Road Test: SodaStream

THE modern home carbonating machine comes in a range of funky designs and colours, and produces a lot more than generic soda.

WHAT is it?

Come on, surely you remember the '70s! The original SodaStream, which turned ordinary tapwater into fizzy drinks, was emblematic of that era when domestic progress went hand in hand with accelerated tooth decay. Now it's been reinvented.

Reinvented how?
It's no longer an ugly plastic box with a button on top; there's now a range of 10 machines in a variety of funky designs and colours. They're nice design objets in their own right.

But who wants to drink unbranded "cola" anyway?
Well, it's true that SodaStream's coke never tasted quite like The Real Thing. But these days you've got more than 40 syrups to choose from, including Cuba Libre Cocktail, Apple & Mango, Green Tea Litchi, Forest Fruits ... and if you get bored, of course, you can experiment with carbonating other liquids, too.

Fizzy whisky! Milk with bubbles! Aerated hot chocolate with marshmallows!
All right, cool it Willy Wonka.

What are the ongoing costs?
A 500ml bottle of syrup, which makes 12 litres of drink, costs seven bucks. A gas refill that's good for 40 litres costs $20. You do the math.

No, you do the math.
It works out at $1.08 per litre of fizz.

Price: From $75, sodastream.com.au