Which seltzer maker is best

Sign Out. Our favorite sparkling water maker. Photo: Courtesy Aarke. Aarke Sparkling Water Maker Brass. DrinkMate Carbonated Beverage Maker.

DrinkMate Spritzer. Tags: the strategist testing testing food and kitchen appliances. Most Viewed Stories. My Honeymoon by Backpack through Montenegro. One you realize this, the possibilities are endless.

Sparkling tea. Effervescent orange juice to start the day. A carbonated cocktail or two in the evening. However, we like to think that this just adds to the flexibility of the DrinkMate: You can take your sparkling water maker to go. The DrinkMate Carbonation System uses standard 60L carbonation cylinders, and the manufacturer has a trade-in programme you can take advantage of for sustainability and a slight discount.

Is the idea of having to source, store, and send back endless CO2 canisters standing between you and your personal supply of seltzer? We understand. With easy-to-use individual carbonator packets, you can use this system to carbonate any liquid you choose.

You can even add herbs and fresh fruit directly to the bottle without voiding the warranty, allowing you the ability to make delicious, experimental infusions all your own. Best for: Those who want to try the very latest innovations in carbonation. The SodaStream Aqua Fizz is very similar to the SodaStream Fizzi, but is a little bulkier; it requires a little more clearance in order to safely accommodate a glass bottle. Best for: Those who enjoy their dinner with a side of class, fine china, and dressing to the nines.

The FizzPod is extremely portable—some might even say flimsy, but it holds together well and the water seals remain tight. If so, the iSi Soda Siphon is perfect for you.

Just as a professional bartender uses a docked siphon to shoot crystal-clear sparkling water straight into a chilled glass , so can you—with this shiny, sleek handheld model. Where other soda makers took two or three charges to make seltzer as fizzy as store-bought, the Drinkmate did it in just one.

It buzzes to let you know to stop carbonating, and it's one of the only machines that allows you to vent some of the built-up pressure through a valve on the carbonator lid. This helps to prevent messy overflow. I also carbonated apple juice in the Drinkmate and was able to get the same level of carbonation I got with water using the same single charge. Because the apple juice was denser than water, it foamed up quite a bit while carbonating, which did cause some to leak out the top of the bottle.

I was able to mitigate it during a second round of testing by filling the bottle slightly less and keeping a closer eye on the level of foam forming during the process. Just be sure to be ready to take your finger off the button before things get messy, and you should be fine.

If things do go awry, everything can be rinsed pretty easily with dish soap and water. But remember, the components are not dishwasher safe. The Aarke Carbonator III uses a simple pull-down handle to create intense levels of fizz, and its beautiful design will fit right in among your countertop appliances. Pros: Sleek design, simple carbonation mechanism, doesn't need electricity, doesn't take up much space. Cons: No CO2 canister included with purchase, multiple charges needed to get high levels of carbonation, only carbonates water, bottles not dishwasher safe.

Like every small kitchen appliance, the more your soda maker is accessible to you, the more likely you are to use it regularly, so you may want to prioritize aesthetics so you can keep it on your counter. The Aarke Carbonator III is the sleekest, most aesthetically-minded soda maker I tested, and it performs just as well. To carbonate, you twist the bottle into the Aarke and pull the handle down until you hear a buzz. Slowly release the handle and you'll hear a hiss similar to twisting the top off a bottle of soda.

One charge will get you lightly sparkling water, but I typically go for three full charges to get the high level of fizz to which I'm accustomed.

Yes, you're paying for style here — and keep in mind that a CO2 canister is not included with your purchase — but the performance is certainly not lacking. It's a bit more manual than the One-Touch, but the auditory trigger that your soda's carbonated is a nice safety mechanism that removes a lot of the guesswork.

The Sparkel Beverage System used a proprietary mix of baking soda and citric acid to generate CO2 without a canister, and you can carbonate any liquid and even infuse it with solid ingredients. Pros: No CO2 canister needed, dishwasher safe bottle, can infuse sodas with solid ingredients, can carbonate any liquid. Cons: Much more complicated process than other soda makers, bottle is smaller in capacity than other soda makers, takes much longer to carbonate than other soda makers.

Most soda makers work by injecting CO2 gas directly from a metal canister housed in the machine into the liquid. Once the canister is empty, it needs to be replaced, and most companies allow you to order new canisters and mail back your empties. But if you can't be bothered with this process or simply don't want to deal with canisters of pressurized gas, the Sparkel has provided an alternative.

The mechanism is a bit more complex than other soda makers. Each charge requires you to add two packets of powder into the machine — baking soda and citric acid. These chemicals mix with water from a reservoir in the back of the machine to generate CO2.

That gas is then pulled out of the reservoir water and injected into the liquid you're carbonating. Wastewater then moves into a separate tank you'll toss away. The whole process takes much longer than your average soda maker — 90 seconds for a level one slight fizz all the way up to four minutes for a level five stronger-than-store-bought fizz.

Aside from not having to deal with CO2 canisters, the other distinct advantage of the Sparkel is the ability to infuse solid ingredients into your sodas such as fruit and herbs. The Sparkel not only injects CO2 but also pressurizes the bottle as it does so, which allows the flavors of the ingredients you add to infuse into the soda. I carbonated both water and apple juice on the highest setting and was very satisfied by the level of fizz and consistency of carbonation. It is definitely more of a process than other soda makers, though.

It's a simple single-button design, but it doesn't give you any visual or auditory signal to stop carbonating. I wasn't able to get as strong a fizz as other models even after holding the button down for as long as 15 seconds. There's just too much room for user error and second-guessing yourself.

It's affordable, but you're better off spending a bit more for consistency and ease of use. It produced the least fizzy seltzer of any soda maker I tried and the batches varied widely.

One warning: The One Touch, unlike most soda makers, needs to be plugged in to an electric power source in order to work. The gas is released through a siphon and then forced into water in a sealed bottle. At-home soda making is a great alternative to buying seltzer, since it cuts down on the number of plastic bottles you're bringing home from the store and then recycling after a single use. While the bottles that come with most soda makers have expiration dates and must be replaced every couple of years, you will certainly get more use out of them than your average store-bought seltzer bottle.

The CO2 canisters can be exchanged and refilled via retailer websites and at some stores—they can also last quite a while. One avid soda maker at the office said she got 60 liters of soda out of a single canister in her Aarke Carbonator. I first evaluated each machine by reading the assembly and operation instructions and taking notes on ease of use right out of the box.

Then, using water that had been chilled overnight, I tested the highest carbonation setting for each model. I then had several coworkers do a blind tasting out of identical drinking glasses to assess the carbonation levels, and tasted the water myself. During my tests, I found that there was little difference in noise level, carbonation time, and amount of carbonation between the different models.

All of the machines I successfully tested were equally quiet, capable of lighter or stronger levels of carbonation, and took between 3—10 seconds to carbonate. For an easy-to-use, affordable, straightforward machine, we recommend the Mysoda Woody. If you want to play with beverages beyond H2O, the Drinkmate is the best and if you care about the longevity of your machine, the only choice.

This new seltzer has real fruit juice, bright and fizzy bubbles, and all the flavors you've been missing.