Now, I don't know about you, but I absolutely LOVE soda...way more than I should.  Every time that I drink it though, I always have that guilty feeling gnawing in the back of my mind which reminds me how absolutely worthless it is for my body.  There's the empty calories, the high fructose corn syrup, the gobs of sugar and sodium, the caffeine etc.

I had heard about the option of making your own soda at home, but I was skeptical.  How much healthier could homemade soda be?  Would it taste as good?  Would it be easy to do?  Well, this was one mama who was going to find out!  When Soda-Club USA contacted me to review the SodaStream Jet, their most popular selling home soda maker, I jumped at the chance!

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 distrobutors to stores to homes.

How does SodaStream nutrition stack up against national brands?

With a SodaStream home soda maker and over 30 delicious regular, diet and caffeine-free sodamix flavors to choose from, you'll enjoy freshly made, great tasting soda that fits your health and diet. Regular flavors contain no high-fructose corn syrup, and diet flavors are sweetened with Splenda® brand sweetener, not aspartame.

All SodaStream regular soda mix uses a mixture of Splenda® and sugar. Diet flavors are sugar-free,  sweetened with Splenda® brand sweetener. Comparison is based on 8 fl. oz. serving size (0.34 fl. oz. of SodaStream soda mix per 8 fl. oz. of water).

I was very excited to start unpacking the SodaStream Jet.  There were two things though, that immediately surprised me.  First, there were hardly any parts included.  Now that was great in my opinion, because no parts means no assembly!  No parts usually means little to no cleanup either!  In my eyes, the SodaStream Jet was 2 for 2 right from the start!

Second, I was fairly surprised at how flimsy the plastic of the SodaStream Jet seemed.  The plastic just seemed pretty thin as if it might crack after very little handling.  Now, don't get me wrong, I was able to successfully make several sodas with absolutely no problems whatsoever, but the impression I got by holding and operating this machine was that the plastic was flimsy.

The overall look of the SodaStream Jet was very sleek.  I received the black and gray model and have to admit that it matched all of our other appliances very nicely and took up minimal counter space.  We are planning to use this in our pool room / bar area and it looked very professional there!

Next, it was time to see what this baby could do!  I loaded up the CO2 tank into the back of the machine and then filled up one of the empty soda bottles with very chilled water.  I think the best thing to do for frequent soda making is to keep a large jug of water in your refrigerator at all times.  This way, you always have chilled water at the ready.

Screw the soda bottle into the front of the machine and push the button on top about 3-4 times.  This squirts carbonation directly into your water, making it all bubbly.  Remove the bottle and add one capful of the soda mix in whatever flavor you choose to the carbonated water.  I decided to try out the Orange Mango flavor first.

Everything I received from Soda-Club, USA: Sodastream Jet Starter Kit, Sparkling Water 3-pack of Flavors and 8 Bottles of Soda Mix	After you've inserted the CO2 tank into the machine, start by filling the empty soda bottle with very cold water.
Next, insert the soda bottle into the machine and give it 3-4 good squirts of CO2 gas.	Finally, pour in one capful of the soda mix of your choice and, VOILA! You've just made your own soda!

I took a drink and was pleasantly surprised at how good the soda mix flavoring tasted!  This was really good stuff!  I was also a little surprised at how overpowering the taste of the CO2 was.  The drink didn't seem to be very fizzy, but it sure did have a strong biting taste to it.  Perhaps once I play with the carbonation feature some more, I can remedy this.  I was very happy though with the end result because I knew how much better this soda was for me and it still tasted really good!

I was also glad to find out that making your own homemade soda was cost effective too!  It only costs 25 cents per can of soda to make!  It seems to me that the price of store-bought soda increases every time I go to the grocery store, so the savings associated with using the SodaStream Jet would be very appreciated in my household.

The SodaStream Jet was remarkably easy to use and with the removable drip tray and only the soda bottle itself to clean, it was very easy to maintain too.  You will definitely save a lot of money by making your own soda as well as eliminate a ton of unnecessary waste by no longer buying all of those soda bottles and cans.  The homemade soda is also much better for your health, containing a fraction of the sugar, caffeine, sodium and calories of store-bought soda.

In my opinion, the machine's plastic seemed a little flimsy and probably should be made much sturdier.  The carbonation had a pretty strong bite to it, yet my drink wasn't as bubbly as I thought it would be.  The flavors though were really good and some were quite unique.  I challenge anyone to find a store-bought orange mango soda!  Overall, I still think this is a must buy for the avid soda consumer.  The benefits to your health, your wallet and the environment definitely overshadow any downsides to the SodaStream Jet.