Today, August 20, is National Lemonade Day! Sodastream is excited about this because they just added flavors from Country Time and Crystal Light, not to mention Kool Aid. So now you can make fizzy lemonade, or pink lemonade, or raspberry lemonade, or Arnold Palmers, or fruit punch right at home.

This was my first time trying the SodaStream soda maker, and I was excited because my husband and I consume a lot of caffeine free diet cola which we buy in cans. I had never thought of making carbonated versions of the beverages my kids drink, or of Crystal Light, which we do sometimes buy. The whole family got in on this little adventure.

Step 1: Fill bottle with cold water (best to use water that has been chilling in the fridge). Screw into SodaStream carbonation port.

Step 2: Press button several times in short bursts until you hear a loud buzz to indicate proper carbonation. I was worried about exploding the bottle so the first few times I tried this I did not carbonate enough. But it takes several presses to get it bubbly just right.

Step 3: Pull bottle towards you to release excess carbonation.

Step 4: Pour a capful of Country Time lemonade flavor mix into bottle. This is the best part because you can control the concentration of flavor in your beverage. I used less than a full cap.

Step 5: Gently tilt bottle back and forth until the flavor is mixed in. Don’t shake!

Enjoy your home-mixed fizzy lemonade!

It tastes great and the kids loved it and I didn’t mind having them drink this or the Kool Aid flavors…in moderation. We still don’t let them drink soda of any kind, so this is a slippery slope that we will let them have as an occasional treat.

The cost:

Genesis Starter Kit: $99.95 – includes the machine, the carbonator cartridge, two bottles, and a flavor sample pack.

Country Time Lemonade flavor mix – $6.99, makes about 33 cans worth of drink

Caffeine Free Diet Cola flavor mix – $4.99 (every tenth bottle you order is free)

60L Carbonators – online you can order a 2-pack of spares for $59.99. The website copy encourages you to exchange your empty cartridge for a full one at local retailers. A quick call to my local Bed Bath and Beyond revealed that the exchange only costs $15 plus tax. Depending on how much soda we make at home, we may need to replace the cartridge only every few months.

There are a lot of flavors of soda and beverage mixes, and you can combine more than one to create your own flavor.

 

Here is a demo that another couple posted on YouTube showing you how it works (the lady shook the bottle, too much fizz!)

 

I received a Genesis SodaStream soda maker and a variety of flavors to facilitate this review.