Measuring the perfect amount of Sodastream syrup

One of the shortcomings of the Sodastream system is consistently measuring the amount of syrup to use to get your drink to taste right. I’ve had several people tell me that the flavor from the sample pack was great, but when they bought a bottle of syrup it just didn’t taste as good.  The problem, I worked out, was they used too much syrup.  If you look at one of the sample packs it says it contains 42ml of syrup.  A bottle of Sodastream flavor syrup contains 500ml and makes 12 liters of soda.  A bit of basic math, 500/12 = 41.67ml of syrup to make one liter of soda.  Of course, you can tweak it up or down if you like, but this is the recommended amount of syrup to achieve the flavor Sodastream intended.

The instructions provided on the bottles of syrup and in the manuals is vague to say the least.  The bottles simply say ‘fill measuring cap with concentrate’, but they don’t tell you how much.  That is where the problem arises.  I’ve found many new Sodastreamers interpret this to mean fill the cap to the top.  That is way too much syrup and as a result you get a drink that is too strong and can taste quite bad and definitely far from their equivalent brand-name taste.  What Sodastream’s instructions neglect to tell you is that there are measuring lines in the caps.  They can be hard to spot, especially on the dark colored caps, but if you run your finger along the inside of the cap you will feel them.  

On the outside of the cap you can see the lines embossed with words stating .25 Liter, .5 Liter, and 1 Liter.  If you fill it to the 1Ltr line, it will be exactly 42ml of syrup.  You can use the other lines to make the 500ml bottles, or mix different syrups together but still get the right amount.

Welcome to Sodastream Stuff!

I'm obsessed with my Sodastream.  I'm not exactly sure why it captivates me so. Maybe it's the geek in me or my love of soda.   It is so simple to use and it just seems to make sense.  It's fun, it saves money (not a huge amount, but some), and it cuts out a massive amount of recycling of bottles and cans.  It also opens up a lot of flavor possibilities   I've found I like the Sodastream brand flavors as well as mixing up my own.  Learning and experimenting with my Sodastream has become a bit of a hobby.  I figured starting a blog would be good way to share what I've learned about Sodastream with others and help others love their Sodastream as much as our family loves ours.  Check back and I'll be adding some good info about how to get the most out of your machine, the syrups, and CO2.