My kids bought me a Sodastream Fizzi for Christmas – and so I thought I would share what I think about it! Here is my Sodastream Fizzi Review:

During this time of staying at home, we have been trying to be more self-sufficient and make fewer trips to the grocery store.  As my children know, I am always thirsty for icy cold water and slightly fizzy mineral water.  I feel really self-indulgent when my refrigerator is stocked with fancy mineral waters and bottled water.

When we moved to our new in-town century home from the country, we suddenly were blessed with weekly recycling pickup.  It was then that we realized we were using more than the neighbourhood’s share of plastic.  Our recycling bins were overflowing and shameful.

Reducing Plastic Water Bottles with a Water Filter

At Christmas I received a Pur water-filter as a gift. I reviewed it here – and I can say that we still use it faithfully, to filter lead and other minerals from our tap water. The only issue that we have is keeping the water filter full and cold for me, but room temperature for my husband.  So we have been filling a glass picture from the Pur filtered water for me – and leaving the Pur filter out on the counter for my husband.  DOMESTIC BLISS!

SodaStream 

Sodastream Fizzi

As I said, I also enjoy just slightly fizzy mineral water.  Soda water, tonic water and other types of sodas are too fizzy for me. I enjoy water that “sparkles” just a little. The kids also gave me a Sodastream FIZZI water carbonation system for Christmas.  It’s a small appliance that allows me to use tap water and inject it with a bit of carbonation, and flavouring, and create my own sparkling beverages. It came with one refillable plastic water bottle that I keep in the refrigerator, one CO2 carbonation canister, and the kids also bought me a Grapefruit drink mix.  The boys had travelled all over town trying to find the right Sodastream versions, as there are several. One of my sons augmented the gift by buying himself a Root Beer drink mix. (I cannot stand Root Beer).

Fizzi One Touch Sparkling Water Maker

There are over 40 different flavours of concentrated drink mixes sold by Sodastream – including regular and diet versions, and you can buy naturally sweetened or caffeine free mixes. According to Sodastream, the mixes do not use high-fructose corn syrup of aspartame.

Being a bit of curmudgeon, at first I thought, I’m not going to use that thing, and also, there’s another appliance to keep on my countertop. I found however, that the FIZZI has a nice slim profile to it, and fits nicely on my counter under my floating shelves. (It’s just under 17 inches in height). It doesn’t use electricity – so it doesn’t need to plug in, which is a bonus.

Sodastream was founded in England in 1903 and was relaunched with an emphasis on healthy drinks in 1998 after merging with Soda-Club. It’s shares were traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange beginning in 2010. It’s headquarters are in Lod Isreal, and distributes products in 45 countries. SodaStream was aquired by Pepsico in 2018 and has now added Pepsico Flavours to it’s repertoire.

My Sodastream FIZZI carbonates water by adding carbon dioxide from a (replaceable) pressurized cylinder (CO2 cartridge) into a bottle filled with tapwater.  (I use filtered tapwater). When I first started to use the FIZZI, I put too much water in the refillable bottles and constantly spilled all over my counters. I also found the instructions hard to understand. There were labels here and there on the product telling me to push the button a certain way – but I didn’t spot these without my reading glasses. One of the boys finally showed me, that you put the bottle in the FIZZI, press the button and hold- and repeat 3 times. Once I got the hang of that it was SUPER-easy. (The old dog is finally learning a few new tricks).

SodaStream Flavours

If I want to make my beverages more carbonated, then I repeat the process a few more times. Optionally, you can add a cap-ful of the concentrated drink flavour mixes. As I said, the boys had given me the grapefruit flavoured mix – and it was nice, but a bit too sweet. Honestly I just like the sparkling water on it’s own – AND – I put in a squeeze of lemon or a splash of lemon juice, and then it’s exactly how I like it.

My son tried his root beer concentrated flavour, and said it tasted authentic – but he didn’t rave about it. I’m not sure my kids would really use this to replace their favourite flavour of name-brand beverages. The verdict is still out on that. I found that the root beer scent stayed in the plastic refillable Sodastream bottle – I have been rinsing and washing it forever.

The FIZZI came with one reusable bottle and lid – to store each carbonated beverage. I immediately went out to the store and bought a few more of these plastic bottles. I like to filter water with my PUR filter, and then make a few bottles of sparkling water to put in the fridge every morning – particlularly now that’s it’s approaching summer.

SodaStream Refillable Bottles

The refillable bottles are BPA free (which is wonderful) and store easily in the side of panels of my refrigerator door. I am disappointed that they are not dishwasher safe and should not be washed in very hot water. I am just not a plastic bottle fan, as they do retain the scent of whatever was mixed before, and I love to superheat everything in the dishwasher. So I am ordering a few glass canisters now!

SodaStream Review – Conclusions

So my thoughts on SodaStream? I definitely use it, but not the flavour mixes. I thought my young adults would be mixing all kinds of fancy beverages with it – but they have made very few – even during our quarantine time of sitting around in the house! It seems to be a mom only appliance – but that’s OK isn’t it? I am definitely needing to buy fewer beverages from the supermarket, and there are fewer bottles in the recycling bin. That’s a small win then for using less plastic and buying less from the stores! I love my Sodastream – THANKS FOR THE GIFT BOYS! CHEERS!

You can buy Sodastream products in stores like Walmart, Bed Bath and Beyond, or Canadian Tire, directly from Sodastream or from Amazon. This page contains affiliate links for which I may receive a small commission.

Is it worth buying a SodaStream?

If you enjoy having fresh sparkling water on hand and you don’t mind having another appliance on your counter – then yes!

Is SodaStream cheaper than buying carbonated water?

Yes, depending upon how much you consumer, and which type of water you purchase. If you purchase 60 liters of soda water for $1.20 each – you will pay $72.00. If you purchase a CO2 cylinder with an exchange of the old canister – the cost for me today is about $35.00.

Is SodaStream healthier than carbonated water?

It might be – depending upon what you put in it. If you are making flavoured, sugary beverages – then maybe not – you would have to look at your ingredients. I use filtered tap water with a spritz of SodaStream CO2 and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Storebought sparkling water may have minerals added – possibly calcium, sodium and magnesium. Club Soda may have been infused with mineral salts to enhance its taste and fizz. These include potassium sulfate, sodium chloride, disodium phosphate, and sodium bicarbonate. My math tells me that one liter of Club Soda may contain about 210 mg of sodium.

My personal opinion is – less ingredients is more, but that’s just me.

How long will SodaStream refill last?

The literature tells me that one refill (C02 canister) will make about 60 liters of sparkling water, and therefore could last about 8 to 9 weeks – if you use one liter of water per day. Personally, I like to drink just a lightly “sparkled” water – with just one squirt of gas to give a crisp flavour. People wanting that “sodapop” flavour and zip would probably pump the gas much more – and so the refill would last a shorter period.

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