REVIEW: SodaStream Fountain Jet

As part of my Home Beverage System Reviews I really wanted to add one of the SodaStream so I contacted them directly and asked for the opportunity. The world is full of coffee lovers, tea lovers and the like. However, as much as I enjoy those beverages, I have an undeniable love of carbonated drinks. There is something about the fizzing and fuzzing that I can never get enough of.

It is my utmost pleasure to introduce the readers of Unconditional Mom to the SodaStream Fountain Jet. It’s available in white, black/silver and red to match any kitchen decor. Even better is it’s slim in design. It won’t take up more than 6″ counter-top space; very nice!

Now let’s get to the really good stuff!

When I received the SodaStream Fountain Jet I immediately took it out of the box. I looked around for a cord and/or battery compartment and realized it didn’t have one. This not only made me undeniably curious, but thrilled - no electricity needed! It works independently and that, for all of us who don’t like having to figure out where to plug something else in at, was an added to bonus for what else was to come.

I briefly read the instructions, but came to the conclusion that it wasn’t really necessary - it was easy to set-up! Thus far, my experience with it, was nothing short of, “Hmm, this is definitely impressive!”

Along with the SodaStream Fountain Jet came the CO2 needed to make the best part of anything that fizzes. I simply took the wrapping off from around the top of the CO2 tank, removed the casing of the Fountain Jet, and screwed the tank into place. All you have to do is snap the casing back into place and you’re ready to make your first, made-at-home, soda.

SodaStream also comes with 2 (two) plastic bottles that have a specially made cap designed to keep your homemade soda’s fresh; losing less carbonation. I filled the bottle up, to the specified line on the bottle, with water and twisted the bottle onto SodaStream Fountain Jet.

I pushed the button, that is on top of the Fountain Jet, 3 (three) times which released 3 (three) shots of CO2 into the water. It was fun watching the bubbles form in the bottle and confirming that everything was working properly. I then unscrewed the bottle from the Fountain Jet and realized I now had to chose which flavor I wanted to make for my first-ever homemade soda. It was a sincerely difficult decision for me to make as there are a lot of options…

Did I want Diet Cola? Cranberry Raspberry? Orange? Lemon? Lemon Lime? Diet Root Beer? Ginger Ale? Fountain Mist? Diet Pink Grapefruit, or one of the other 13 flavors? Or…

Did I just want fruit-flavored sparkling water? They have orange, berry and lemon-line. Oh the decisions! This wasn’t easy just for the record. Had I had enough bottles I would have made one of every kind.

I settled on the Diet Cola as that’s what I drink at home, on a regular basis, and wanted to compare taste as well for this review. Following directions I poured the flavoring up to the line on the cap and added it to my carbonated water.

That was it… I had made my homemade soda and it looked great! For a moment, I felt as if I was some unknown soda-making professional that was keeping a huge secret from the outside world. But would it taste equally as good as it looked?

*pause for dramatic effect*…

It was definitely tasty! I was thoroughly impressed as I truly thought it would taste more like a generic version of some of the major brand soda’s on the market, but it didn’t. The taste was surprisingly refreshing to say the very least and that made it a pleasant surprise.

So what’s my overall opinion on the SodaStream Fountain Jet?

It’s easy to use and oh-so-cool! Those I have shown have been really impressed with how fast I can make up a bottle of soda for them in a matter of minutes. And it costs less than if I had gone to the store to buy a soda from the grocery store. Let me not forget to mention that I also didn’t have to lug a heavy bottle or case home; or add yet another plastic bottle into a landfill somewhere nearby. Who can complain about that?

After a few uses I have now cleverly dubbed myself the soda-making guru, but I’m just witty like that.

Value:

It’s just 25 cents per can of soda and 25 cents per liter of sparking water. A 20 ounce bottle of soda cost me $1.39 the other day at a grocery store. You can do the math from here.

Environmental:

One SodaStream carbonator makes 60 or 110 liters, equivalent to 170 or 310 aluminum cans! When empty, the carbonator is refilled and reused, ready to make more fizzy and tasty soda whenever you want it. And again - no more plastic bottles as you continue to reuse the plastic bottles that come with the SodaStream.

Nutrition:

	Calories	Carbs	Sugar	Sodium	Caffeine
Pepsi®	100	27g	27g	25mg	25mg
Coca-Cola®	100	27g	27g	35mg	23mg
SodaStream Cola	34	9g	9g	2mg	15mg
7-UP®	100	26g	26g	50mg	0mg
Sprite®	100	26g	26g	45mg	0mg
SodaStream Lemon Lime	36	9g	9g	25mg	0mg

All SodaStream regular sodamix uses a mixture of Splenda® and sugar. Diet flavors are sugar-free, sweetened with Splenda® brand sweetener. Comparison is based on 8 fl. oz. serving size (0.34 fl. oz. of SodaStream sodamix per 8 fl. oz. of water).


Disclaimer: Due to the FTC regulations it is my duty to disclose that I received one SodaStream Fountain Jet along with several soda flavors to test for review purposes.