Wednesday, March 13, 2013

SodaStream

So I've been wanting to talk about my SodaStream for a while because I'm kind of disappointed. And what else can I do about it except complain on the internet?

Also, there's not a lot out there about it. Probably because it's kind of relatively new.

SodaStream is a product that shoots carbonation into your water to make it bubbly. SodaStream also makes different syrup flavors to make your carbonated water into homemade soda.

The basis of the appeal of SodaStream is that it is better for the environment because you aren't buying soda cans and bottles. It's convenient, because you always have soda available. And SodaStream tries really hard to market the fact that it is also a healthier option, though I don't know if I'm going to fall for that.

The SodaStream "machine" (it doesn't use electricity, so I don't even really know what it is) works extremely well. The carbonated water is delicious, and it's nice to not have to buy it at the store.

And while there are a million different flavors (seriously, ranging from fruit to energy to cola to everything in diet and natural, etc.), most of them are disgusting. At least half of them. Colby and I hated tonic. We just threw it out immediately. I didn't like the cream soda, diet cola was okay, but none of the colas taste the same as any other cola-flavored sodas you can buy at the store.

My real complaint, besides the flavors that turned out nasty but there's no turning back now because we've already spent over $100 on this whole adventure, is the SPLENDA. SodaStream is really big on the fact that they don't use aspartame. But instead of real sugar (sucrose?) or aspartame, they use Splenda in every single one of their flavors, including the ones that aren't supposed to be diet. After I started getting headaches every single time I drank SodaStream concoctions, I found that this is a huge problem for me.

So, I have a few suggestions for SodaStream and the soda world out there.

  1. Customers should be able to sample soda flavors before they invest in the $80 and up machine. It's nice that 6 flavor samples do come with the purchase of the machine, but I think if I had known that SodaStream's diet cola tasted absolutely nothing like Diet Coke (which, as a good Mormon girl, I am absolutely addicted to), that would have affected my decision in buying this product.
  2. Mainstream soda companies, like Pepsi and Coke, should start selling their own syrups as an alternative to the SodaStream syrups. Sure, you can buy 5 gallons of Pepsi flavor for $80 on Amazon. But think of how great it would be if they just came in little bottles that were meant for home use and not restaurants!!! It would pretty much make my life five times better. I guarantee my quality of life would go up.
What sucks about suggestion #2 is that SodaStream pretty much picked a fight with Coca-Cola. Seriously. They started this -----------> type of campaign, a collection of the amount of soda garbage a family uses in five years. While effective, it featured lots of Coke cans. And Coca-Cola got severely pissed off about this.

And while I tend to side with SodaStream in that particular argument (Coke says the garbage belongs to them, SodaStream says they should be picking it up if the cans belong to them, and that makes a lot of sense), WHY DO THEY HAVE TO BE SUCH HUGE IDIOTS?! Coca-Cola is one of the biggest companies IN THE WORLD. If I had invented a machine that makes soda in the comfort of everyone's home, I would have immediately tried to get a huge-ass company like Coca-Cola on board. Think about it. Both companies would have benefited from a larger clientele. 

But no. Everyone has to go be stupid.

And that's why I dislike SodaStream.

22 comments:

  1. It might not be the Splenda giving you a headache...my daughter and I only drink the soda water plain...and we noticed that we both got headaches every time we drank it. We're not using it anymore.

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    1. That might actually be the quality of your tap water. Where I live, I exclusively use filtered tap water, because the water here is awful, and I rarely drink hot drinks or water anywhere else, but do drink mineral water regularly. I suggest, if you haven't already, that you invest in a good filter jug and cartridges, remember to change then every 4 weeks or however the instructions advise, and use that. Don't dismiss the Sodastream out of hand if you haven't tried doing that.

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    2. To qualify, I use the filtered water for hot drinks, it keeps the kettle clean from limescale and tea, coffee in your case, actually tastesike tea. Even though I obviously do washing up, I find that rinsing crocks and mugs do not entirely remove detergent and, besides, rinsing in tap water seems to add a film to the cups, which I can taste because of my hypersensitivity, so I use the boiled filtered water to re-rinse a cup/mug before use, which annoys my wife no end! But it works. That's my prediliction, I guess, and I offer no apology for it; I suggest you try that, too.

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  2. Me too! I just googled Sodastream & headache because every time I drink it, I get a headache. I thought I was developing migraine headaches. When I stop drinking it, the headache lasts about 3 days later anyway. I stopped drinking it completely, and I haven't had a headache ever since. Too bad, because I did like some of the flavors.

