Times have changed. In the golden days, sparkling waters were a reserve retailed by companies. With technological developments in home appliances, appliances can now turn tap water into sparkling one.
SodaStream is, without doubt, one of the biggest brands making use of this new technology. With their bestselling soda models, the fizzi and the jet, they’re now revolutionizing now we enjoy our water.
Perhaps the most elaborate way of running a SodaStream fizzi vs jet battle is by contrasting their similarities and highlighting what they have in common.
We will also look at the advantages and disadvantages of the various Sodastreams they make. You’ll also see why we’d pick the Sodastream over a drinkmate any day.
SodaStream fizzi vs jet (fountain): What they have in common
In both models, the sturdy construction from the company ensures that these starter kits are compact and give consistent infusion. On each model, there’s a water maker housing, a refillable carbon dioxide cylinder, and a water bottle. Both models are non-powered and won’t require batteries or connection to the mains making them eco-friendly. They’re both non electric. They source their carbonation from the infusion in the carbon dioxide bottles.
The starter kits use modest countertop space and will require at least one foot of overhead clearance. At the back where you refill the carbon Dioxide carbonating canister, there’s a protruding unit on the housing making for easy replacement.
Perhaps the biggest selling point of these models is that they have interchangeable canisters. There’s no difference in the canisters they use.
SodaStream Fizzi Vs Jet (Fountain) comparison Table
How they differ
Even though they both make use of push to release mechanisms for their canisters, it is slightly easier removing canisters from the Fizzi. The paneling was too thin in my view but it still gets the job done. With the Fizzi product line, you get to choose between a black or a white starter kit. The Jet model is only available in a Black and grey color scheme on the other hand.
Aesthetically, the Fizzi is more pleasing as it has an elegant bumpy, textured surface. The Jet is flat throughout and has a simplistic contemporary feel to it.
Even though you could exchange used-up canisters at the company’s shop, the pressurized containers policy in most lines dictates that you must use a local canister agent. Thankfully, they’ve listed all local agents on the company’s website together with the canisters they stock. As a matter of fact, you will find these canisters on the shelves of your favorite grocery chain.
These canisters are easy to screw in place (at the top of the unit) and you won’t use any tools while at it. With a litte ingenuity, you will be able to use canisters from third parties as the branded ones can be a little pricey, to be honest.
OUR TOP PICK
Of course, the biggest advantage of owning a Fizzi is that you get to make your own sparkling water at a fraction of the cost. It works with tap water, boiled water, and even bottled water. You can even add flavorings if they are your thing.
The fizzi is, without doubt, their best-selling model UpToDate and looking at its features and durability, this is no surprise. You’ll only need 6 by 8 by 8 inches of cupboard space to store this appliance. In fact, it’s even possible for you to pack it on family outings.
The company has listed the bottles that this soda maker is compatible with on their website but it works with just about any water bottle. The 6-pound frame feels lighter when you notice that it has a sturdy construction. It comes in black and white.
However, the white variant sells better perhaps suggesting that its better. It’s powered by the pressurized carbon dioxide cartridges making it possible.
Lock design
With its innovative snap-lock design, the fizzi makes for an airtight seal even when working with party-sized bottles. You’ll hit the carbonating button from five to ten times depending on how fizzy you want your drink to be.
The longer you hold it, the fizzier your drink will be. You can now guess where the SodaStream Fizzi gets its name from. We reviewed it and noticed that the silencer valve comes in handy when you want gentle puffs that aren’t as noisy. The valve does this by reducing the pressure.
Downsides
The user manual is quite basic and at times the pictures shown don’t have explanations. Either way, there aren’t many wrong ways to using a soda maker and I’m certain that you’ll never look at the product’s manual.
There aren’t many ways you could mess carbonated soda production at home.
There’s no way of telling how much carbonation you’ll get beforehand. You’ll have to master the carbon release button through classic trial and error.
This isn’t a fool-proof starter kit either. Those that love super fizzy water may end up over carbonating due to excess pressure. And with excess pressure, we know that getting the bottle off won’t be as easy.
EDITORS CHOICE
With this lightweight home carbonation unit, fizzy drinks are made at the push of a button. Quite literally! It gets its juice from the C02 cartridges and it won’t use batteries or mains.
Just like the Fizzi, the jet makes use of a BPA-free plastic bottle in place of a glass carafe one ensuring that it comes with a lower price tag. Use them to carbonate drinks instantly.
Design
With its sleek and sturdy frame, this soda maker is rather simple with no LED indicators, extra settings or any other features found in trendier models. If simplicity and minimalism is your thing, then this is a simple starter kit that just gets the job done.
Instead of capitalizing on features, this soda maker impresses customers with an affordable price tag. SodaStream rarely makes starter kits in the < $100 range.
