Three things you didn't know you could do with a SodaStream...

This might just blow your mind…

If you think the SodaStream just makes fizzy water, you've got another thing coming. Here are three reasons why you should bag this Black Friday deal…

Related: Black Friday kitchen deals 2020 – offers on mixers, bread makers, slow cookers and more

As a child in the Seventies, one of the best things to do in the summer holidays was to head over to your mate's house to use their SodaStream. Back then, it took chunky glass bottles and the flavourings looked laden with E numbers. But pressing that big yellow button on the top of the machine until you got that deep (and slightly disturbing) honking sound just never got old.

SodaStream Black Friday deal

Soda Stream Genesis on a white kitchen island

(Image credit: Soda Stream)
SodaStream Spirit sparkling water maker, SAVE £40, now £59.99, Robert Dyas

SodaStream Spirit sparkling water maker, SAVE £40, now £59.99, Robert Dyas
Get busy with the fizzy for less – this version of the famous SodaStream has been reduced by £40 from £99.99.

Well, the SodaStream has had an update and is a seriously popular purchase for those who drink a lot of sparkling water. Why? It's far more economical for starters. Plus, who wants to load up their car with all those heavy bottles at the supermarket? With a SodaStream, you can make your own at home with tap water – and yes, you can buy extra bottles. It's far more ecofriendly, too. No more single-use plastic bottles being emptied and chucked.

The SodaStream's USP is definitely its star turn as a sparkling water maker. But, there's a lot more to it than meets the eye, y'know…

1. You can make kombucha drinks with it

Kombucha syrup and a fresh drink on a white kitchen counter

(Image credit: Soda Stream)

Yes, you read that right. The hipster's favourite beverage, fermented tea. If that doesn't prove the SodaStream isn't totally 2020, I don't know what will.

The latest additions to SodaStream's Soda Press Co. range of concentrates (the stuff you add to your fizzy water) are Kombucha Original and Kombucha Passion Fruit & Mandarin flavours. The flavoured syrups are certified organic and low in sugar.

2. You can use the syrups to make cocktails

That 'kiddie' drinks maker is a bit more la-di-dah than you thought! Yes, the latest syrups definitely have grown-ups in mind. To make a tropical Rumble in the Jungle, put the following into a cocktail shaker with ice:

  • 1oz Soda Press Co. Passionfruit & Mandarin Kombucha Concentrate
  • 1.5oz spiced rum
  • 1oz lime juice
  • 4 dashes of bitters

Shake, shake, shake like Taylor (for about 10 seconds), pour into a tall glass, top with ice and garnish with a cinnamon stick, sprig of mint and a slice of orange. Bottoms up!

3. You can use it for a science experiment with your kids

Soda Stream Genesis on a kitchen counter with a fresh drink

(Image credit: Soda Stream)

This one takes a bit of prep, but you can actually use your SodaStream to demonstrate acid rain.

Start off by preparing a batch of pH indicator liquid by boiling red cabbage in distilled water until the liquid is deep blue in colour. Strain and cool the water.

First, show the kids what happens if you pour something acidic - try vinegar - into a cup of the blue liquid. The acid will make it turn pink.

Then, fill your SodaStream bottle with your indicator liquid and pump in the CO2. It will turn the water pink. You can then add a stick of chalk to the water and watch it fizz like crazy - this is a speeded-up version of what happens to concrete buildings in acid rain.

Related: Is this retro kitchen accessory making a come back? This Morning's Eamonn Holmes is already a fan

Bit too serious for you? Well, there are other things you can experiment with using a SodaStream. I once managed to turn white wine into 'sham-pagne' with mine, although it did go flat in a matter of moments. Of course, the responsible folks at SodaStream warn against such larks on health-and-safety grounds. Instead of potentially turning your kitchen into a wine-soaked mess, you could just watch the videos on YouTube…

Vanessa Richmond
Contributor

Vanessa Richmond has been a freelance writer, editor and editorial consultant since 2021. Her career in magazines began in 1998 and, apart from a four-year stint at women’s lifestyle magazine Red, it has been spent working on interiors titles including House Beautiful, Country Homes & Interiors and Style at Home. She first joined the Ideal Home team in 2006 as Chief Sub-editor and subsequently became its Associate Editor, Editor and Editorial Director. Now she writes for idealhome.co.uk and Ideal Home magazine as a freelance journalist.