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  3. If you get headaches after drinking Splenda in other drinks, it might be an allergy to it. A friend of mine is allergic to artificial sweeteners. While Splenda causes the least amount of problems for her (in comparison to aspartame and saccharin), it still gives her headaches and, in excess amounts, nausea and dizziness.

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  4. I completely agree that Coke and Pepsi should have been marketing their syrups to Sodastream owners from day one. I've owned a SS since 2008 and I'm still waiting for that. Instead, they want to pretend like it doesn't exist. This head-in-the-sand tactic is deplorable. So typical of big business these days. Think about it. They could be selling us 12 oz of their syrup for $5 a bottle. That's a gold mine. They're stubborn fools for not jumping on that. It's a far better price point than they get from restaurants.

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  5. I really wish that I had found this sooner. I've been wanting and wanting a soda stream for about a year now... And my boyfriend finally got me one for Christmas! We opened it and started using it right away. I noticed the nausea first. Digestive issues were really evident today (about 4 days later?)

    Thats when I found out they use sucralose in EVERYTHING. I thought I was safe when I saw the sugar on the label. Who mixes that?!?!

    I'm one of those lucky people that has issues with all artificial sweeteners. I've already written to them BEGGING them to start making at least SOME syrups with just sugar, not the mix of the two.

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  6. I drink Spenda all the time in tea and it never gives me a problem, but Sodastream flavors give me a headache. I blame the food coloring. The same thing happens to me when I eat icepops. It's the food coloring, not the sweetener, at least for me.

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  7. Hi all just wanted to let everyone know that they do have a splenda free option now... about time... it's called "sprakling naturals" and you can buy it in select stores. Here's the article: http://msfizz.sodastreamusa.com/2010/09/28/introducing-all-natural-soda-flavors/ Nutrient Facts : http://www.sodastreamusa.com/TasteNutritionSparklingNaturals.aspx#

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  8. It would be nice if they made the entire Sparkling Naturals line available at stores like Walmart and Meijer. Unfortunately, those stores keep limited stock and only a couple flavors.

    It would also be nice if the Sparkling Naturals didn't cost $10 per 6 liters. That's an awful deal, SodaStream! A 2-liter bottle of soda is around $1.50, so 6 liters of pre-made soda would be around $4.50 -- You're essentially doubling our costs!!!

    I'd consider $6.99 a fair price. $9.99 for a bottle that makes 6 liters makes me want to buy BiB cola from Sam's Club, instead.

    Seriously, guys, this is price gouging. We DO have options. Don't scare us all away by pricing too high.

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  9. I agree with Nix Nightbird. I only buy the Sparkling Natural flavors as I do not like the SUCRALOSE after taste and it is not good for me or my kids. The Sparkling's are hard to find and there are only 3 or 4 different flavors. I've had my SS since '10 and am bout tired of the same 3 or 4 flavors. Natural OJ, limes, strawberries do no flavor the water enough for my kids. Please, SS, make more Sparkling Natural flavors. We shall see.

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  10. We got one for Christmas. No one has complained yet, and we like most of the flavors we've tried. I didn't like Cola and Dr. Pete. Root Beer is a favorite, as are the Oceanspray flavors. Haven't tried the natural syrups yet.

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  11. Soda stream is gross. We threw ours out. Headaches - ABSOLUTELY. Chemical taste and actually MORE expensive than just buying soda from the supermarket. This is the stupidest idea I've seen. I am shocked that many people have fallen for it. We got ours as a gift.

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  12. You can now get "Natural Light" flavors, i.e. no sugar, nor artificial sweeteners...

    Natural Light Pink Grapefruit, Natural Light Peach Pear, Natural Light Orange => http://www.sodastream.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=stevia

    Diet Cranberry Raspberry, Diet Grapefruit Pomegranate, Diet Orange, Diet Root Beer => www.sodastreamusa.com/Stevia-Flavors-C77.aspx

    For a commentary: http://www.city-data.com/forum/politics-other-controversies/1758835-fda-banned-stevia-not-safeguard-you.html

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  13. I hate artificial sweeteners, and I especially hate when manufacturers put half sugar and half sweeteners in a drink. Worst of both worlds.

    Having said that, there is a *technical* reason why SodaStream is putting Splenda into every flavor (except Naturals). The reason is, that they sell small convenient syrup packages, which mix with water at about 1:20. So you can really save on carrying those big bottles.

