I recently saw a homemade soda machine at Walmart and I got interested because it claimed it was healthier than store bought soda. It was also 80$ for the machine and you would have to buy refill CO2 bottles and the syrups. I didn't notice the price on the syrups but they did come in all the classic and not-so-classic sodsa flavours. I was attracted to the machine because their flavourings were made with real sugar and not high fructose corn syrup. Anyone own one? Tell me everything. I'm a very occasional soda drinker. But I hate HFCS. I would much rather drink sugar. But at this price I cannot see buying this on a whim.
The Sodastream looks cool but I'd rather just pour some Torani flavor syrup into club soda than buy a machine for $80 to make soda. Buying refills of syrup and CO2 means the machine isn't just $80, it's an ongoing expense. It's not worth it to me to buy a machine that requires you to keep buying more stuff.
Yeah! I agree at least for me, it wouldn't be a good buy. But I'm sure for some soda drinking families out there the SodaStream could actually benefit them. Even with refill CO2 tanks, my guess is that you could reduce your soda budget quite a bit. The flavour bottles weren't that expensive for the volume of soda you could produce.
Soda isn't the best choice for a beverage, but if you're going to drink it, at least you can control what goes into it if you make it yourself. An alternative to the soda machine could be plain carbonated water with your own flavoring added. Even better though is to pass, and cut back on soda. Water or a nice cup of green tea is very refreshing!
Cola can be purchased for like 50 cents to a dollar now so I don't see how practical it is to spend all this money and put all this effort into it. It won't nor can it be any healthier because it is still the same ingredients one way or another.
I'd be more inclined to buy it if the major soda companies actually supported it by providing their syrups to go with the machine. They could capitalize on the old soda jerk nostalgia thing and the machine could be re-designed to look more like an old fashioned fountain machine.
I saw a video for this soda machine in Office Depot. Of all places! It really looks interesting. Fortunately, I gave up soda, but it's a great way to make relatively healthy soda since you control what goes in it.
I have heard others say that sodastream is a good alternative from buying canned soft drinks. When you look at the price of the unit, as well as the flavor refills, you will have to personally do the math on if this will really be saving you money. You would have to consuming and buying soda very often in order for the savings to come out in your favor. Also you can factor in the quality of ingredients since the flavors do use real sugar instead of the chemicals that bottled and canned soft drinks use.
This thread has me seriously considering buying one of these. Can anyone recommend, hands down, the best one out of those mentioned/any not mentioned? I don't want to go over 100 dollars for this, an entry level machine would be great.
On what basis is it healthier than store bought soda? Soda is made from sugar of some form, table sugar is bad for you but probably slightly better than high-fructose-corn-syrup. I would avoid making your own soda because it's not good for you.
I don't drink soda at all, so I wouldn't be purchasing this. But if it is a little healthier, then it might be worthwhile for those who can't give up pop.
I have not tried this machine, but if you did buy it, I would be interested to read what you think of it. I wonder if there is a follow-up to this thread?? At any rate, I drink my fair share of soda. I guess this product is trying to appeal to consumers like me. I guess what they are trying to say is that the initial cost of buying this machine is going to be far less than all of the continuous costs that you will incur if you continue to buy canned or bottled soda. I have seen the advertisements about this machine, but have not really listened indepthly to what is being said. I don't know if they are trying to say that making your own soda is healthier than buying it from a store, or just touting the cost-effective aspect of it. Like I said, I would be really interested to know what you think about this machine if you did purchase it.
I'm cutting back on soda big time, so I know I won't be buying a SodaStream anytime soon. But I would really love to hear about someone's experience with the thing. It sounds like it could be a money-saver for the big soda drinkers. But I like the fact that when I have a soda, it's a treat. If I had a machine, I feel like I would use it way too often. And I really don't like soda that much. I prefer an unsweetened iced tea! But I'm still super curious. This just seems like a good idea and I can't believe it took someone so long to come out with a machine.
Torani flavor syrup and club soda is definitely the way to go! You will probably never use that soda machine as much as you think you will. Flavor syrups last a long time too so a small bottle really goes a long way.
I won't lie, I REALLY want to try out this homemade soda machine stuff. Every time I see the commercial I get this slight sense of envy over everyone else that actually has one of these. I don't drink soda much, but I do once in awhile. And it would be nice to "have my own"
Where do you buy the flavour syrup you mentioned in your post? Is this something I can buy in stores or do I need to order it from like amazon or something? I'm looking for the best price.
