SOFT DRINK NIRVANA - SodaStream Review and Giveaway

Ah, nostalgia. Sweet memories that bring the happiness you felt to the present moment. When I was very young, my Dad had a pharmacy that he built from the ground up. He had always wanted to go to medical school to become a doctor, so being a pharmacist and being able to advise and help the local customers, was a dream come true for him. He loved it. I loved the soda fountain he had! He actually made his own ice cream and I made ice cream sodas, lime rickeys and cherry cokes for the customers. I could barely see over the counter but this was so much fun. And you got to mix up whatever you wanted. Which brings me to my review and giveaway today:

I've been wanting to try the Sodastream for quite some time and I have to say it surpassed my expectations. Not only is it simple and fun, but the soda is really good! In under 30 seconds, tap water becomes carbonated and you can enjoy it as is or add a myriad of flavors. Save money and also help protect the environment. Before, we would go to the store and I'd end up lugging home cases of soda and then wonder where to store it. No more. I'm saving money now, my back and storage space and having a great time. Everyone here loves it! And, I'm certain I'll never again have one of those days when I really wish I had a soda and someone took the last one.

Also, SodaStream is an "Active Green" product, meaning that by using it, you are actively reducing your CO2 footprint every time you make soda or sparkling water at home instead of buying it from the store.  I love that.

Because SodaStream uses water straight from the tap, the system makes traditional store-bought beverage bottles obsolete. That means less plastic manufactured, less plastic waste created, and fewer bottled beverages transported from manufacturers to distributors to stores to homes.

So, in a nutshell, using your own home carbonation system means:

* Less packaging waste from cans and bottles.
* Less pollution caused by transport of bottled beverages.


But, what about the taste? What about the varieties? Check this out. You can have:

* Regular Flavors such as Cola, cherry cola, cran-raspberry, ginger ale, root beer, grape, orange mango and many more. 

The regular sodamix flavors contain less sugar, calories, carbohydrates and sodium than national drink brands, and they contain no high-fructose corn syrup. Each bottle of concentrated sodamix makes the equivalent of 12 liters (33 cans) of soda.

* Diet Flavors - diet caffeine-free cola, diet cola, diet cream soda, diet cran-raspberry to name only a few

I love that the diet flavors are sweetened with Splenda® and not aspartame.

* Energy Drinks

Why pay up to $2 for an energy drink from the store when you can easily make it yourself, starting at just 25 cents per serving? One bottle of concentrated Energy Drink sodamix makes 50 8-oz.servings. And you control the fizz and flavor intensity. Contains Vitamins B6 and B12, Niacin, Folate, Riboflavin, Vitamin C, Caffeine and Biotin and tastes really good.

* MyWater Flavor Essences - lemon-lime, orange, raspberry and mint.  Unsweetened, all-natural flavor essences for making lightly flavored seltzer or sparkling water. Adjust the intensity of the flavor by adding more or less flavoring. Each 40 ml bottle will make approx. 20 liters of flavored seltzer.

 * Sparkling Naturals such as apple mango, black currant and pear, cola, green tea, pink graperuit, ginger ale. Made from all-natural ingredients, new SodaStream Sparkling Naturals make great-tasting "better for you" sodas. Sparkling Naturals contain no artificial flavors, no artificial colors and no artificial sweeteners, and do not contain any preservatives, making them a perfect, sparkling, natural soda alternative for the entire family. Each 750ml bottle of Sparkling Natural concentrate will make 6 liters (approximately 25 8-oz servings) of all-natural soda.

* Sparkling Tea such as mixed berry, lemon or peach iced tea, strawberry kiwi and more










* And of course, your basic Sparkling Water - Fresh, Fizzy Sparkling Water for 25 cents per liter!



I seriously was amazed at how easy the SodaStream was to set up. Simple! And, it's also simple to make your desired beverages:

Just fill the reusable carbonating bottle with tap water and secure it into the soda maker. Press the cbutton down a few times to fizz it up. You can adjust this to the level of carbonation you want. You can then drink this regular sparkling water as is or add the flavoring syrup.

To do this, just measure one cap of your favorite flavor and pour it into the bottle and shake it gently. Voila!


You can find Soda Stream at Bed Bath & Beyond, Best Buy, jcpenney, Kohl's, Macy's, Sears, Target and many other fine stores. You can also shop onlline at SodaStream USA. At the site you'll find lots of ideas, videos and all their products.

I think this is a unique and wonderful gift for your family or friends and definitely for yourself!
I highly recommend it!

And, as if that wasn't enough to buzz about, here's something even more exciting! SodaStream has very generously offered one of my readers their very own SodaStream kit (pictured at the top of this post).

You will get a  Fountain Jet Soda Lover's Start-Up Kit  (ARV $99.95) which includes:

-       A Fountain Jet - in your choice of color -
             (black/silver, red/silver or white)
-       A carbonating bottle, reusable for up to 3 years
-       A reusable carbonator to fizz up to 60L of soda
-       A variety 6-pack of popular sample-size flavors
-       and 3 full-sized flavors of your choice

Helpful Links:

SodaStream.com
SodaStream on Twitter
SodaStream on Facebook
SodaStream on YouTube
Ms Fizz Blog

May your soda be fizzy; may your days be merry and bright!

 So just follow the Rafflecopter and it will lead the way.   The first two entries are mandatory and the rest are extra entries.  Best of luck everyone!


a Rafflecopter giveaway


Disclosure: I was sent a SodaStream and product to review from the sponsor but all opinions herein are my own.  


JUST A QUICK NOTE: ALL ENTRIES CLAIMED WILL BE VERIFIED BEFORE A WINNER IS CHOSEN, i.e. IF IT SAYS FOLLOW VIA GOOGLE FRIEND CONNECT OR WRITE A BLOG COMMENT, PLEASE DO because THOSE ARE MANDATORY.  GOOD LUCK!