    However, standard fountain syrups (industry jargon: postmix syrups) are much less concentrated, they mix with water at about 1:5 to 1:7. The reason is that soda fountains need less viscous syrup to mix it with water in real time, but it would not feel like particular saving, if you have to trudge 1L bottle instead of 5L bottle...

    So, SodaStream has to make syrups very concentrated to make it worthwhile to use the machine, and this is impossible with sugar or HFCS - the syrup would be too thick for use due to amount of sugar needed.

    Therefore, they add just half the sugar and supplement the rest with sweetener.

    There is apparently "cane sugar" sodastream syrup cola variant on the market now, and it comes in much larger bottle, and yields less finished drink.

    Just my 5 cents.

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  14. Throw out the flavor packets and buy your favorite natural fruit juice. A 50/50 mix of juice and carbonated water from the SodaStream makes a healthy fizzy beverage that isn't sickeningly sweet or overly carbonated. In my opinion, the best thing about SodaStream is that you can drink as much (or as little) fizz as you want without worrying about flat beverages. Before my wife and I got the SodaStream we were buying carbonated water at the grocery store to make our 50/50 mixes. Whatever we didn't use within a few days became flat, so more often than not we were just mixing plain water with juice (and throwing lots of plastic in the recycling).

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  15. Hi Ally, nice blog and I agree on your points regarding Coke or Pepsi conglomerates. However, there is now much more to be upset about with Sodastream and the knuckleheads that totally screwed us.

    Excuse me, but now after all their repacking/reinventing the wheel, they now use Stevia. For me - a giant yuk factor besides ripping everyone off with less syrup that apparently you need to use more of. What especially ticks me off is there is no caffeine free diet cola - which is the only syrup I was buying. However, I wouldn't buy their new branded stuff anyway because it's not cost effective any longer.

    To explain: I bought two 20 oz paintball tanks and adapter so I wasn't getting taken by their expensive carbonators. I got my tanks refilled at Sports Authority for $3.50. I've used that set-up for two years and now there is no syrup I would consider using that this company is now producing.

    So, another obsolete 'thing' that is no longer sitting on my counter top. I used to feel good about reducing waste, etc. but now...SodaStream has me so angry I wish I could meet the bonehead(s) that decided to stop making the classic syrups. Have they lost their minds?

    I still make carbonated water for fresh fruit flavoring but my use is only maybe once a week now. I dislike being harsh but SodaStream is on my S**T list.

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  16. Sodastream has started to suck in recent months. I've written a post on my blog that you might want to check out and perhaps update for yourself. Instead of picking a fight with the big soda conglomerates, they've picked a fight with their own customers.

    https://fromthecapnspen.wordpress.com/2015/11/02/why-sodastream-is-starting-to-suck/

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  17. I get migraines, but when I got a sodastream, started for the first time in my life getting a 24-7 migraine for 2 wks straight and was NOT using sodastream flavors, only a splash of fruit juice or no flavor at all! I knew the timing of getting my sodastream coincided with the onset of this awful headache, but thought that *couldn't* possibly be it. I finally decided to stop using it, and headache gone 24 hrs later. Something in the propellant for the CO2 maybe that can trigger headaches? I don't know, but it's something, and not splenda, b/c i never touched the syrups or flavors.

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  18. I get migraines, but when I got a sodastream, started for the first time in my life getting a 24-7 migraine for 2 wks straight and was NOT using sodastream flavors, only a splash of fruit juice or no flavor at all! I knew the timing of getting my sodastream coincided with the onset of this awful headache, but thought that *couldn't* possibly be it. I finally decided to stop using it, and headache gone 24 hrs later. Something in the propellant for the CO2 maybe that can trigger headaches? I don't know, but it's something, and not splenda, b/c i never touched the syrups or flavors.

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  19. I'm glad I found this site... because I am a Ginger-ale-aholic and Canada Dry is making a mint off me.,.. so I bought a Soda Stream thinking I could make my own ginger ale.... anyway... tried it out for the first time - after 2 glasses of PLAIN carbonated I have a severe headache. I NEVER get headaches from the soda I purchase at the store. Maybe the injected CO2 is not the same as the CO2 in the store bought soda. Bottom line.. I'm returning it.

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  20. The blog is absolutely fantastic. Lots of great information and inspiration, both of which we all need. Thanks.sodastream cola

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