The SodaStream Jet is quite efficient at fizzing drinks (isn’t this why you’re getting a starter kit?) and uses a full-sized cartridge. With every refill, you could carbonate 60 liters.
What’s lacking
- An effective, automatic bottle locking mechanism. Unlike the SodaStream Fizzi that comes with a snap-to-lock mechanism, the Jet has a rather primitive holder where you have to safely screw the bottle in place. As you’re already thinking, this will at times lead to large messes
- If this is your first time buying a SodaStream machine, you will find the Jet practical and innovative. However, seasoned carbonators look for soda makers with customizable carbonation settings and this is where the higher-end SodaStream models serve their purpose.
The home soda maker is a revolutionary invention because until now, soda was never thought to be a beverage that could be made at home. We enjoy soda at restaurants and in prepackaged cans and bottles, but there has never before been a simple, easy to use device that allows you to make sparkling water and many different sodas in the comfort of your own home.
And the best part of the SodaStream is that it is so simple and easy to use that you will be making your own sodas minutes after you take it out of the box.
Unlock Your Soda Maker’s Potential for Amazing Sodas
Everyone has their own preference when it comes to the perfect soda. Some like sweet fruit flavors while others prefer traditional colas and root beers. Still others prefer the simple pleasure of a cold glass of sparkling water. Whatever your taste may be, the SodaStream is the perfect way to please everyone in your house.
The problem with making your own soda has always been the same—how do you carbonate a beverage without lots of complicated equipment? This is why most people just buy soda and call it a day. But thanks to the SodaStream, there is no reason to compromise. The SodaStream offers a simple design that allows you to customize your beverage experience right down to the amount of carbonation in the drink.
And since you are in control of the amount of carbonation and flavor, you will end up with the perfect tasting beverage every single time. The other great thing about the SodaStream is that since it has become the world’s most popular at home soda making system, finding replacement CO2 cartridges is inexpensive and easy. The carbonated drinks can be taken right away or stored.
Why Choose The SodaStream Fountain Jet?
The SodaStream Fountain Jet is The Absolute Best Way to Make Soda at Home
Homemade soda is a fairly new concept for most people. In years past, it required serious equipment and know how, and for the most part it wasn’t really worth the trouble. When the SodaStream was introduced a number of years ago, it changed everything.
For the first time, you could quickly and easily make carbonated beverages without bulky tanks and lots of other equipment. SodaStream is so easy to use that you will be making your own soda within minutes of taking it out of the box. Setting up the SodaStream is simple and intuitive, and since it has become the world’s most popular soda making system, finding replacement CO2 cartridges is easy and inexpensive.
Since no electricity is required you can take your SodaStream with you and make soda wherever you feel like. And its mechanism is so simple and safe that even the kids will delight in making their own sodas.
The Easiest Way to Make Perfectly Carbonated Soda
Until the invention of the SodaStream, making carbonated beverages at home wasn’t very practical. But since the SodaStream features a simple and compact design, making your own sodas is as easy as filling the carbonating bottle and pressing a button. It really is that easy. The SodaStream doesn’t even require electricity.
The compact CO2 cartridges are easy to install, and easy to find. They are inexpensive enough that you will never consider buying pricy soda ever again. These carbonating cylinders don’t have an availability issue either. They can easily be refilled in most gas stations.
Much in the way that water filtering pitchers revolutionized the way people drink water, the SodaStream will forever change the way you drink all manner of fizzed beverages. Don’t you see that it’s a worthy purchase?
The Most Trusted and Durable Soda Maker on The Market
While there are other soda making systems on the market, none of them have gained the prominence of the SodaStream. This is likely because the SodaStream has distinguished itself as the most highly rated soda making system for reliability, ease of use, and durability. The SodaStream is constructed from high grade plastic and contains very few moving parts.
And thanks to the newly redesigned bottle, your sparkling beverages will stay fizzy longer than conventional bottles of soda. The SodaStream also features a warranty that ensures against any type of product defect, so you can be confident that your SodaStream will continue working for many years to come.
Cleaning The SodaStream Fountain Jet is Easy and Fast
One of the best features of the SodaStream is how quick and easy it is to clean. For the most part, very little cleanup is ever required, but thanks to SodaStream’s efficient design, you can easily rinse and wipe your device quickly, and while the carbonating bottles are not dishwasher safe, they are durable and easy to rinse.
Health Benefits of Making Your Own Soda
Control Your Ingredients for Healthier Drinks
In recent years, we’ve heard a lot of new information about the health hazards of drinking too much soda.
There are several reasons why so many people have become worried about their soda consumption, but luckily, the SodaStream allows you to continue to enjoy your favorite beverages, while cutting back on the ingredients that you may want to avoid. Since the SodaStream allows you to control the ingredients that go into your beverages, you don’t have to consume anything you don’t want to.
