SodaStream Art Review

Our reviewer was sent a sample of the SodaStream Art to test. Keep reading for our full product review.

If you want to take control of your fizzy water consumption, SodaStream Art is designed to help. It carbonates water, one bottle at a time, and you can add flavorings to make your own sodas. We gave it a fair trial, using up an entire gas canister, and sampled a wide variety of flavors as well. Is it worth the space it takes? Read on to find out.

Setup: Almost effortless

The Art uses a quick connect system for both the carbonating bottles and the gas cylinder, so there’s no need to twist to connect and no need to align anything. It couldn’t be easier. The quick-connect system is fairly new—only one other SodaStream machine uses it—so it’s important to make sure you’re buying the right bottles and cylinders when it’s time for replacements.

Carbonating the water is easy. Once the bottle is in place, the lever is pulled down and held for a few seconds, and that process can be repeated to add even more carbonation. The lever is easy to operate and doesn’t require any strength, so it’s great even for people who may have poor hand strength.

Performance: Great bubbles

Water for carbonation should be cold—it’s suggested that the bottle should be refrigerated for best performance, but in a fizzy emergency, cold tap water will suffice. The amount of carbonation is infinitely adjustable—the lever can be pulled multiple times or held longer for fizzier water. It does take a little trial and error to decide how much carbonation to add since it’s all about personal taste.

When flavors are added, the water loses a bit of its fizz, and pouring it over ice also releases fizz, just like store-bought soda. Still, the drinks from the SodaStream Art managed to stay carbonated while I sipped super-iced drinks. Even more impressive, water and flavored drinks kept their fizz for several days while stored in the refrigerator in the SodaStream bottles, thanks to the snug cap with a gasket that keeps air from escaping.

The one downside of this soda maker is that it should only be used to carbonate plain water, so you can’t carbonate your brewed tea or refresh your store bought soda that went flat.

Design: A little modern, a little retro 

The slim shape of this soda maker certainly saves space on the counter, and it’s light enough to move in and out of a cabinet if it won’t be taking a permanent spot on the counter. The clean lines give it a modern look, while the handle looks a bit retro. With the four available colors (black, white, Mandarin red, and misty blue), it’s a sure bet this will fit well with almost every kitchen decor.

While this is certainly lightweight enough to move around, it’s not quite compact enough to carry everywhere. Sure, you could take it to the office to keep at your desk, or bring it to a potluck to make drinks, but it’s unlikely you’d carry it in a backpack—it would make more sense to carbonate a few bottles and carry those instead.

The gas cylinders eventually run out of gas, but they can be exchanged for freshly filled containers, and it’s easy to do online. While it’s possible to exchange just one bottle at a time, exchanging more bottles at once offers cheaper—or even free—shipping.

Cleaning: Just a wipedown

Since this is only used to carbonate plain water, there’s not a lot to be cleaned. The exterior can be wiped off when kitchen spatter gets out of hand, and the carbonating nozzle can be wiped clean as well. Besides coming in two sizes and multiple colors, the carbonating bottles also come in two versions. The dishwasher-safe version is slightly more expensive, but the hand-washing is easy enough and you don’t need to wait on the dishwasher before refilling.

Flavors: Almost limitless

SodaStream has an extensive line of its own flavors that can be added to the fizzed water, for sale on its website and also from familiar retailers. Bubly Drops are clear and come in small, but long-lasting, bottles that are easy to store. The Bubly Bounce Drops are caffeinated for a little energy boost.

Larger bottles of SodaStream drink mixes require more of the mix per bottle, and include familiar flavors like root beer, cola, ginger ale, and fruit flavors. Rounding out the flavors from SodaStream are Soda Press bottles that include kombucha, lemonade, and orange. While I enjoyed the flavors used alone, I also had fun mixing them, making combinations like raspberry ginger ale and lime tonic water. It’s also possible to add your own syrups, flavors, extracts, and juices, making the possibilities almost endless.

Price: Just about average

This soda maker falls in the upper-middle of the price range. There are a number of much less, and much more, expensive options from unknown brands. The price seems fair for the quality, and given the few moving parts, this soda maker should last quite a while.

Competition: SodaStream Art vs. ISI 1-Quart Soda Siphon

If you want to go old school with your fizzy water, the ISI 1-Quart Soda Siphon looks like it would fit right into an old black-and-white movie. There’s no machine involved, just a canister that holds the water. This uses small cartridges that carbonate one quart at a time, and the fizzy water is dispensed as needed. It’s cool and retro, but it lacks the ability to customize the amount of fizz.

While the ISI has its place behind the bar (and for some specialized uses like carbonating fruit slices), we like the SodaStream for its customizable amount of fizz, and for the ability to have multiple bottles of water in the fridge, ready for fizzing, rather than having to wait for the single ISI canister to cool between uses.