I love bubbly, carbonated, healthy beverages that tickle your nose. Since I’m not a fan of the regular sodas you purchase in the stores, I make my own. Not only are they healthier, but they’re delicious and contain “real ingredients.” I’ve been making my natural sodas from kombucha and water kefir grains for the past several years. However, yesterday, I ordered the DrinkMate from Amazon. It arrived the same day.
Is it just like the SodaStream?
Like the SodaStream, it creates carbonation; but, it differs from SodaStream, the trendy, carbonated drink maker in that I can carbonate anything as long as it isn’t pulpy. The SodaStream, you’re limited to what you can add to water, which means that with Sodastream, you can ONLY carbonate water. You add the flavors after the water is carbonated. With DrinkMate, I can carbonate ANY liquid as long as it doesn’t have pulp/sediment. I see myself using the Drinkmate to make my own carbonated water; however, I’ll also use it to carbonate my bulk teas, juices, and of course, water. I’m curious to experiment with a watermelon carbonated soda with this device. I’ve made it using water kefir grains, and I liked it immensely. Later today, I’ll be making ginger ale. Granted, I already know how they’re supposed to taste since I’ve already made these natural sodas by fermentation; SCOBY (kombucha) and water kefir grains.
Are other CO2 carbonated systems compatible with DrinkMate?
I know that the Sodastream 60l C02 canister is compatible with the Drinkmate; in fact, I have the 60l C02 SodaStream installed in my system now. Why? The Drinkmate that I ordered on Amazon, to be delivered the same day, didn’t come with a CO2 canister. They have them available. However, that would have arrived later this week. I wanted to receive the unit on the weekend, where I had more time to test it out.
C02 canisters can be exchanged?
I already knew the canisters could be exchanged locally or by postal mail. However, yesterday, before making the purchase, I double-checked to see the locations near me that were offering this service. There are several such as; Target, Home Depot, Bed, Bath, & Beyond, and several other stores. If I exchange them, the canisters received would be half the price of purchasing a new canister.
Also, checking Youtube, I discovered hacks for these canisters to reduce the cost of replacing CO2 even more. It would require me to purchase a few more items, including a much larger beverage-grade C02 canister, and that’s most likely the route I will take. I’ll look to purchase the C02 from a brewing company.
Initial thoughts about the Drinkmate
I really like it a lot. My daughter and I have enjoyed the carbonated hibiscus soda I made, and we’re both currently sipping on carbonated water that has fresh squeezed lemon and orange added. I squeezed both citrus fruits into my small glass pyrex measuring cup and then poured the juice into my Drinkmate bottle. I used the 1L bottle and filled it up to the fill line. I depressed the button on top of the machine four times to carbonate the water.