SodaStream is the name of a line of carbonation makers; the company began in 1903.

In the 1970s and 1980s, when there were different concentrated syrups available, versions were marketed that could add concentrates to create carbonated drinks in popular flavors. The company merged with Soda-Club and offered its product as a way to make healthy drinks for kids.

SodaStream’s drink maker is a small device that forces carbon dioxide into water, making it have a taste like soda pop. The system includes: 1) a machine; 2) a canister of carbon dioxide; and 3) reusable beverage bottles suitable for pressurizing. The bottle, when filled with water, is screwed on to the machine, and with a push of the button ejects compressed CO2 from a canister into the bottle, making sparkling water (also called seltzer). There are a number of flavors which can be used to create regular soft drinks by adding a tiny amount to the bottle of carbonated water. When the canister is out of CO2, you return it to the market and purchase a carbon dioxide (CO2) refill.

With so many categories of concentrate, unique and different flavors of soft drinks can be made. During the years that the systems were at the height of their popularity, many well-known brands – such as Fanta, and Sunkist — were available in concentrates for SodaStream.

MilkStream, is a variation of the SodaStream, and was invented for turning out milkshakes. Ice cream, milk and Crusha syrup can be combined in a glass, and utilizing an extended wand into the glass, a frothy, delicious milkshake can be produced.

The first machines made were large in size, and were sold to the upper classes of London, including to the royal household. There were flavors with odd names, including the famous sarsaparilla introduced in the 1920s. The initial home carbonation machine was produced in 1955.

SodaStream’s super popularity in the United Kingdom during the 1970s and 1980s has helped stimulate its current association with nostalgia for that era. The advertising jingle in 1970s was, “Get busy with the fizzy” and was so popular that the slogan was added to the company logo. In 1996 it was dropped after 17 years.

Although commercially successful, the soft drinks made by these machines were perceived by some to be an inferior imitation of their commercial counterparts. One of the noticeable differences was that in addition to slightly different flavors of the produced drink, the SodaStream machine bubbles are shorter-lived and larger than others. Today this has changed, partly because of Aromhuset flavors for carbonated water, and Sodastream now is the leader in sparkling water.

Today, SodaStream is part of Soda-Club; there are various websites where products can be purchased and supplies ordered, and reordered, when needed.

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