I love sparkling water. Sometimes I choose to blame my European roots, since they are even crazier about “wasser mit gas” in Germany. But it’s probably because I gave up soda and broke my Diet Coke addiction about a year ago, so now sparkling water is my favorite treat. In my family, we used to consume “fancy water” by the case–in fact, my dad started hiding it from me.
Recently, my parents invested in a Sodastream Penguin. Not only is it adorable and shaped like a little penguin, but it comes with two glass bottles or carafes. The carafes do a surprising job of keeping water bubbly. The machine itself, which comes with two carbonators and two carafes, runs around $200 and so far has been a great investment for the Eastham family.
Top 5 benefits of the Penguin Sodastream
1. Sodastream saves money — Before the Penguin, we purchased large bottles of San Pellegrino from Costco for about $15 per case of 12 bottles, which means each bottle cost about a dollar and a quarter. According to Sodastream, each carafe, which is slightly smaller than a bottle of Pellegrino, costs about $0.28 to create. Carbonators cost about $15 and last much, much longer than one case of Pellegrino. So hands down, Sodastream is cheaper. (We haven’t tried making soda yet with the syrups, but the Sodastream says it costs around $0.45/carafe). I may not be an accountant, but this just makes cents!
2. Penguin is always there for you — No more trips to the garage to find that we are out of sparkling water. The Penguin is always there and if you are diligent about refilling each bottle as soon as you empty it, there will always be cold sparkling water ready for you when you’re thirsty.
Kristina with the Sodastream Penguin. Look how cute the little guy is!
3. Mother Earth loves Sodastream — This is a huge selling point for the brand and definitely worth mentioning. Since we aren’t purchasing cases of glass (or plastic) bottles that have to be transported and recycled, we are saving literally tons of glass/plastic waste and fuel to transport them.
4. Too bubbly, or not too bubbly? — Since you are putting the carbonation into the water, you get to control the bubbly! I thought there was no way that Sodastream water could be better than other bottled sparkling waters, but it is! Because I get to make it exactly how I like it!
5. Vacuum-sealed tops seal in bubbles — Open bottles of Pellegrino lost their carbonation so quickly. I felt I was constantly opening new bottles to get the freshest sparkling water. The vacuum-sealed tops really keep the bubbles in so Sodastream is always at it’s best!
So the consensus in the Eastham household is that the Penguin fits right in, gives us the best sparkling water and even helps us keep Mother Nature happy.