On Tap with Sodastream Source Metal Edition Review. Are you a big soda or seltzer, sparkling water drinker? Sodastream allows you to make your own at home! The Sodastream Source Metal not only makes great fizz, it comes in an anodized brushed aluminum tower to compliment any modern home or office kitchen area.
I gave up drinking soda ages ago and have since converted to drinking seltzer, sparkling water. It took sometime to get fully used to it, but now I crave it and like soda can become extremely expensive to purchase 12 packs of all the time.
The unit measures 12 x 6 x 18 inches so it should fit under most kitchen cabinets that are mounted to spec. It weighs 12 lbs so it is fairly stabile on it’s own on a table or countertop. Comes in Black, Blue w/ blue alum, Red w/red alum, White. The Sodastream Play offers the same great design sans the anodized aluminum shell.
What’s in the Sodastream Source Metal Edition box?
The Source Metal Edition Starter Kit in Black comes with the Source Sparkling Water Maker, BPA-free Reusable Carbonating Bottle, a variety pak featuring 6 flavors and a 60L CO2 Carbonator that makes up to 60L of sparkling water. The plunger portion and back cover are glossy black resin plastic so it wipes up nice and contrasts nicely against the anodized brushed aluminum housing.
The 60L carbonation bottle for 1 person may seem like it lasts for ages depending how often you use it. For 2 people seemed to last throughout the month quite easily at a liter a day give or take. Have a house of 4 or have some company over throughout the month to entertain and you’ll find it’s best to purchase a second bottle to swap out when you need to run and get your tank refilled.
Refills typically are around $15-$20 at your local retailers while an extra 60L bottle runs about $35-$45 depending where you purchase it. They even offer twin packs and high capacity 130L CO2 canisters now. Extra bottles run $14.99 to $19.99 for individual and twin packs. There’s even a Stainless Steel Carbonating bottle and Glass Carafe if you prefer a glass bottle.
How to use the Sodastream Source
The Sodastream unit uses the 60L CO2 canister to inject the carbonation into your plain water. The operation is about as simple as can be. Insert the top of the bottle into the receptacle area, crank it forward then depress the plunger. There are a series of segments that make up the entire circle and once you pendulum the bottle forward (it hinges at the top) the plastic segmented teeth then clamp down around the mouth of the bottle.
Inserting the CO2 bottle is very easy. Open the glossy back cover and remove. Take your CO2 bottle, unwrap seal, and screw it up into the receptacle. Twist till you have it properly seated and replace the rear cover.
The shrieking noise that you hear typically means that the pressure is reaching or has reached capacity and it squeals or shrieks which can be a little loud. This holds true for the Sodastream product line by design and the process expels the extra CO2 when it cannot pressurize the water any further.
Other models require you to twist the bottle in to seat it, which can help with escaping pressure from a not so tight seal when pressurizing water. It seemed to work a bit better. That said, we have not experienced any problems thusfar after about 90 days of usage. Make sure to only fill the provided BPA free plastic liter bottle with water to the fill line. Do not try to re-fizz already flavored or sugary liquid as it may have the potential to make a sticky mess.
There are 3 levels of fizz you can add. Press and hold the plunger down until the water droplet LEDs lights up, release and then repeat. The LEDs will light up at each level letting you know the bottle is at it’s capacity for pressure. Typically you just go for the gusto and use full fizz force at 3 bars.
It’s not just Soda
Sodastream offers a wide array of soda flavoring and have partnered with companies like Country Time, Kool-Aid, Ocean Spray, V8, Crystal Light, mywater and house blends to bring you a broad selection of flavors to suite your individual tastes. Comes in Caps form, 8-pack for individual 1 liter bottle flavoring or a 16.9 fl oz bulk bottle which makes 50 servings for $5.99 – $9.99.
Root Beer, Cherry Cola, Kiwi Pear, Passionfruit Mango, Lemonades, Cranberry, Raspberry, Orange Mango, Peach Iced Tea, Green Tea, Pineapple Grapefruit, Kool-Aid Cherry/Grape and more… You name it, they’ve probably thought of it. I recommend trying out the Ocean Spray Cranberry Raspberry and V8 Splash Berry Blend. I prefer the naturally sweetened flavors myself, devoid of any artificial sweeteners, they always taste odd to me, like diet soda.
Sparkling water makes a great alternative to soda with a huge variety of flavors to choose from. If you’re a soda drinker you’ll love the “On Tap” soda experience at your fingertips. The Sodastream Source Metal Edition not only saves you time and money, it’s fun to use and looks great in any modern kitchen; a great holiday gift for the dad or the bachelor pad.
Sodastream Source Metal Edition starter kit available for $129.99
from www.SODASTREAMUSA.com