And since plain sparkling water can be an excellent, refreshing alternative to still water, you don’t even need to add any flavors to your water to have a fun and thirst quenching drink.
Sparkling Water Is a Great Alternative to Regular Soda
Sparkling water is a refreshing change of pace from traditional water, but it can also be a healthy way to drink fewer sugary beverages. But when faced with the high price of sparkling water at the grocery store, it hardly seems worth it. Thanks to your SodaStream you can now have sparkling water on hand whenever you want, and it won’t break the bank.
One SodaStream CO2 refill cartridge makes sixty liters of water which means each liter is priced at less than fifty cents. Once you see how much money you can save using your SodaStream, you will never want to pay for pre-made sparkling water ever again.
Use Fruit Juices and Other Natural Flavors
Since you control all of the flavors that you use with your SodaStream, you can get really creative when it comes to making your own drinks. You can make new and exciting drinks using fruit juices and other natural flavors. You can make syrups and extract that you can concentrate in order to give your SodaStream water a robust kick of flavor that will rival or exceed any store bought soda on the market.
And because you are in total control over everything that you use, you never have to worry about the ingredients you are drinking. I found apple juices to be better tasting.
Use Less Sugar Than Pre-Made Soda
One of the biggest concerns with soda these days is the amount of sugar they contain. We’ve all heard that too much sugar is a leading cause of many different illnesses, and luckily, your SodaStream can help you make refreshing beverages using less sugar than conventional sodas. We’re going to cover how to make syrups using fruits and berries, but we’re also going to cover the wide array of flavors that are currently available that taste great but contain far less sugar.
SodaStream even makes their own flavor syrups, many of which contain no sugar at all. They are also not made with aspartame, an artificial sweetener that has also been linked to health issue.
The Benefits of Using Filtered Water
Whether you are carbonating your water or drinking it still, the benefits of using filtered water are many. In many parts of the country, tap water still contains levels of chemicals that are not safe for consumption.
For the healthiest results, we suggest investing in a simple water filtering system that will remove many of these harmful chemicals while still preserving vital minerals found in water. When coupled with your SodaStream, a water filtering system will result in crisper, cleaner, better tasting sparkling water and flavored beverages.
A Brief History of Soda Drinks
The Science of Carbonation
Believe it or not, fizzed beverages have been around longer than we have. Our first encounters with sparkling water came from naturally occurring springs located all over the world, and as soon as people discovered that sparkling water came right out of the ground, it was considered a luxury product.
As time went on, however, scientists realized that they could replicate this natural phenomenon and provide many more people with this refreshing treat. As early as the late 1700s, scientists at the Schweppes company were figuring out ways to artificially add carbon dioxide to water to simulate natural spring water.
The Introduction of New Flavors
After we discovered how to add carbon dioxide to water, it was only a matter of time before we started adding flavors to it. The first documented case of a flavored sparkling beverage was in the early 1800s when the first sparkling ginger beer was invented. It bore the name beer because at that point beer and champagne were the only flavored sparkling beverages that anyone drank.
It wasn’t long, however, until soda makers started experimenting with other flavors. Since fruits and berries didn’t keep as long, the earliest, and still favorite, soda flavors were made from things that didn’t spoil so easily. Believe it or not, tree bark was one of the first things used to flavor sodas and we still enjoy these flavors today when we drink root beer and birch beer.
The real soda revolution happened when a chemist in Atlanta Georgia made an extract from an exotic nut and gave the world Coca Cola.
How Coca Cola Changed the World
In 1886, a chemist named John Pemberton invented a sparkling beverage made with an extract from the cola nut that he calls Coca Cola. This was partly because at the time, Coca Cola also contained an extract from the coca leaf: cocaine. It wasn’t long, however, before Pemberton was convinced to remove the cocaine, but the name stuck.
When the Coca Cola company incorporated several years later, the true revolution happened. The company realized that transporting liquid was too costly to make a large profit, so they decided to try something new. Instead of making all of the soda themselves, they just made the syrup. They then set up bottling plants all over the United States and sent the syrup to the bottlers to make their own soda.
This meant that the soda didn’t have to travel great distances to consumers, and Coca Cola could still make sure that a Coke tasted the same no matter where you bought it. The original formula is still a highly guarded secret and only a few people in the world know what it is. The formula is kept in a vault near Atlanta Georgia.
The Future of Soda
With growing concerns about the health effects of soda, one thing is for sure: We won’t be drinking soda the same way for much longer. We have become aware of the health risks that soda causes, but that doesn’t mean that people don’t still want delicious carbonated beverages. The SodaStream is part of the next chapter in soda making.
Because the SodaStream allows you to control exactly what goes into your soda, you can avoid the harmful ingredients that can cause illness. We are also seeing a new crop of bottled soda that uses natural ingredients and less harmful sweeteners, and now you can make these drinks at home, any time you want. The casual soda drinker will reap the most benefits.
