The world of soft drinks is a battlefield, with die-hard Pepsi fans ready to defend their preference over Coke to the death. SodaStream, with its user-friendly home soda maker devices, allows anyone to create their own flavored sodas in their kitchen and join the debate about which flavors reign supreme. This article dives deep into the SodaStream experience, focusing particularly on Diet Coke and offering a comprehensive review of various SodaStream flavors.
SodaStream: A Personal History and Overview
Having grown up with SodaStream and continuing to use it as a non-alcoholic drink blogger, I have a soft spot for this DIY soda solution. My kids love their fizzy water, and we go through at least two gallons of SodaStream every week. While we often flavor our water with simple lemon wedges, SodaStream's bottled syrups offer a convenient way to enjoy our favorite soft drinks when the mood strikes. The original SodaStream line focuses on affordable copycat versions of popular sodas and diet sodas, rather than venturing into strange or unusual flavors.
SodaStream Flavors: A Ranked Review
To provide a comprehensive overview of SodaStream flavors, a team of 10 taste testers (six adults and four children) with diverse palates participated in a blind tasting. The results were clear, with unanimous approval or disapproval for certain flavors. Here's a ranking of SodaStream flavors, from worst to best:
16. Diet Root Beer: This flavor sits at the bottom of our ranking due to its overwhelmingly strong sweetener that overshadows the customary licorice and sassafras notes of root beer. The result is a chemical aftertaste that lingers unpleasantly. Not a single reviewer enjoyed this flavor.
15. Lemon Lime: The regular Lemon Lime flavor earns its low ranking for being almost completely flavorless. Despite having the expected clear color, the taste is nearly imperceptible, even weaker than adding a slice of lemon to water.
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14. Dr. Pete: SodaStream's attempt to imitate Dr. Pepper, Dr. Pete, falls short due to an overwhelming cherry flavor. This characteristic overpowers any other flavors present in the original Dr. Pepper. One Dr. Pepper fan noted that "this feels like the cherry part of Dr. Pepper and not the Coke -- something is lost in translation."
13. Ginger Ale: The SodaStream Ginger Ale lacks any semblance of spice or actual ginger. Tasters described it as "very light and a bit grassy," with just the faintest "hint of ginger at the very end." Many couldn't identify the flavor at all until they were told it was supposed to be ginger ale.
12. Diet Lemon Lime: Surprisingly, the diet version of Lemon Lime outperforms its non-diet counterpart. It has more noticeable and sharp flavors, with a delicate sweetness. However, tasters noted it "tastes very fake." Some found it "much worse" than Sprite Zero, speculating it might be closer to a poor imitation of 7UP Zero.
11. Diet Ginger Ale: The Diet Ginger Ale doesn't fare much better than the regular version. Most tasters could barely tell the two apart, though they agreed this was somehow better. This soda "tastes more aspartame than ginger ale," with the artificial sweetener dominating the flavor profile.
10. Black Cherry Cola: For those seeking a cherry soda flavor, SodaStream's Black Cherry Cola is a decent option. Some judges loved the flavor, even if cherry cola isn't their favorite drink. Others described it as tasting like "chemical cherry." However, if you enjoy a little maraschino in your cola glass, this homemade version may appeal to you.
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9. Cola: The regular Cola flavor tastes remarkably close to Pepsi, which is unsurprising given PepsiCo's acquisition of SodaStream in 2018. Others found it "no Diet Coke, but light in flavor," with a gentle sweetness and delicate flavor. Overall, the consensus was that the SodaStream Cola version was "a lighter cola, not very concentrated" with a "weak flavor" and color.
8. Diet Cola: The Diet Cola version of SodaStream fared better than its regular counterpart. Some tasters found it "tastes like Pepsi," while others thought it "tastes like Coke to me." One avowed Diet Coke drinker loved it so much, he kept the entire bottle by his side all night.
7. Cream Soda: The Cream Soda flavor was a surprise hit, described as tasting like a "weak cream soda with a hint of caramel." While not anyone's favorite, it tasted exactly like what it was trying to replicate. Children unanimously adored the drink, with every taster under the age of 7 asking for seconds.
6. Berry Mix: The Berry Mix flavor earned high rankings due to its refreshing, albeit subtle, taste. Tasters noted it's "quite weak, not that strong, not that sweet, which is good," commenting that a typical SodaStream consumer likely prefers a "healthier" tasting soda that feels refreshing rather than cloyingly sweet and commercial.
