Mark's Adventures in SodaStreaming, Part I

Back in April, I lucked into getting a free SodaStream machine with one reusable bottle.  I promised my Facebook friends that soon, I would bring them reviews of various SodaStream syrups.**

I bought four different syrups (Target had a 40% off sale on various SodaStream products at that time).  After some trial-and-error*, here's what I think of each one:

SodaStream Diet Dr Pete (their version of Diet Dr Pepper) - not bad, but I had to add a little more syrup than the instructions call for to boost the flavor.  (The instructions for the syrups say that for one liter, you should fill it up to the second line in the cap.)  The first time I tried it, I followed the instructions, and I thought the end result was a little weak to be called a Dr Pepper clone.  Sweetener: Sucralose, which disappointed me somewhat because it is not my preferred artificial sweetener (I prefer a blend of aspartame and acesulfame potassium).  When I ditched sugary sodas for zero sugar versions in 2010, I tried just about every such soda I could find.  I remember disliking Pepsi ONE, and that was the only diet soda I tried that had sucralose.  Going back to the Diet Dr Pete, I found that the sucralose left a sweet aftertaste that, while I didn't mind it so much with this flavor as I did with Pepsi, I'd rather do without it.

Pepsi Zero Sugar - I wanted to try one cola syrup, and I had three to choose from (Pepsi Zero Sugar, formerly known as Pepsi MAX; Diet Pepsi; and SodaStream's own diet cola).  I decided on Pepsi Zero Sugar, and I was not disappointed at all.  I plan to add lime- and cherry-flavored bubly drops in future attempts.  Sweetener: Acesulfame potassium, aspartame _and_ sucralose.  Yes, all three appear in the ingredients list for this syrup.

Starry Zero Sugar - Without any bubly drops, I like it, even though I wonder how it would compare to Sprite Zero Sugar (the lemon-lime diet soda I liked best when taste-testing various diet sodas 14 years ago).  After adding a couple lime bubly drops to 8 ounces of Starry, it tastes more refreshing and not quite as sweet.  Sweetener: Sucralose and acesulfame potassium.

SodaStream Diet Ginger Ale - I liked it, but once again, I had to add a little more syrup than the instructions called for.  In the end, I still like the taste of Canada Dry better, so I'll be on the lookout for Canada Dry drink mix packets.  Sweetener: Acesulfame potassium and sucralose.

Coming soon: I'm going to try some powders next, starting off with A&W Root Beer, Orange Crush, Strawberry Sunkist, and Pineapple Sunkist.  I would never have tried those mixes with plain water, but SodaStream could be a game changer.  Then, from there, batten down the hatches!  I'm going to try four different Frutal flavors (that's a powdered drink mix made in Mexico that I found on Amazon)--Tangy Limeade, Citrus Punch, Summer Colada, and Tropical Berries.

*All that trial-and-error yielded some learning experiences:

• Pro tip #1: Like the Girl Scouts say, be prepared.  Have that syrup cap filled up to before you start carbonating the water, so that once you've finished fizzing it up, boom, you can add the syrup right after taking the bottle out of the machine.  The last thing you want is to fuss with opening a new bottle of syrup and then getting just the right amount into the cap while so much valuable fizz is escaping from your bottle.
• Pro tip #2: When the top light (the one with the three drops) lights up, keep carbonating for a couple more seconds.  That is, unless you don't mind soda that goes flat in short order.
• Pro tip #3 (which some of you already know): Pour the syrup down the side of the bottle, not right down through the top.
• Pro tip #4: Tighten that cap on your reusable Sodastream bottle like hell.  Take full advantage of that silicone seal on the inside of the cap!  Otherwise, the fizz will slowly escape and the soda will go flat overnight.
• Pro tip #5: You probably know this if you've used SodaStream syrups before, but always refrigerate the syrup after opening.  (I mention this one anyway because I didn't know about this instruction until I noticed it on the back of the first syrup I used.)

Two Issues I Have With SodaStream:

1. The machine is expensive, the CO2 canisters are expensive ($32 for a canister that is supposed to carbonate 60 liters of water--I have not been able to verify that yet), and as far as bottles and syrups go, you would do well to hold out for sales on those (like Target had in April, and Kroger had earlier this month).  As I said at the beginning, the main reason I'm even trying SodaStream to begin with was that I got the machine and one bottle for free.  You may want to see if someone local to you on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist is selling their machine cheap (plus they'll probably throw in whatever they got with it, too--bottles, syrups, and maybe even a CO2 canisters).
2. My pet peeve is this: You'd think that one advantage of SodaStream would be the ability to make flavors that aren't already available at supermarkets--Coca-Cola Freestyle soda machines (which I've seen at restaurant chains like Five Guys Burgers & Fries and Zaxby's) have this ability.  However, that has not been the case with SodaStream.  You'd think that if you're a sales executive at SodaStream, you'd want to drive sales by introducing flavors that can't be found elsewhere.  Consider: Recently, Mountain Dew came out with three limited edition flavors (Liberty Chill, Star Spangled Splash, Freedom Fusion).  But those three flavors only come with high fructose corn syrup--no zero sugar versions.  SodaStream could have theoretically filled that void by making zero sugar syrups of those flavors.  (I mention Mountain Dew precisely because PepsiCo owns that brand, and PepsiCo bought SodaStream in 2018.)  Pepsi's ownership means that SodaStream will not be making syrups for Coke, Keurig Dr Pepper, or any other Pepsi competitor anytime in the foreseeable future.  Here's another idea: How about bringing back some discontinued Pepsi sodas as SodaStream syrups--Pepsi Jazz (a diet cola that came in three flavors: Black Cherry and French Vanilla, Strawberries and Cream, and Caramel Cream), Crystal from Pepsi (the citrus cola formula they had briefly in late 1994, not to be confused with the first Crystal Pepsi), and Josta.

**Why the delay in publishing this article?  Two things happened:

• First, as I mentioned earlier, there was some trial-and-error in using the SodaStream machine, bottle and syrups.  I wanted to make sure I was giving each of the four syrups a fair assessment, and not downgrade one based on a mistake I made.
• Second, before that, I battled gosh-darn pneumonia for a month.  I was sick for 10 days with what I thought was a bad allergic reaction to some dust before I even went to the hospital.  Once I finally checked myself in, I was in the intensive care unit for 4 days.  I estimate that it took another 17 days to recover the strength I had lost from being sick for so long.  I'm just about 100% now.