Gadget: Union Jack SodaStream

Published on 03/06/2012 13:06

Although a fine example of 1980s product design, SodaStream became a victim of discounted multi-packs of Coke and other sugary beverages.

Yet like the Lava lamp, a retro resurrection could be afoot. In these tough economic times, spritzing your Sprite-alike and turning your kitchen into a bottling plant could save some cash.

Reading the back of the “Best of British” selection of four concentrates (Dandelion and Burdock, Cream Soda, Cherry and Sugar Free Blackcurrant), I was reassured to recognise almost all of the ingredients contained within. There’s no evidence of laboratory-inspired concoctions like in some big-name brands.

The celebratory Union Jack-festooned SodaStream I am testing is a sizable brute and after screwing in the CO2 canister and filling up the one-litre bottle with Edinburgh’s finest tap water, I was ready to inject a welcome dose of fizz into proceedings, to get busy with the fizzy as SodaStream would have it.

The instruction manual recommended three brief presses of fizz. After popping in a capful of Blackcurrant concentrate, the bubbles were only minor tongue ticklers – disappointing. I wanted more.

The hissing of escaping CO2 should have sounded alarm bells after a further five excitable and elongated presses.

As my girlfriend unscrewed the bottle, the hissing serpent within unleashed a blackcurrant release of volcanic proportions. She was temporarily transformed into a Smurf, while the starboard side of the dining room looked like a jam factory had blown up.

Despite losing half a bottle to the dining room walls, the remainder tasted delicious, with a handsome fizz, and at a fraction of the price in shops. Just remember to follow the instructions.

Union Jack SodaStream

£58.20 from.qvcuk.com; the Best of British Selection is £19.75