An Overview of SodaStream
SodaStream was started in 1903. Giles Gilby invented a carbonation system which made standard water into fizzy water; it was originally sold to the upper classes. In the 1920s, new flavours were introduced. Cherry ciderette and sarsaparilla were among the new choices. In the 1970s and 80s it enjoyed vast success, becoming a big hit in countries such as Australia, the UK, and Germany.
SodaStream underwent numerous changes in ownership, at one stage even being part of the Cadbury Schweppes empire. 1998 was the year SodaStream changed hands for the final time when purchased by Soda Club, which at that time was Israel’s biggest supplier of SodaStream. Soda Club made a bid to change the brand from SodaStream to Soda-Club, but the name of the brand remained SodaStream.
More recently Soda Club sought to spur new interest in the SodaStream brand. SodaStream was relaunched along with a new machine and many more new flavours, concentrating on being a healthy alternative to fizzy, sugar-rich drinks such as Coca Cola and Pepsi, and focused on health and diet issues so prevalent in this day and age.
The SodaStream product is essentially a home carbonation kit, which allows you to change water into sparkling water, as well as allowing you to add low-calorie flavours such as cola and orange. A large assortment of calorie-free flavours to flavour sparkling water to great taste is sold at allfreightfree.com.
The SodaStream machine is employed to force co2 into a water-filled bottle suitable for pressurising. The co2 turns the water into sparkling or carbonated water. Carbonation is the term we use to describe the process of dissolving co2. The carbonated water can then be drunk on its own as sparkling water, or mixed with flavours to create tasty, healthy treats. Once the co2 canisters have been used up they can be sent back to Soda-Club who recycle the canisters by refilling them with co2 then sending them back out.
As far as the actual health and diet benefits gained from drinking SodaStream, it is claimed that all their flavours are completely sugar-free and contain a maximum of 2 calories per 100ml; no doubt this is good news for any parent concerned about a child’s diet.
The SodaStream machine adds only co2 to the water, meaning it does not have the added sugar that some bottled sparkling water contains; consequently, there is little discernable difference from normal water.
SodaStream have made much of their environmental and health credentials, even going so far as to say that every one litre bottle of SodaStream made saves three aluminum cans. Which in turn means that over 3 years, a family of four could slash their soft-drink-related packaging usage by over 90%. This is quite a claim, one that in this environmentally conscious age will stand them in good stead. Clearly, Sodastream has developed into a realistic alternative to the big players in the soft drink world.
