Sodastream

While I was driving to Chick-fil-A for breakfast the other day, I was listening to the Jack Diamond Morning Show when I heard an advertisement for the Sodastream. Immediately, I was interested. I love soda. I hate the fact that everything at the grocery store for the most part has High Fructose Corn Syrup or Aspartame in it. It's not so much that I buy into the hype about those sugar substitutes being bad for you, but moreso that whenever I ingest either with any large quantity, I tend to feel like crap.

So I looked into and noticed that all of their syrups were free of HFCS and Aspartame, and instead used Sugar and/or Splenda. Furthermore, their line of Naturals, which releases in May, has no artificial sugars, colors or flavors at all. That piqued my interest considerably more.

I began reading reviews, and noticed a few things. First, the ever present people who vote 1 on a product for dumb reasons. Second, people that commented that there was Aspartame and High Fructose Corn Syrup in the mixes, when there wasn't (perhaps the recipe has changed? Still, not valid complaints). Third, people were complaining that they were having difficulty swapping out the Carbonator because it is a proprietary design. Lastly, people complained that they didn't like the syrups that Sodastream had available.

The third concern was enough to give me pause. If I fell in love with the thing, and couldn't get syrups for it, I would be tremendously disappointed in the long run. So I tabled the thought - at least for now - and headed off to Bed Bath and Beyond, not intending to pick it up until the reviews for it were more consistent.

I came across the Sodastream endcap at Bed Bath and Beyond, and noticed that they had a sign there regarding the Carbonator. Apparently, BB&B offers a swap service on the Carbonators, so I wouldn't need to send them off to Sodastream like some people had complained. Realizing that this wouldn't hinder me, and that we had a 20% off coupon, I decided to take a gamble on whether or not I liked the flavors.

We rushed to get it all assembled so we could try it out when we got home, and I learned a few things that I didn't realize before about it. First, I guess I assumed it needed to be plugged in to work, but it actually doesn't, the Carbonator does everything. Second, it doesn't require cleaning, as all it does is make carbonated water - you add the syrup to the water bottle. Third, because of this, you can control the amount of fizz and syrup in every bottle. I intend on trying it out with the MiO Water Enhancer, and Crystal Light Pure Flavors that I typically use to make water more palatable. Of course, it's also good for making Selzer water for those alcoholic beverages too!

All in all, my only real complaint is that the bottles that come with it are not dishwasher safe, which is a bit inconvenient. I understand that there are glass bottles available that are, but I didn't see them at the BB&B. But when I got it, I assumed it would be a lot more "work" to make soda than it actually was, and that the machine would need to be cleaned between uses as well, so all in all, I am pretty darned happy.