SodaStream

 

Have you heard about SodaStream yet? Well I'm a lucky girl and got sent the Fountain Jet Home Carbonation System to review. We were so excited to open the box and holy smokes... this company wowed me from the beginning! Not only did they send me the Fountain Jet, but they sent all this:

There was a sampler pack that came with the fountain and they sent us all those additional flavors too! Now, I must say that I was a little scared to use it the first time. I wasn't sure about the whole Co2 cylinder. I was convinced I was going to blow myself up or something. Yeah... laugh all you want... So, the first thing you do is take the wrapper and cap off your Co2.  Then, pop the back off the Fountain Jet and screw the cylinder in until it's tight (I didn't blow up!):

Next, put the back in place. Fill the soda bottle to the line with fresh, cold water. Mine is filtered and cold out of the fridge. If not cold, put it in the fridge until it is chilled. Screw that bottle into the Fountain Jet. Now for the fun part! Just simply press the button on the top to carbonate the water. Hold it until you hear a buzzing noise. (I still jump when I hear that noise!) Do that about 3 times. More if you want more carbonation, less for less carbonation. 

Now all you do is unscrew the bottle and choose your flavoring! For our first batch, we chose the Cola Free flavoring. Add one cap full to the carbonated water. (Just a little hint... make sure you TILT the bottle of carbonated water and pour the flavoring down into the side. If you just dump it in it will bubble up and cause a big mess!!) Once the flavoring is in, place the cap on and gently shake or swirl to mix the flavor in. Now you are ready to enjoy! 

We have not found a flavor yet that we don't like. You would never notice the difference between what you make at home with your Sodastream vs. the big name brands you can buy at the store. However, you will be doing a great service for our world! From the SodaStream website:

SodaStream: Better than recycling

How Does SodaStream Help the Environment?

SodaStream is an "Active Green" product, meaning that consumers  are actively reducing their CO₂ footprint every time they make soda  or sparkling water at home instead of buying it from the store. The more the system is used on a daily basis, the more CO₂ footprint the user actively saves. (This differs from "Passive Green" products, which use green-friendly production processes, but their products are not inherently helping the consumers save on their daily footprint.)

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 is created, and fewer bottled beverages must be transported from manufacturers to distributors to stores to homes.

Globally, 206 billion liters of bottled water were consumed in 2008 (Zenith International Global Bottled Water Report, 2008). The energy required to make water bottles in the US only, is equivalent to 17 million barrels of oil (Container Recycling Institute, 2002).

According to the US Recycling Institute, more than 80% of bottles in the US do not get recycled and end up in landfills. Also, an estimated 4.7 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions were produced in the process of replacing the 134 billion bottles and cans not recycled in 2005.

Using your own home carbonation system means:

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

One SodaStream carbonator makes 60 or 110 liters, equivalent to 170 or 310 aluminum cans! When empty, the carbonator is refilled and reused, ready to make more fizzy and tasty soda whenever you want it.

 Plus, it's healthier than the name brand sodas! Check out the Nutritional Information for SodaStream. I love their Sparkling Naturals line as well. Definitely something I can feel good about giving my whole family! As I said before, this is a great company! So great, they are offering ALL of our readers a $20 Rebate - valid until July 10th, 2012! To locate a store near you and learn more about their products, please visit SodaStream.

Click here for your $20 Rebate!!

I received the above mentioned product for consideration during my review.