SodaStream is no longer the only name in the carbonator game, and after years of testing devices, my colleagues and I have found that the best sparkling water maker is a convenient, versatile gadget that blows store-bought soda water…out of the water.
I probably shouldn’t admit this publicly, but La Croix is my main form of hydration. I drink still water, but most of the H2O that goes into my body on any given day is cold and carbonated because the bubbles just make it more fun to drink. Less fun, however, is the waste I create with all the cans and bottles. Sure, they’re recyclable, but I’m very aware of the materials that get produced, used, and tossed into a bin (albeit, a blue bin) at a consistently high rate around my house.
More than once, I thought a SodaStream might be the answer, but I tried a few models and always gave up after a few weeks or a months because the results never wowed me, setting it up was more work than popping the tab on an ice-cold can of Limoncello La Croix, and I couldn’t even carbonate wine in it.
But after years of testing soda makers, my colleagues and I have found models that make it quick and easy to make zingy, fizzy drinks (including wine and cocktails) with the push of a button. Find our top picks below and keep reading to learn more about how we tested sparkling water makers and what we thought of the machines that didn’t earn a top spot.
In the last few years of testing, the Drinkmate OmniFizz Sparkling Water and Soda Maker has made the sparkliest sparkling water of any carbonator in its price range. And unlike the comparably priced SodaStream, you can use this to turn wine, cocktails, tea, (pulp-free) fruit juice, and more into delightfully carbonated beverages—once you get over the very small learning curve required to figure out the pressure release. It’s all outlined in the manual, but the bottle cap, which goes on for the carbonating process, has fast and slow pressure release tabs. This is important because when you’re carbonating anything with a syrup or other sugars (wine or cocktails, for example), or even excitedly adding lots of bubbles to your ice-cold water, releasing the pressure quickly could result in a bubbly beverage explosion. The other thing that stands out about this carbonator is that the bottle cap slides into the carbonator so it feels like a much more secure connection than the machines that require you to pop and/or twist the bottle into the base.
What we don’t love about the Drinkmate Omnifizz
In addition to being kind of “meh,” in the looks department, this carbonator is made of all plastic parts so it doesn’t feel as durable as some others we tested. And depending on the retailer you order from, it may or may not ship with a CO2 cylinder so be sure to read the product descriptions carefully. If you order from Home Depot, you’ll get a full-size (60L) cylinder, but at Walmart it’s not included. The machine I ordered from Amazon came with an adorable but disappointingly small 3 oz. “test cylinder,” but that’s not the case for every Amazon offer either.
Height: 16.14″
Machine material(s): Plastic
Bottle material: Plastic
Comes with starter CO2 tank: Yes (size varies by retailer)
Requires proprietary CO2 tank: No
Warranty: 2 years
Breville has cornered the high-end small kitchen appliance market with its top performing countertop oven, induction burner, toaster, and immersion blender. Now I’m adding the sparkling water maker to that list.
