A Review of the Aarke Carbonator
Pros and cons of the sparkling water machine
Pros and cons of the sparkling water machine
When I was trying to decide if the Aarke Water Carbonator III was worth the purchase, I determined that it would essentially pay for itself in a little over a year at the rate my husband and I drink cans of sparkling water at home: it’s about $6 for a 12-pack of Waterloo (3x per month) so it would take around 41 packs of Waterloo to equal the cost of the Aarke itself.
Our main goal was to cut out the majority of the cans we were going through, so this seemed like the best bet. I got a couple of bottles to go with the machine and a CO2 carbonator, which you exchange at about half the price whenever you need to replace it. The CO2 tends to last us anywhere from 4-6 months at a time.
We also ended up getting some of the flavor drops and drink mixers. At this point, you’re a bit closer to $300 in total!
Pros & Cons
As far as the machine itself goes, it looks beautiful on the countertop and is very simple to use: I’ve had it for about a year and haven’t had any issues. On the first pull of the lever; you get some lightly sparkling water, on the second pull it’s a bit more punchy, but for close to the feel of canned sparkling water— it takes a third pull.
Even so, it’s not quite as punchy as a La Croix or Waterloo, and not close to the level of a Topo Chico. Ultimately, it’s a good alternative if you like to drink a lot of sparkling water all throughout the day and want to reduce the number of cans you’re purchasing. It’s also beneficial health-wise in the sense that you’re making the water yourself without any additives or potentially BPA-lined cans.
Image via Nordstrom
All in all, I’d say it’s worth the purchase, but keep in mind that it won’t have quite as strong of a carbonation as sparkling water that you can buy at the store.
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