Sodastream review & giveaway 5/15

Locomotion of Expressions SodaStream review & giveaway

I cannot say enough great things about the  SodaStream . What's funny is my best friend Courteney  got one, and before she even tried it, I was so skeptical about it. I seriously thought I wasn't going to like it- ... 
   at all! But when I am wrong, I am the first to admit it, and I was wrong. This little thing is so cool! 

       Definitely not good for my diet, but I just    steer away from the full sugar drinks and drink the diet and the zero they sent instead. As you can see, they sent me a bunch of syrup. Which I whole heartedly appreciated. In fact, doing some quick math, they sent me far more syrup than the Carbonator will actually make. Which is fine by me, since the carbonation costs $30, when you exchange the old one. Learn more about carbonation exchanges.

Some places like Bed, Bath & Beyond, accept trades for the cartridges. Mine has a sticker on it that says: "Push firmly and release quickly until you hear a buzzing sound 3 times. You have to push it about 3 times to get the buzzing noise, so about 6 times. If you ever do not put enough carbonation in it tastes like a flat coke. (Sorry, down south, SODA is "coke")
In addition, once I added the syrup before the carbonation, which is a big no-no, so I had to pour the syrupy water out and start over. Carbonation first, then syrup. It doesn't say why, but I assume that the carbonation stem would be too difficult to clean, and get clogged with the sugar.

Also just a tip, when using full sugared syrup in it, it helps to tilt the bottle and pour the syrup at an angle onto the bottle's plastic instead of "in" the carbonated water. If you do not heed this tip, it will bubble over all over your counter, and since the syrup is at the top, it pushes it out, then there isn't enough syrup and thus- the "coke" doesn't taste good at all.

They also sent "My Water Essence" which is a fruit flavor (no sugar/sweeteners whatsoever) to make an unsweetened flavored carbonated water. No one in the house likes them at all. I am the only one who will drink them actually.

Interestingly, the ZERO and DIET sodas do not fizz over if you pur the syrup directly onto the water.

The SodaStream could not be easier. Setup was only 1 minute. It took longer to get it out of the box, (which was really cute BTW) than it did to set it up. You just fill the bottle to the water line, which is clearly marked on the bottle, and screw it on to the SodaStream maker. Then, you push the button until you hear it buzzing loudly 3 times. Then unscrew it. Tilt the bottle and pour the syrup in slowly. The only issue I have with it is I was sent two bottles but one didn't have a lid on it, so it is virtually useless.
They do sell bottles on Amazon, stainless steel bottles, and even smaller mini bottles. This is helpful because that is the other issue I have. The bottles are so large and fat they are hard to travel with, and they do not fit in my cup holders in my car. Which means they roll around while I am driving, or I have to hold it between my legs, or have the kid hold it,. Then, the kids drinks it.

I do not really care for drinking "just water". So I am constantly making sweet tea, or going to the store to buy juices. Having this around is helpful because storing shelf stable juices can take up a lot of space. I love how on demand this is. My household doesn't drink that much soda, but I do adore this thing. I think it would make a great gift too, for that person who is so hard to shop for. The Sodastream has many makes and models and designs and colors.

Some of the other things that I like about the SodaStream is that it comes with a reusable bottle, does not require electricity, and obviously- you can make your own soda (and energy drinks), and there is a wide variety of flavors to choose from.

One bottle of flavoring is $4.99 to $9.99 and all you need for a whole 1 liter container of soda is a cap-full. So, even the flavors last a while. If I had to take a guess, I would say that one bottle of flavor can make about 10-15 1 liter bottles of soda and maybe even more...
My final 2 issues with the Sodastream, and none of these are a big deal really, is (1)the initial price. For a big-time soda drinker, it would be worth it. Luckily we didn't pay for it, but to buy one would run you 100$ to 200$ to buy everything (plus a few syrups).

(2) It is rather hard to judge on the "big bottles" of syrup just how much to put in. It is not clearly marked, and even then if you find the line inside the cap, it has come out too sweet or not sweet enough, as a basic rule of thumb though, I discovered, about a "shot" full. The line on the bottle of where to fill the water to, is a good judge of just how much syrup. What I mean is, the syrup and water should be as full as a "soda" you would buy in a store. Since the line is rather short of the top of the bottle.
This is only untrue when it comes to the  My Water Essence .  Do not EVER put more than a few drops of that, I poured 1/3 of the bottle in mistakenly, and it was undrinkable.

Here's what I thought about a few of the syrups.
The ONLY two I didn't like at all was the Black Currant & Pear, and the Energy drink. My BFF loves the  energy drink  though, but I don't care for most.
The one I loved most was the Orange and the Mountain Mist.
Their Coke tastes just like any other coke.
The kids liked the root beer the best.
And the Grapefruit/Raspberry drink, when you open it and smell it, it is amazing, you can tell it smells more like a grapefruit than a real grapefruit. The hubby loves grapefruit, so this is his favorite.

