# Those commercials for the soda stream thing **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** soda-softdrinks\ **Created:** [June 14, 2012, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-commercials-for-the-soda-stream-thing/625113 "2012-06-14T07:23:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-commercials-for-the-soda-stream-thing/625113/1 "2012-06-14T07:23:51Z")
“Would you ever believe this soda came from just regular water???” man these commercials are annoying how do people think the bottling companies make soda if not by using water?? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-commercials-for-the-soda-stream-thing/625113/2 "2012-06-14T09:27:20Z")
Wait. Is Soda Stream back? That was huge when I was a kid in the 70s. Is this just a retro fad or is there a new twist that makes it unique again? ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-commercials-for-the-soda-stream-thing/625113/3 "2012-06-14T09:56:17Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Wait. Is Soda Stream back? That was huge when I was a kid in the 70s. Is this just a retro fad or is there a new twist that makes it unique again? In other parts of the world it never went away. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-commercials-for-the-soda-stream-thing/625113/4 "2012-06-14T11:33:25Z")
[It’s back.](http://www.sodastreamusa.com/) Downside so far is that most flavors - even non-diet ones - seem to have Splenda (sucralose) in them, and my husband has an adverse reaction to the stuff. Otherwise we’d probably have bought one already. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-commercials-for-the-soda-stream-thing/625113/5 "2012-06-14T12:00:03Z")
> [@PSXer](#): > > “Would you ever believe this soda came from just regular water???” But see, store-bought soda is made from special, um, _ir_regular water! Yeah, that’s it! Anyway, though, my 10-year old nephew has one of these and uses it all the time and loves it. I haven’t partaken of the results, but his mom says it’s just as good as “real” pop. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-commercials-for-the-soda-stream-thing/625113/6 "2012-06-14T12:15:29Z")
I’ve tried it and the bubbles seem… wrong. To small and fizzy. More like alka seltzer than soda. Plus the flavors seem off. Not a big soda drinker anyway, but not a fan. ---
**Author:** ![Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunzio_Tavulari)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-commercials-for-the-soda-stream-thing/625113/7 "2012-06-14T12:25:02Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Wait. Is Soda Stream back? That was huge when I was a kid in the 70s. Is this just a retro fad or is there a new twist that makes it unique again? From the website: Founded overseas in 1991, SodaStream started operations in the United States in 2003. ---
**Author:** ![BetsQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BetsQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BetsQ)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-commercials-for-the-soda-stream-thing/625113/8 "2012-06-14T13:10:42Z")
We have one that gets used a lot, but almost exclusively for soda water. We’ve only used 5-6 of the syrups over the six months or so that we’ve had it. It’s handy. I’ve never seen a commercial for it, so I’m not irritated by them! ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-commercials-for-the-soda-stream-thing/625113/9 "2012-06-14T13:15:03Z")
As something of a soft drink connoisseur I’d be very interested to try this stuff, but I highly doubt their Dr. Pete flavor can compare to actual Dr. Pepper. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-commercials-for-the-soda-stream-thing/625113/10 "2012-06-14T13:19:18Z")
> [@Nunzio\_Tavulari](#): > > From the website: Founded overseas in 1991, SodaStream started operations in the United States in 2003. Well that’s nonsense. We owned one in 1979. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-commercials-for-the-soda-stream-thing/625113/11 "2012-06-14T13:25:03Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > As something of a soft drink connoisseur I’d be very interested to try this stuff, but I highly doubt their Dr. Pete flavor can compare to actual Dr. Pepper. It won’t. Their flavors are awful. I’m waiting to hear results from a friend who’s ordering syrups from other sources. In the meantime, the unit someone gave me for Xmas sits idle. If for some reason commercial soft drinks aren’t readily available in your area it might be a useful product, otherwise I wouldn’t bother. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-commercials-for-the-soda-stream-thing/625113/12 "2012-06-14T13:30:07Z")
I thought the point of owning one of those machines was so you could make your own soda at home. I don’t mean with a mix but by making a soda from scratch using your own recipe. If you’re just buying a mix why not just by cans of soda to start with? ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-commercials-for-the-soda-stream-thing/625113/13 "2012-06-14T13:33:08Z")
SHHHHHH! You’re not supposed to think it through that far, **Odesio**. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-commercials-for-the-soda-stream-thing/625113/14 "2012-06-14T13:38:30Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > I thought the point of owning one of those machines was so you could make your own soda at home. I don’t mean with a mix but by making a soda from scratch using your own recipe. If you’re just buying a mix why not just by cans of soda to start with? Because bringing heavy cans and bottles home can be an annoyance. I don’t own a car. if I was certain of a steady supply of Coke Zero syrup, I would definitely own one. Dragging my granny cart to the store for a box of soda gets old. And for people without a lot of recycling options, it’s much less wasteful since the bottles are reusable. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-commercials-for-the-soda-stream-thing/625113/15 "2012-06-14T13:50:51Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Well that’s nonsense. We owned one in 1979. Indeed, Wikipedia seems to state that it first appeared int he UK in 1955: > **[SodaStream](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soda_stream)** > > SodaStream International Ltd. (Hebrew: סודהסטרים) is an Israel-based manufacturing company best known as the maker of the consumer home carbonation product of the same name. The company's soda machines, in the style of soda siphons, add carbon dioxide to water from a pressurized cylinder to create carbonated water for drinking. It also sells more than 100 types of concentrated syrups and flavourings that are used in the process of making carbonated drinks. In 2018, SodaStream distr The company... > [@](#): > > The first machine for home carbonation of drinks was produced in 1955.[9] The SodaStream was originally sold in the UK, but later spread to other countries, including Australia, New Zealand, and Germany. And this I very much agree with: > [@](#): > > In the UK (where it was first sold) the SodaStream machine is strongly associated with 1970s/1980s childhood nostalgia. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-commercials-for-the-soda-stream-thing/625113/16 "2012-06-14T13:53:37Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > I thought the point of owning one of those machines was so you could make your own soda at home. I don’t mean with a mix but by making a soda from scratch using your own recipe. If you’re just buying a mix why not just by cans of soda to start with? As a kid it was, err, fun. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-commercials-for-the-soda-stream-thing/625113/17 "2012-06-14T14:17:26Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > Indeed, Wikipedia seems to state that it first appeared int he UK in 1955: > > [SodaStream - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soda_stream) To be fair, the root technology is a [little bit older](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VO9RP4QEZKU#t=0m31s) than that… ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-commercials-for-the-soda-stream-thing/625113/18 "2012-06-14T14:23:08Z")
Agreed, the syrup mixes are inedible. I add a little thawed frozen fruit juice concentrate instead. Lemonade with some garden rosemary or mint is great. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-commercials-for-the-soda-stream-thing/625113/19 "2012-06-14T14:23:53Z")
We have one and love it. The flavors are hit or miss, but you can do a lot of great sodas without using their flavor product. We mostly enjoy sparkling water from it with just a bit of cranberry juice. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-commercials-for-the-soda-stream-thing/625113/20 "2012-06-14T14:28:24Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > Anyway, though, my 10-year old nephew has one of these and uses it all the time and loves it. I haven’t partaken of the results, but his mom says it’s just as good as “real” pop. Maybe real store-brand or generic pop. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-commercials-for-the-soda-stream-thing/625113.md?page=2)