DrinkMate 410-02-14Zx2 Soda Maker: Full Review

The DrinkMate is an at-home soda maker that allows you to easily carbonate water and create fizzy beverages with your choice of flavors. This compact machine offers an alternative to store-bought sodas by giving you the ability to customize flavors and control ingredients. The DrinkMate system comes with a CO2 charger that produces carbon dioxide to infuse into water, turning regular water into sparkling water. From there, you can add in syrups and juices to create all kinds of sodas, sparkling juices, and other fizzy drinks. The DrinkMate sodamaker provides an affordable and convenient way to enjoy bubbly beverages made to suit your taste, without artificial sweeteners or preservatives. With the press of a button you can carbonate and flavor water, eliminating the need to haul cases of soda from the store. The DrinkMate allows the whole family to enjoy freshly carbonated drinks at home.

Design

The DrinkMate continues the minimalistic aesthetic of past Models. It has a sleek, box-like design that comes in black, white, or red color options. The body is made of plastic while the top spout and internal carbonation parts are stainless steel.

At 12.5 x 5.5 x 4.25 inches, it has a relatively small footprint on your counter. The spout flips up vertically for easy access to the bottle when loading in the CO2 canister. There are two buttons on the front - a power button and a carbonation button to start the fizzing process.

Overall, the DrinkMate has a modern, simplistic look that fits well in most kitchens. While made mostly of plastic, the stainless steel spout and internal components ensure durability. The compact size doesn't take up much space while still offering powerful carbonation.

Another excellent option for those looking to carbonate their beverages at home is the SPÄRKEL Black. This device showcases a sophisticated yet functional design, featuring sleek lines and an intuitive interface. Unlike traditional soda makers, the SPÄRKEL allows you to carbonate any liquid, expanding your drink options beyond just water. Its portable size makes it a perfect companion for picnics or parties, easily fitting into any kitchen space while delivering exceptional carbonation results.

Ease of Use

The DrinkMate is designed to be very easy to use for making sparkling water and carbonated drinks at home. Setting it up is straightforward - you simply attach the carbonator to a CO2 cylinder, connect it to your water source, and plug it in. The touchscreen control panel makes the carbonation process simple. You can choose from 3 levels of fizziness at the touch of a button, then the DrinkMate handles everything automatically. It will carbonate and dispense the drink in seconds.

Cleaning is also hassle-free. The key components can be detached and washed by hand. And there are no small loose parts to disassemble and scrub like some soda makers. The touchscreen helps minimize messes since you don't have to frequently open the lid. Overall, the DrinkMate delivers on convenience and ease of use for homemade carbonated beverages. It's simpler to operate than many competing soda makers which require manually measuring CO2 cartridges. The intuitive controls and streamlined design make it accessible for beginners while still offering customization options for soda enthusiasts.

Another excellent alternative is the SodaBuddy SBWJS18CO2, which features a similar user-friendly design. This machine stands out with its compact size, making it perfect for small kitchens or limited counter space. The SodaBuddy uses a straightforward carbonation mechanism, ensuring that you can create bubbly drinks just as easily. It allows for personal preference in fizziness levels and has an easy-to-read display, making it a great option for users of all ages. The clean-up process is just as efficient, making it a strong contender in the home soda maker market.

Carbonation

The DrinkMate performs very well when it comes to carbonating water. The carbonator provides consistent, adjustable carbonation that allows you to customize the fizziness to your liking.

The DrinkMate allows you to control the level of carbonation by adjusting the amount of CO2 that is injected. There are 3 carbonation level settings - low, medium and high. This gives you a good range of fizziness to work with. The low setting provides a gentle tickle on the tongue, medium gives you a standard amount of bubbly texture, and high makes for an intensely effervescent, almost soda-like carbonation.

Most users find the medium setting to be the ideal level of carbonation for flavored sparkling waters. But the ability to adjust based on personal preference is a great feature. Overall, the effectiveness and adjustability of the DrinkMate’s carbonation system makes it easy to achieve your desired level of fizz.

Flavor Variety

The DrinkMate sparkling water maker allows you to carbonate water and then add customized flavors. It comes with 12 essence flavors including cola, lemon-lime, orange, ginger ale, root beer, and more. The essence bottles simply screw into the top of the DrinkMate machine.

Each essence bottle makes around 9 liters of flavored sparkling water. So you can keep experimenting with new flavors by purchasing additional essence bottles. The company offers over 50 essence flavors ranging from fruits like watermelon and strawberry to teas, energy drinks, cocktails, and more.

A great benefit of the DrinkMate is the ability to control the flavor intensity. Add just a few sprays of essence for a hint of flavor. Or keep spraying until you reach your desired flavor strength. You can even combine essences to create your own custom flavors.

