like a great product.
Thank you for the information about the SodaStream. I did want to give a warning since you mentioned a corn allergy. My daughter has a corn allergy and while I think the carbination may be safe the syrups are definitely not. If you look on the ingredients list for the cola for example:
http://www.sodastreamusa.com/TasteNutritionSparklingNaturals.aspx#
It has the following corn derived ingredients: Fructose, Citric Acid, Natural Flavor (And I'd suspect Tartaric acid but not so sure about that one.)
Hi Rose,
I’m the editor here at Budget Earth, and your comment caught my eye. My dad, Susan’s father-in-law, does indeed suffer from a corn allergy as well and as a family we’ve had to be cautious about sources of food additives for as long as I can remember. While we’re well aware that you can get fructose and citric acid from corn-based starter products, they are far from the only sources (you can take a look here and here – both list sources other than corn available). I can safely say that they have not produced the reactions (headache, nausea, GI upset) he suffers from ingesting even a tiny amount of the usual suspects (dextrose, modified food starch, etc) and in fact they have been a great pleasure for him as he has been largely unable to have soda for many decades. Based on that, I’m inclined to believe that Sodastream does not use corn products in their natural line of sodas. Tartaric acid is most likely from grapes or other fruit, as noted in the link there, so that is one less thing you should need to be concerned with.
While I can certainly understand your concern, assuming that the allergy is not life-threatening, it might be worth your daughter’s risk to try the natural sodas – as I said, for my dad they have been a rare pleasure.
Thanks for taking the time to write to us, and share your thoughts. We do appreciate it!
Daniel Bewley
Editor, BudgetEarth.com
What about the Sodastream Source. Reading the description, the bottles push on vs screw on. What is your take on this vs the Jet & Genesis?
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My husband received two Sodastreams for Christmas! He got a Genesis and a Jet. We are trying to figure out which one to return. Basically, I do not see much real difference other than price. Since I have not used either one, any suggestions on which one to return?
Personally, I would return the Genesis. Its not worth the extra money IMO and I love that it has the extra ‘guard’ that isn’t part of the more expensive model 🙂
Merci pour l’expédition rapide & livraison; recommandent vendeur! Chaussure mignonne de commutation !