Fizzing Fantastic. Whatever pre-conceptions you may have of the soda stream being dated or to be frank, naff, can be completely cast aside. SodaStream Play's design is almost retro, but with the mechanics of the machine compactly encased in a variety of block colours, that are guaranteed to match any kitchen, brings the look into the realm of contemporary. I have the yellow one, and it is so lovely and fresh in the flesh.
★★★★★
As with its design, the set up of the product is just as simplistic. Following its colourful and concise quick start guide, I was good to go within minutes using three straightforward steps. You are also re-assured of the product's safety measures (you must lay the machine flat in order to insert the CO2 cylinder, otherwise a safety gate will block it's entrance). Now for the fun part. BUBBLES!
Products that serve one purpose- in this case to make something fizzy, it is essential that they are brilliant at the basics. Pushing down on the front block sets off the process of turning water into fizzy water, and I must admit the first time I pushed the carbonating block, I giggled uncontrollably. Tasting my first batch of fizzy water, I was pleased that Sodastream can produce a lovely (and to your exact preferred level of fizz), clean fizzy water, and yes, it is brilliant at basics.
When you buy the Sodastream they give you 6 flavour samples. As I'm trying to avoid sugar at the moment I chose the diet cola to begin with, which you simply add to the now carbonated water to flavour it. Flavour and fizz still retained at day two and day three at which point I had finished the bottle. Yum.
The flavours they provide use natural cane sugar rather than high fructose corn syrup (HFCS, believed to encourage weight gain as our bodies struggle to metabolise the syrup), and are also low calorie and low sugar. As a comparison, a SodaStream cola has 35 calories and 8g of sugar, as opposed to a store-bought which has 100 calories and 27g sugar.
SodaStream offers a wide range of diet varieties, including the Free (no artificial sweeteners, flavours, colours, preservatives), and their Clear range. For a limited time only they also have Cocktail Caps containing 8 alcohol free cocktail flavours, which I also tried. My favourites being the Cosmopolitan and Mojito. A friend and I added a touch of tequila to the Cosmo and it was fab.
Along with the health benefits of producing your own home-made fizzy delight, 1 carbonator saves 180 aluminium cans or 40 bottles from being thrown away, and will provide you with 60L of fizz! By pre-cycling, rather than recycling, your soda stream bottle saves 2,000 bottles every year. Which is massive, considering one bottle will take 450 years to degrade.
With all its eco-friendly attributes, the fact it “does what it says on the tin”, tastes great, looks great, and the fact I can't fault the product- It has five stars from me.
SodaStream is available at Argos, The Range, Lakeland, Robert Dyas, Dunelm Mill, Ocado, Amazon, Selfridges, ASDA, Sainsburys and other retailers. £69.99.
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