Drinkmate Soda Machine Review

Out of all the small appliances in my house, my soda maker has always been one of the most-used. The entire family loves making bubbly water, flavoured or not, and it’s a good way to get your H20. When I was asked to test out Drinkmate, a soda maker that adds carbonation to more than just water, I definitely intrigued. Can you really “carbonate anything” as Drinkmate promises you can?

It turns out that yes, yes you can, and it’s so great to be able to carbonate almost anything. Drinkmate looks just like other soda makers, but it has a unique cap that allows the carbon dioxide added to your liquid to leak out slowly. Having a slow-release means it won’t build up in the bottle, and if it doesn’t build up it can’t explode.

I made a bubbly cider, bubbly glass of wine, bubbly orange juice, and plain old bubbly water, and I loved every second of it. Drinkmate works great, is easy to use, and once you get the hang of it, you’ll never blow the lid off the bottle. I only got close once, and all it did was pop a little louder than usual.

Here’s my look at Drinkmate.

Appearance and features of Drinkmate Soda Machine

There are a few different kinds of Drinkmate Soda Machine. The machine I was sent to test is the Drinkmate Soda Machine with 10L CO2. It’s available in white, black, and red. There’s also the Drinkmate Spritzer, a portable soda machine that resembles a water pistol.

The Drinkmate Soda Machine looks just like my other soda machine. The body is made of plastic, and you can even use the same standard 60L CO2 cartridges you use in other soda machines. The bottle you pour the liquid into is made of BPA-free plastic and is also very similar to other soda machine bottles. What sets Drinkmate apart is the patented Fizz Infuser cap that allows CO2 to slowly leak out.

With Drinkmate, there’s nothing to plug into the wall. It doesn’t use batteries or electricity. All you have to do is add the cartridge, add your liquid to the bottle, put the cap on, and insert the cap in the slot. You tap the button on top of the Drinkmate to add as much carbonation as you’d like, and the machine will stop you from adding too much.

Testing Drinkmate Soda Machine

I had so much fun testing out Drinkmate. We started out just adding bubbles to water, and I was impressed with the level of carbonation I could add.

Carbonating water with Drinkmate

Drinkmate will stop you when it has added enough carbonation in the bottle, so you don’t have to worry about overdoing it. That being said, it can really pack in those bubbles. With my other soda maker, I always felt like there was room for more. Drinkmate really took it to the next level. Some of the water we made was so bubbly it felt like the bubbles were popping near my nose when I drank.

When you carbonate water, you can press the blue tab on the Fizz Infuser cap to quickly release the pressure in the bottle. You’ll only press the tab for water, because if you use it for another type of beverage you’re going to agitate the contents of your bottle. For beverages like wine, cider, and juice, you flip up the silver tab and they will slowly leak out until they’re ready to open. Water, on the other hand, is ready to drink right away.

My best advice when using Drinkmate for bubbly water is to make sure it’s ice-cold, fill up your bottle to the exact level indicated on the side, and listen to your machine. The hiss will be your guide to stopping and removing the bottle.

Adding carbonation to cider

I had a nice bottle of elderflower cider in my fridge for a long time. I always meant to have a glass or two, and I was happy to use it to put Drinkmate’s carbonation system to the test.

Cider is sort of bubbly on its own, so I was a little worried about adding too much carbonation. I pressed down a few times and it didn’t stop me so I kept going, but I stopped adding carbonation before the machine started to hiss.

Instead of just flipping up the silver tab and waiting for the carbonation to slowly release from the lid, I decided to press the blue tab. That was a mistake. The cider built up a head of foam inside the bottle, and the top cap leaked CO2 and a bit of liquid. When doing research on Drinkmate I had read about this happening, so I knew that’s where people would go wrong by unscrewing the lid. I’ve heard this can cause a small champagne-like explosion, so I just left it for a bit and came back when it stopped hissing at me.

When I removed the lid, there was a faint pop. It wasn’t dramatic or scary, and I poured myself a glass of bubbly cider. I’ve had the cider when it wasn’t bubbly, and I much prefer it with carbonation. It really seems to bring out the flavour.

Carbonating wine

Who doesn’t have a lovely bottle of chardonnay in the house? I do, and let me tell you, it’s so much better when you add carbonation using Drinkmate. I didn’t fill up the entire Drinkmate bottle, but added just enough for a glass full. I added carbonation like I did to the cider, and allowed the contents to slowly release.

It took about a minute and the wine was ready to drink. I was so impressed. It was just like having a glass of champagne, and I didn’t even have to spend a fortune or pop a cork to get it.

Swapping out Drinkmate canisters

Adding a cannister to the Drinkmate is really easy. You just remove the used one and add a new one. You can buy new canisters on Best Buy, and there is an empty canister exchange you can do through the mail where you get a gift card rebate.

You can also buy additional Drinkmate carbonating bottles so you can store your bubbly beverages.

Cleaning up Drinkmate bottles

The bottle, lid, and body of Drinkmate are hand-wash only. You can immerse the bottle in water and wash it, but it’s not dishwasher safe. To clean the cap and the machine, just wipe them down with a damp cloth.

Should you buy a Drinkmate Soda Machine?

Drinkmate is easy to use, easy to store, and easy to clean up. There are so many bubbly beverages you can make with Drinkmate, and I’m already planning on using it at birthday parties, holiday parties, and when friends are over. It’s so fun adding carbonation to plain jane beverages. Those bubbles are the life of the party, and everything seems to taste better when you carbonate.

I didn’t create fancy cocktails, but you could very easily and it would be a lot of fun. We did carbonate apple juice, orange juice, and cranberry juice. We also added carbonation to flat soda, and that was pretty great. I’ve read that people use it to re-carbonate tall cans of ale or lager too.

This is the perfect time of year to add a Drinkmate to your kitchen or rec room. You can find Drinkmate right now on Best Buy.