Review: Drinkmate Omnifizz soda maker

The Sodastream is the industry leader but there are some major rivals competing for top spot in the soda maker market

Sodastream has dominated the at home soda making market for decades. A 1990s staple, the brand has enjoyed a resurgence in recent years as environmental concerns of using fizzy drink bottles, as well as cost concerns over rising supermarket prices, have brought it back into stores.

However with Ninja recently announcing a new top-of-the-range soda maker that will be arriving in the UK some time in 2023, plus a host of other brands is Sodastream still at the top of the market?

As a fizzy drink addict I have used a Sodastream for a number of years and found it to be easy to use, cheap to run and it helps to save space in my weekly recycling bin. The Drinkmate Omnifizz, sold by Lakeland, is a direct competitor to the Sodastream and after a short trial I think it might even be the better option.

The Drinkmate Omnifizz is not particularly impressive out of the box. The device is quite light and feels quite flimsy. The benefits to that is that it's quite small on your kitchen counter and the lightweight means it can even be portable if needed.

I like a kitchen gadget that looks the part. I love the sleek design and aluminium highlights of the PerfectDraft Pro and the Instant Vortex air fryer, two devices that take pride of place on my kitchen counter. The Drinkmate looks fine but does not have the premium feel of the likes of the Sodastream Terra.

Do not let that put you off though. With the simplicity of design comes a soda maker that is incredibly easy to use and the lightweight feel does not do justice to the little touches that make the Drinkmate a serious contender in the market.

The CO2 bottle is easy to install. Simply slide it into the base of the machine and twist to connect. Similarly the water bottle pulls out at a 45-degree angle and unscrews easily. After that it's a case of filling up the bottle, connecting it and pressing the big button on the top to begin carbonating your drink.

Once the CO2 is piped through the drink is ready and the Drinkmate has a very handy valve button that allows you to vent the excess gas before removing the bottle.. This stops the drink from bubbling over and causing a mess when you remove the bottle - a problem I have had with the Sodastream before. It's a minor tweak but one that really does save a lot of time and stress and that alone is enough to push the Drinkmate ahead of rivals in my estimation.

The drinks themselves taste fantastic to the point where it's significantly tastier than bottled sparkling water, particularly when using chilled water. You can add syrup if you have a sweet tooth and Pepsi, 7up and others are available if you want a bit more flavour.

Where the Drinkmate once again impresses is that while Sodastream models are solely used for carbonated water, the Drinkmate model can be used on anything, from wine to tea. With a bit of experimentation you can create sparkling wine, fizzy cocktails (or mocktails) or anything other drink you feel lacks fizz.

With any kitchen gadget the real value comes weeks and months after you have opened the box and installed it. A couple of months after setting up the Drinkmate I am still using it on a daily basis. I still occasionally experiment with new drinks and flavours but it has become a part of my daily routine and has helped to increase the amount of water I drink.

What about the cost? The Drinkmate costs £90 from Lakeland and that is cheaper than the £109 price of the Sodastream Terra. I think it's the better device too, so the entry-level price is particularly appealing. CO2 canisters will be your main outlay. While any 60L cannister works with the Drinkmate be careful if you are ordering Sodastream branded cannisters as some have a different connecting system and will not work in the Drinkmate.

The cannisters cost £35 for two. This gives you 120 litres of carbonated water. If you were buying sparkling water from the supermarket you would expect to pay around £50. The cannisters and refillable bottle also mean that you are not using and throwing out large amounts of plastic bottles too.

Buy the Drinkmate Omnifizz here for £89.99.