Sodastream loses carbonation when adding syrup
I have a sodastream, and for the most part it makes great carbonated water. However, any time I try to use the flavoring syrups, my drink becomes completely flat. I do follow the instructions and only carbonate water (no pumping bubbles with the syrup already mixed in).
I've tried all techniques I could think of: stirring syrup into fizzy water, pouring fizzy water over syrup, pumping syrup into fizzy water without mixing. Basically, if I don't stir, all the syrup goes to the bottom of the glass, and if I do stir, the bubbles are gone. I've tried refrigerating the syrup, room temp, warming it. The best technique I have come up with so far is to add a little bit of carbonated water, pour in the syrup, mix that up, and then add the rest of the carbonated water. I like to believe this "loosens" the syrup so it mixes into cold water a bit better. However, even with this technique, the drink is flat.
Does anyone else experience this? Anyone have suggestions?
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It has something to do with the ice. The ice that my refrigerator makes always flattens my drinks. However, using store-bought ice keeps them carbonated. It might have something to do with the impurities in our tap water reacting to an ingredient(s) in the syrup.
Tried an experiment today to make sure I liked their flavours before taking a plunge for the machine.
Sealed 2 litre bottle of Walmart Club Soda left in fridge overnight. Poured 500ml into a glass. Very bubbly indeed.
Added SodaStream Diet Cola concentrate... drink was substantially flat within 2 minutes even if covered.
Theory? Most commercially sold soft drinks contain phosphoric acid as well as the naturally occuring carbonic acid which takes time to develop from the CO2 injection. The SodaStream drinks may be suffering from being "too fresh". The commercial drinks are probably benefitting from "aging" in the bottle and are probably produced with an initially higher level of carbonation than we would find acceptable straightaway.
The solubility of carbon dioxide in water is a function of several factors. The most important are time, temperature, pressure, and composition.
In order to maximize your carbonation, ensure everything is as cold as possible. The colder the liquid, the more CO2 you can dissolve in the liquid.
Secondly, you will need high pressure. The higher the pressure the more CO2. For example, if you leave an open bottle of carbonated water on your table, it will go flat. If you cap the bottle, it will maintain carbonation, but also build up pressure in the bottle. The higher the pressure, the higher the carbonation. Any "other gasses", like atmospheric oxygen and nitrogen in the bottle will effectively reduce the "partial pressure" of CO2, so you should remove that.
Pure water is easy to carbonate. Once you start adding "stuff" to it, it becomes more difficult. Soda concentrate contains flavors and sugar, all of which hinder the ability of CO2 to dissolve into the the liquid.
It takes time for the system to reach equilibrium. If one just pressurizes a bottle with CO2, it can take quite a while for it to actually dissolve into the liquid. Increasing the contact between liquid and gas (the surface area) speeds up the dissolution.
I don't know how a sodastream works, so if my suggestions can't be exactly duplicated, let me know. Can you add CO2 to the bottle without opening up to the atmosphere?
The best process would be to, first, ensure everything is cold, and mix everything together. Pressurize the bottle with CO2. Cap it to maintain pressure and shake...a lot. Purge the pressure to remove any oxygen and nitrogen, and repressureize. Close the bottle and shake again and you'll notice the pressure decrease as the CO2 dissolves (squeeze the bottle). Top off the pressure and keep shaking and squeezing and repeat until it stays pressurized. Allow any foam to subside, and make sure there are no bubbles on the wall of the bottle before opening.
I make a lot of soda, but use a large cylinder of CO2 and Carbonator Caps, which screw on standard plastic soda bottles. With this I can make anything from 12 ounce to 2 liters at a time.
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