If you like fizzy drinks or you’re a fan of sparkling water, then you’ll likely be buying it by the bottle-load at the moment to last as long as possible until you absolutely have to brave the lockdown supermarket queues.
There is another way: make your own at home. Carbonating water using CO2 – carbon dioxide – is quick and simple with a counter-top machine such as the humble SodaStream.
Just fill a bottle with tap water, press the button on top a few times depending on how carbonated you like it, and bingo, you have fresh sparkling water.
Add a slice of lemon or even some cordial and you’ve got a tasty drink that’s considerably healthier than a sugar- or sweetener-filled fizzy beverage.
It’s also far better for the environment as you can reuse the plastic bottle that comes with a SodaStream indefinitely. Well, until its expiry date at least. Given that each cylinder carbonates up to 60l of water, that’s a lot of single-use plastic bottles that you’re not buying and recycling or – worse – disposing of.
Having sparkling water available at the touch of a button is a great incentive to keep hydrated as well, and a SodaStream has a tiny footprint so should be easy to accommodate on your kitchen worktop.
To actually make sparking water with a SodaStream you fill the bottle to the line with tap water. Though, if you prefer, you can fill it from a jug of filtered water if you have one.
Insert it into the machine at an angle so the spout is just below the water level and push it home so it’s vertical. Now press and hold the button on top for two seconds and release. Do this three times for light carbonation and five times if you prefer more fizz.
If you want to make lemonade, cream soda, cola and other classic flavours you can buy packs of these from SodaStream and add these once the water is carbonated.
There are three machines in the range. The Classic is completely manual, but for a bit extra there’s an electric model which more precisely carbonates water to various levels. The Crystal version takes glass carafes, for those who want a touch of luxury.
Best SodaStream deals
If you’ve been considering buying a SodaStream, here are the best current deals we can find.
The deepest discount is from Currys PC World. A Spirit (the classic, non-electric) SodaStream machine would ordinarily set you back £99 but you can currently buy it from Currys online for £69.99, saving you close to a third of the RRP. Along with your machine, you’ll get a carbonating cylinder and a compatible 1-litre bottle.
The same retailer is also selling a twin pack of 1-litre carbonating bottles for £9.99, down from £11.99.
If you buy direct from SodaStream, you can get a deal on the Hydration Pack. This is essentially a machine-plus-extras bundle deal. It ordinarily retails for £132.96, but you can currently get it for £99.99. It includes a classic Spirit machine, a carbonating cylinder, two compatible 1-litre bottles, two 0.5 litre bottles and two bottles of SodaPress flavouring syrup (lemonade and raspberry & mint). You’ll also get free delivery and a two-year warranty.
Also on the SodaStream site, you can get a similar bundle deal on the Spirit One Touch (the electric version of the machine) for £129.99.
SodaStream also has a deal on the Crystal (the glass bottle version) for £149.99 but if you’re interested in buying this machine, you can get it at a better price from John Lewis online. For £129.99, you can buy the Crystal Mega Pack, which includes the Crystal machine, a carbonating cylinder and three compatible glass carafes. (All that’s missing from the SodaStream bundle deal is two bottles of flavoured syrup, but it’ll save you £20.)
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Via Techadvisor