I really liked the Coke Zero too!
I loved the  Sodamix Variety Packs  because you know EXACTLY how much syrup to put in. No guesswork. Plus being that they are smaller, they are easier to store.
I especially loved that all models come with a 2 year warranty, and I love the little Penguin Sodastream that makes mini glass bottle cokes for you. So environmentally friendly. Imagine how many bottles you could save from being littered on our precious earth and save from landfills.


SodaStream is the world's largest manufacturer, distributor and marketer of Home Carbonation Systems. Our brands are sold in over 50,000 retail stores in 42 countries including home & electrical appliance stores, hypermarkets, supermarkets, department stores, convenience stores, DIY, specialty and "green" stores, water specialists & dealers, as well as online and in catalogs.

Our long standing and deep heritage dates back to 1903, when we introduced innovative solutions to the beverage market. We continue to grow as market leaders in both technological advancements and the quality of our products.

The SodaStream system enables consumers to carbonate water and to flavor carbonated beverages at home as an alternative to purchasing pre-packed bottles or cans. This has many important benefits to the consumer including cost savings and no hassle with bottles. 

I really love our SodaStream. It is a fantastic product. You can learn more about Sodastream by visiting here: Sodastream. Many fine retail stores sell the Sodastream including Bed, Bath, and Beyond, Bloomingdale’s, Costco, JC Penny, Kohls to name a small few. If you want to buy one, find a Sodastream retailer near you. I am lucky that one reader will win their own SodaStream genesis package. Included in this package, which retails for at least $100, will be:

• Fountain Jet Home Soda Maker
• 1 60 liter Carbonator
• 1 Carbonating Bottle
• 3 SodaMix flavors – each bottle makes 12 liters of soda
• Sodamix Variety 6 pack

           WIN YOUR OWN SodaStream!!!

Here's how. Follow the links below, to learn about and answer a few questions. Each task = 1 comment = 1 entry (unless otherwise stated).

22 different ways to enter, do them in any order you like! Pick & choose!

1. Say you want to win!
2. Visit the SodaStream blog, Ms Fizz and tell me something you read about there.
3. Which Sparkling Naturals do you think you would like (or not like) and why?
4. Helping you choose- which SodaStream is right for you?
5. Which of these Regular Flavors would you like/dislike and why?
6. Which of these Diet Flavors would you like/dislike, and why?
7. Sparkling Tea- have you ever had carbonated Tea? If yes which of these do you think you would enjoy?
8. How does SodaStream help the environment?
9. Read the FAQ tell me something you learned there.
10. Follow this blog publicly via GFC.
11. "Like" me on  Facebook ,  tell me your Facebook display name.
12. "Like"  SodaStream on Facebook  (3 entries, 3 separate comments),  tell me your Facebook display name. 
13. Follow  me on Google Plus , tell me your Google Plus display name.
14. Follow  me on Pinterest , tell me your Pinterest username.
15. Follow Sodastream on Twitter  @sodastream  (3 entries, 3 separate comments) whats your @username on Twitter?
16. Follow me on Twitter  @1caseycolette ,  whats your @username on Twitter?
17. Follow  me via NetworkedBlogs , tell me your Facebook display name.
18. Blog about this giveaway, please do not blog, on the last 2 days. Please share 1 picture, a link, ending date and a few sentences. Blog must be an active blog, not a "giveaway link" blog. (5 extra entries)
19. Tweet about this giveaway (may tweet 2x a day, 12 hours apart!) Tag me in the tweet as @1caseycolette and let people know what they can win, and when it ends. share the link to your tweet/details in the comments on this post! (If you need help with this, direct questions to my Facebook page)
20. Share this giveaway on Facebook and tag Locomotion of expressions in your comment. May do so 1x a day, share the link to your share in the comments on this post!
21. 3 Extra entries, grab a blog button off my sidebar and place it on your site. Let me know where I can find it.
22. Share this giveaway to a linky (any) 1x a day, must be a different linky each day, and tell me which linky, and a link to it.

That's it, good luck! This giveaway will end on 5/15/2012 at Noon Eastern!
I wish all of you the best of luck! Winner will have 48 hours to confirm receipt of winning email and respond to it by replying with shipping address. Blog is not responsible for prize fulfillment.
Thanks to the good folks over at SodaStream for proving us with this fabulous gadget, and for sponsoring this giveaway for you too!

Disclaimer: I did not received any monetary compensation for this review. I did receive a free product to try out so I could evaluate and use it for this review. My thoughts & opinions in this review are unbiased & honest and your opinions may differ.I am not responsible for delivery of any giveaway items won from this blog. We are not responsible for injury or mis-use of any products won from the Blog. Please read our Terms of Service & Disclaimer Policy before entering our giveaways. Thanks!