The variety of essence options and being able to customize the flavor strength makes the DrinkMate stand out for its versatility. Instead of being limited to the flavors of store bought sparkling water, you can continuously try new flavors and strengths at home.

Fizz and Taste

The DrinkMate produces drinks with excellent fizz and taste. The carbonation level is customizable, allowing you to make lightly bubbly drinks or extremely fizzy ones depending on your preference. The carbonation process infuses the beverage with lots of tiny bubbles that create a smooth, soda-like texture.

The flavors are spot-on and taste homemade. The carbonation doesn’t give the drinks an overly acidic or soda water taste. Each sip is refreshing, with the right balance of sweetness and fizziness. The flavors don’t taste flat, diluted or leave an aftertaste. The end result is a fizzy drink that rivals store-bought sodas in terms of taste and enjoyment.

You’ll be amazed at the variety of flavors you can make with the DrinkMate that taste like they came straight from the store. The customizable carbonation settings let you tweak the drinks to match your perfect level of fizziness. Overall, the DrinkMate makes amazing tasting carbonated beverages.

Bottle Compatibility

The DrinkMate sparkling water maker is designed to work with most standard PET plastic bottles, including disposable water bottles and reusable bottles. This gives you a lot of flexibility in the bottles you can use.

The included carbonating bottles are BPA-free and dishwasher safe, making them very convenient. Each carbonating bottle has a fill line so you know exactly how much water to add. The screw-on lids have a valve designed to hold the carbonation.

In addition to the included bottles, you can use most plastic beverage bottles between 12 oz and 2 liters in size. The company states that the DrinkMate is compatible with bottles from brands like Aquafina, Dasani, Evian, Nestle, and others. You can even carbonate in reusable water bottles from Contigo, Camelbak, Nalgene, and similar brands. The versatility with bottles is a major plus with this sparkling water maker.

One thing to note is that you cannot use glass bottles with the DrinkMate. The high pressure used to carbonate could potentially break glass bottles. So make sure to only use plastic PET bottles that are designed to withstand carbonation pressure. As long as you stick with standard plastic beverage bottles, the DrinkMate provides lots of options.

Cleaning

The DrinkMate sparkling water maker is designed for easy cleaning and maintenance. The main unit can be quickly rinsed clean after each use. The carbonation cylinder is detachable and dishwasher safe.

The biggest cleaning task is washing the bottles, but the wide mouths make this simple. Bottles can be hand washed or placed in the dishwasher. The open design means you won't have to deal with hard-to-clean spaces.

One convenient feature is that the DrinkMate allows you to do a quick clean between each use. After removing a carbonated bottle, you can run a rinse cycle with plain water that clears out the cylinder. This prevents buildup and leftover flavors between carbonating different drinks.

Overall, the open construction of the DrinkMate makes cleaning a breeze. There are no small spaces for flavors or carbonation to get trapped. Bottles, lids and the cylinder can be quickly hand washed or popped in the dishwasher. The quick rinse cycle helps keep flavors from mixing between carbonating sessions.

Cost Comparison

The DrinkMate is very competitively priced compared to other popular soda makers on the market. While it may be slightly more expensive than some of the entry-level models, the DrinkMate offers superior carbonation and more versatility.

Compared to higher-end soda makers like the SodaStream, the DrinkMate is still an affordable option that can produce sparkling water and sodas at a fraction of the cost of store bought. Refill carbonators for the DrinkMate cost around $15 for 60L worth of carbonation. That translates to approximately $0.25 per 1L bottle.

Store bought sodas generally cost $1-2 per 1L bottle. So you can produce sparkling beverages for 75-90% less with a DrinkMate.

The device itself costs around $100, so the DrinkMate pays for itself quickly if you are an avid sparkling water drinker. Overall, it occupies a nice space between budget models and premium soda makers, while still delivering exceptional value per bubble.

Pros and Cons

The DrinkMate sparkling water maker has several pros and cons to consider based on customer reviews and product details.

Pros

• Makes sodas and carbonated drinks at home for a fraction of the cost of store-bought carbonated beverages
• Offers a variety of 40+ flavor syrups to create customized soda flavors
• Carbonates to 3 adjustable fizz levels to suit personal taste preferences
• Designed for use with standard PET plastic bottles and aluminum cans
• Simple to use - just load bottle, select carbonation level, and press start
• Produces good carbonation and fizz according to most reviews
• Flavor syrups allow for creative drink-making and mixology

Cons

• Initial investment is higher than some basic soda makers
• Requires proprietary CO2 cylinders instead of less expensive 60L CO2 canisters
• Syrup flavors can be hit or miss according to some reviews
• Fizz results vary somewhat depending on water temperature and bottle type
• Bottle preparation requires extra steps like chilling and drying
• CO2 cylinders don't last as long as expected based on some feedback
• Occasional issues with leaking or malfunctioning parts reported
• Lacks features of higher end soda makers like custom carbonation