{"id":2997,"date":"2014-02-05T14:37:18","date_gmt":"2014-02-05T19:37:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/?p=2997"},"modified":"2014-02-05T14:37:18","modified_gmt":"2014-02-05T19:37:18","slug":"the-sodastream-chatterbox-house-party-pack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/2014\/02\/the-sodastream-chatterbox-house-party-pack.html","title":{"rendered":"The SodaStream Chatterbox “House Party” Pack"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"If<\/a>

If you talk about the product, you get to try out the product.<\/p><\/div>\n

Today I will be talking about our SodaStream again. I had written about it last year when we first got it<\/a>, and one of the most popular posts I’ve ever written for GeekMom is about a Soda Stream syrup hack using real sugar<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We’ve had our SodaStream just under a year and we like it a lot. We’ve had to replace the CO2 cartridge three times in that year, meaning we’ve made nearly 200 liters of soda with us. We’ve tried the SodaStream-brand syrups, we’ve made our own syrups, and we’ve tried the Mio-type concentrated flavor syrups. The latter option has been the most convenient for us, and that’s what we tend to do most often.<\/p>\n

With that background, I had applied in January through the House Party social service<\/a> to try out some Soda Stream flavors and talk it up through social media.<\/p>\n

The SodaStream pack arrived in mid-January. You can see what I had received in the photo above. The sampler box of syrups, two 1L bottles, a recipe that mixes flavors, and several coupons to give to friends. I was surprised to see that most of the flavors in the pack weren’t necessarily new. In fact, we had tried the Country Time and Kool-Aid flavors in the past. Read on for my impressions of the Chatterbox.<\/p>\n

\"Each<\/a>

Each little container was enough syrup for a 1L bottle of soda.<\/p><\/div>\n

2\/3 of the Flavors Down<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

As of this writing, we have tried 8 of the 12 flavors. We had started with the Crystal Light lemonade and I have to say that my original concerns with the syrups stand: I don’t care for the flavor of artificial sweetners, and this was no exception. While the soda tasted good going down, I was left with the metallic aftertaste I always experience after having sucralose.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, my husband doesn’t mind the taste of sucralose and liked most of the flavors.<\/p>\n

The Kool Aid flavors were our favorite…I think it’s a nostalgia thing for me. Having a grape or orange soda was a serious treat for me when I was growing up. For my palette it seemed to have the least sucralose flavor, although I could personally do without the artificial colors.<\/p>\n

Carbonated Iced Tea?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

We don’t care for carbonated iced tea, so we didn’t quite enjoy the Country Time tea\/lemonade combination, or the Crystal Light peach iced tea.<\/p>\n

What About the “Water Enhancers?”<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Our preferred method of flavoring our Soda Stream soda has become those little bottles of “water enhancers”, such as Mio. I absolutely love the Kool Aid flavors<\/a>, and I think it’s a neater-cleaner way of flavoring soda than with the more-substantial Soda Stream syrups.<\/p>\n

Those are similarly flavored with sucralose.<\/p>\n

Easy to Use Packaging: The SodaStream “Caps”<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I actually liked the easy-to-use packaging that these Chatterbox flavors came in. You simply rip the top and pour in the syrup. I know you can buy “variety packs” of syrups this way<\/a>, but wouldn’t it be nice to buy a package of just, say, Kool Aid grape soda like this?<\/p>\n

\"Rip<\/a>

Rip off the top of the 1L syrup pack and pour it in. It’s that simple!<\/p><\/div>\n

I was thinking about that right about the time I learned of the SodaStream “Caps”<\/a>. They were launched last fall. These are pre-packaged syrup capsules designed to sit on top of a 1L soda bottle (with carbonated water ready to flavor). Depress the capsule on top of the bottle and the syrup easily flavors your soda.<\/p>\n

Scarlett Johannsen demonstrated it during the controversial Super Bowl Commercial (0:08 into the video):<\/p>\n