5. Root Beer: While the Diet Root Beer was a failure, the regular Root Beer flavor was a distinct favorite. It tasted like a good, traditional root beer, akin to A&W or Mug Root Beer. The distinctive licorice notes came through clearly.
Read also: Is Diet Mountain Dew Healthy?
4. Lemonade: SodaStream's Lemonade flavor was cool, sweet, and refreshing, feeling much more sophisticated than its price tag would suggest. While definitely sugary, this take on lemonade had refreshingly bitter notes, making it taste more like San Pellegrino's Limonata flavor than your typical county fair lemonade.
3. Orange: The vibrant orange color of this soda identifies its bold taste, and SodaStream doesn't disappoint. It's a good, satisfying, and not overly cloying orange soda.
2. My Water: This unexpected standout entry proved that sometimes, less is more. The soda delivered a clean Cola flavor without any artificial flavor or a thirst-inducing aftertaste.
1. Orange Mango: The top spot in our ranking goes to Orange Mango, SodaStream's undeniable tropical soda flavor. This drink had it all - an eye-catching color, a perfectly balanced sweetness, a refreshingly fun twist, and an aromatic aftertaste courtesy of the mango.
DIY Diet Coke with SodaStream: A Step-by-Step Guide
While SodaStream offers its own Diet Cola flavor, some users prefer to create their own Diet Coke using actual Diet Coke syrup. This section provides a step-by-step guide to making Diet Coke with SodaStream.
Sourcing Diet Coke Syrup
For Diet Coke syrup, consider Sam's Club warehouse store, a part of the same company as Walmart. They typically sell 5-gallon bags of syrup inside cardboard boxes (bag-in-box). You can also find bag-in-box options on Amazon, but the prices may be higher.
Cost Comparison: BIB Syrup vs. SodaStream Syrups
SodaStream syrup bottles sell for anywhere from $5 to $10 each, depending on where you get them. The SodaStream syrups are far more concentrated, so you don’t need much to flavor a liter of pop. You use the syrup bottle’s cap to measure out - it has marks along it for a half-liter, a “lightly sweetened” full liter, and a full-flavor full liter. But due to the overwhelming sweetness of Splenda, I ended up using a little bit less than the “Lightly Sweetened” mark. We kept track of how many one-liter bottles of pop we could get from a bottle of syrup, and generally averaged 11 bottles, even with this reduced amount of syrup in every bottle. Coke syrups aren’t as concentrated as the SodaStream syrups; it takes more syrup to fully flavor a liter of pop. Most folks say it’s a 5-to-1 ratio of water to syrup, but we did some weighing, calculating, long division, and experimenting to figure out what tasted right to us.
Materials Needed:
- SodaStream machine
- Diet Coke syrup (bag-in-box)
- Condiment squeeze bottle
- Adapter for syrup bag (specifically made for Coke branded bags)
Step-by-Step Instructions:
- Prepare the Syrup: Transfer the Diet Coke syrup from the bag-in-box to a condiment squeeze bottle. The small hole in the top allows for a slow, controlled pour of syrup into the fizzy water.
- Carbonate the Water: Fill the SodaStream bottle with water and carbonate according to your machine's instructions. Because more syrup means diluting the carbonated water more, we’re doing more carbonation than we would with the regular SodaStream syrups. Some SodaStream machines make a series of “buzzing” noises, while others make what they call a “puff” noise - whichever type of machine you have, you know it when you hear it. They recommend between one and three of those noises for their syrups; with the Diet Coke syrup, we’ve settled on six noises.
- Add Syrup to Carbonated Water: Slowly pour the Diet Coke syrup from the condiment squeeze bottle into the carbonated water. Go slowly to prevent excessive fizzing and foam.
- Enjoy: Your homemade Diet Coke is ready to drink!
Tips and Considerations:
- Carbonation: Experiment with the level of carbonation to find your preferred fizz.
- Syrup Ratio: Adjust the syrup-to-water ratio to achieve your desired sweetness and flavor intensity.
- CO2 Usage: Be aware that using more carbonation will deplete the CO2 cylinder faster. Consider using larger tanks with an adapter.
- Storage: Store the syrup in a cool, dry place away from windows and appliances.