The SodaStream Fizz soda maker keeps the convenience of home soda making to a simple process using the Fizz Chip Technology to show CO2 bottle levels and levels of fizz in your soda bottle.
Ease of Use/Performance: 4.5/5
Convenience/Storage 4/5
Appearance/Design 4.5/5
How much I enjoy 5/5
Total: 4.5/5
SodaStream is a great at home soda maker system that carbonates the water and then allows you to add the soda or beverage syrup of your choice easily. SodaStream is an easy to use system that carbonates water using specially designed and heavy duty CO2 bottles and easy to install heavy duty plastic carbonation bottles.
SodaStream also has a wide variety of syrups and flavorings including new ones like Country Time and Crystal Light flavors and Sparkling Naturals. SodaStream has been working diligently to include new flavors and since my last review of a Soda Stream maker they have added several new ones.
The SodaStream works using all mechanical and pressurized parts with a CO2 bottle under pressure installed into the maker and dispenses carbonation into the SodaStream carbonating bottles. The carbonating bottles are a heavy duty plastic and are dated so that the bottles are thrown after use to prevent breakage due to the pressures of the carbonation.
The Fizz Soda Maker uses a Fizz Chip Technology to give you a small panel that displays the carbonation bottle level and the level of carbonation in the carbonating bottle you’re charging. The carbonating bottles screw onto the machine and flip forward and back using the lever toward the back of the maker on top readying the bottle for charging.
The lever on the front of the soda maker pushes down to charge the carbonating bottle which is displayed on the Fizz indicator. Three pushes of the lever carbonates the drink about average for a soda but you can use less or more carbonation simply by the number of lever pushes.
The SodaStream Fizz uses a small cup under the carbonating bottle to catch any water that fizzes out of the bottle when removing the bottle which can happen. When you carbonate the water and disconnect the bottle the pressure inside can cause some water to foam out of the bottle when you remove it but this happens more often when adding a syrup.
After you carbonate your water in the machine you then add syrup or flavoring to the water, never add flavoring or especially syrup or sugar to the water and try to carbonate it. Sugar will make the carbonation explode out of the bottle when you try to add it in so you always add the flavoring after the CO2.
The flavorings come in a few different types with straight flavors for unsweetened drinks like soda water and sweetened ones like normal soda. You also have some sparkling water drinks with natural flavors called Sparkling Naturals and brand name flavorings like Country Time and Crystal Light.
The Sparkling Naturals are much like the flavored waters you can buy at stores such as Wal-Mart with a small amount of flavoring and sweetener. These sparkling beverages are much lighter than sodas and really refresh when you’re thirsty and make a great drink for those hot summer days.
The flavorings from Country Time and Crystal Light are newer drinks that have been released that really add a name brand variety to the available choices. SodaStream has bottles of flavorings and soda mixes that make from six to twelve liters of drinks as well as smaller bottles of unsweetened flavorings that make about 20 liters of flavored water.
I really could not find a soda flavor that is in the grocery stores that soda stream does not have a matching one or one that is very close so there is a wide variety available. You can also create your own by making homemade syrup and use extracts or the unsweetened flavorings and mix and match the different ones to create your own unique sodas.
You can add syrup to the water or unsweetened flavorings as well if you want a lightly sweetened drink and find that the Soda Stream flavorings are too sweet for your taste. SodaStream also offers individual disposable packets of various drink mixes in variety packs of 12 that flavor the larger liter bottles.
You can buy accessories for your SodaStream with half and liter bottles along with replacement caps for both the half and liter bottles for the machines that take the plastic bottles. SodaStream offers a couple of machines that use fancy glass bottles and several models that use the half and liter size plastic bottles.
I have been using the SodaStream Fizz for two months and have had no problems with the machine, it is simple to use and even changing the CO2 bottles is easy. The SodaStream Fizz works well and makes a great at home soda maker that can save you the hassles of all those plastic bottles and cans.
I reviewed a SodaStream maker almost two years ago and figured the cost of making soda at home compared with buying name brand and more budget friendly sodas. Today just like two years ago the price was about the same for making your own soda compared with buying ones when you factor in the cost of the syrup and CO2 canisters.
I did not factor in the cost of the machine itself but with saving you the hassles of getting rid of those empty plastic bottles the factors weigh themselves against each other. I think the hassles of dealing with those empties, lugging garbage bag fulls of them to the recycling center is well worth the $150 or so that these machines cost.
I have another soda machine that worked well for the two years I have had it and the machines are warranted for the same two year period. I really enjoy making my own soda and getting rid of so many empty plastic bottles from my life really makes up for the cost of making my own.
I highly recommend the SodaStream Fizz as a great way to make your own homemade soda and get rid of all those empty plastic bottles.
Soda Stream Website
