This Kitchen Purchase Was So Life-Changing, I Bought Two

That original SodaStream machine had you screw in a carbonation gas tank into the back, and then screw in a bottle filled with water in front, before pumping the top a few times to get carbonation in the water. But we recently replaced the original version with the newer SodaStream Terra model, and the carbonation is even easier! The back Quick Connect carbonation gas tank, with the pink label, pops in automatically (no twisting or screwing) while the water bottle also pops into the front, without a need to twist or rotate.

Sparkling our own water allows us to choose the amount of carbonation we like. Both my husband and I realize we like our water somewhere between tingly on a tongue and burning a little bit. We jokingly call it “burn water.” But if you prefer a less aggressive carbonation, that’s easily achieved as well.

And if you are the sort of person who loves sodas or flavored drinks, making your own carbonated water means you can add everything from just a simple squeeze of citrus, to making your own flavored simple syrup or shrubs, allowing you customize the amount of sweetness of the beverage to you own liking. Though commercial sparkling soda syrups are easy to purchase, making your own is not only satisfying but super easy.

The SodaStream is also more cost effective. Though there is an upfront cost of the unit, the typical gas tank costs $15 at our local hardware store and will carbonate about 15 gallons of water. To put that into perspective, that’s 20 eight-pack cases of LaCroix 12-ounce cans. Using the SodaStream saves money in the long run, as well as reduces the amount of plastic, metal, or glass that needs to be recycled. Not to mention, it means I don’t have to haul those cans up and down my apartment stairs.

The addition of the SodaStream to our kitchen was so life changing for my husband that we ended up getting an additional one for his office at work. We’ve been known to take our SodaStream with us on road trips to where we rent a condo. And we even bought one as a gift for good friends who we visit fairly regularly. We told them it was a “host” gift for them, for always letting us stay with them so often. Their kid refers to the SodaStream as the “burn water machine” and really, everyone knows it’s just a gift for us. Now, no matter where we are, the SodaStream Terra means sparkling water is just a couple of button pushes away.

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Irvin Lin is a writer, recipe developer and photographer based in San Francisco. His cookbook Marbled, Swirled and Layered was picked as one of the best baking cookbooks of 2016 by the New York Times. He writes the nationally recognized blog Eat the Love and his work has been featured in the Washington Post; O, The Oprah Magazine; Serious Eats; Simply Recipes; and more.