How to Use Your SodaStream Fountain Jet
How to Set up Your SodaStream in Minutes
The great thing about the SodaStream is how easy it is to use. And part of its ease of use comes from the fact that setting it up really couldn’t be simpler. The SodaStream comes in three basic pieces. The base, the bottles, and the CO2 cartridge. No batteries or electricity is required, so feel free to use your SodaStream wherever you want.
Simply open the back compartment on the base, remove the safety cap from the CO2 cartridge, and insert the cartridge into the base. Close the back of the base and you are now ready to start making your own sodas.
How to Make The Perfect Sparkling Water
The first step in using your SodaStream is to make sparkling water. You will end up doing this step first for almost all of the drinks you will ever make. Start by filling a SodaStream bottle with tap or filtered water. Each bottle has a maximum fill line and to avoid overflow it is very important that you fill the bottles exactly to this line.
Then, simply screw the bottle into the base of the machine. When you are ready to carbonate, gently press the buttons at the top of the SodaStream and you will notice the CO2 rushing into the water. Once you have reached your desired carbonation level, just unscrew the bottle. Now you have a liter of freshly carbonated water that you can drink as is, or add flavors to it.
How to Control Your Carbonation Level
Since the SodaStream allows you to customize the amount of carbonation you add to your sparkling water, you will need to know how to get just the right amount. This will require a certain amount of experimentation as different people have different preferences when it comes to carbonation levels. The SodaStream has three basic options for different carbonation.
The first is the lowest level, and is best if you prefer the taste and feel of natural sparkling spring water. Since natural spring water tends to be less carbonated than artificially made sparkling water, this setting will work best for that. The medium level will most closely resemble store bought sodas. The highest level is for people who really enjoy a powerful kick of carbonation.
In order to achieve these different levels, you will need to push down on the top of the SodaStream for different periods of time. Once the desired level is reached, simply stop pressing. Carefully unscrew the bottle and you have a perfect liter of water.
The Best Way to Clean and Store Your SodaStream and Bottles
The SodaStream is extremely easy to use, but it’s also very easy to clean. For the base of the unit, you will only ever need to wipe it down with a wet towel. The bottles are not recommended for dishwasher use, because dishwashers can harm the integrity of the plastic and lead to bottles that don’t hold carbonation as well. It is recommended that you rinse the bottles with soap and water and allow to dry.
The SodaStream is an attractive item to display on your counter, but you can also keep in in a cabinet when it is not in use.
Pro Tips
What is The Best Amount of Flavoring to Use?
Much like your desired level of carbonation, the amount of flavoring is entirely up to you. Some people prefer very strongly flavored sodas, while others prefer something more subtle. If you are using flavors pre-made by SodaStream, you will find that each one has individual recommendations for how many drops of flavoring are encouraged for a liter of water.
Of course, these are merely recommendations, and you will surely find your own optimum level of flavor. To start, we encourage you to start with a small amount of flavor, then have a taste. If it needs a little more, add more and taste again. In no time you will become an expert at knowing just how much you need.
How to Avoid Overflowing Your SodaStream Fountain Jet
Since no one wants carbonated liquids spraying all over their kitchen, it is important to follow a couple of simply guidelines for how to avoid this. You might be tempted to flavor some water first and then carbonate it. This is a mistake because all soda making systems are only designed to carbonate plain water. Even soda fountains work on this principle.
The water is carbonated and then as it is being dispensed, the flavor is added to it. Because adding flavors beforehand will change the density of the water, the result is that the carbonation will make the bottle overflow once it is removed from the machine. This also applies to things like juice.
How to Make Sparkling Wine with The SodaStream Fountain Jet
While we do not recommend that you carbonate water that has already been flavored, there is a method to turn regular wine into sparkling wine. It should be noted that this pro tip should only be used with white wine. You should use the driest white wine you can find because drier wines contain less sugar and are therefore easier to carbonate.
First, start by filling the bottle only halfway with wine. Attach it to the machine and gently press for just a couple of seconds. This should be less carbonation than you will need to even reach the first carbonation level. Slowly unscrew the bottle allowing it to release CO2 very slowly.
Give it a taste to see if it has enough carbonation and if not, repeat that process until it does. When carbonating wine, it is important to clean your SodaStream right after you are finished.
Make Name Brand Sodas with Your SodaStream
Believe it or not, you can buy some of your favorite soda flavors and add them to water you carbonate yourself at home. Many large brands actually sell bottles of their concentrated syrups that can be added directly to your sparkling water to create exact replicas of your favorite name brand sodas.
You may need to do a little experimentation to get the flavor level just right, but the money you will save making these sodas at home will make it well worth it. To find these syrups contact your local cash and carry stores or restaurant supply stores. You will be able to buy enough syrup to make soda for a very long time, and will cost a tiny fraction of pre-made sodas.
