I’ve written about water a couple times in the past.  Here, and again here and here.   Water is great.  ”Water is life.” (A point for anyone who can identify the quote.) But drinking plain water, especially tap water, can get kind of old.  That’s why, despite the relatively high cost and seeming utter absurdity of the purchase, I agreed to buy a Penguin.  Even more surprising is the fact that I love it.

The concept is pretty straightforward.  You fill a small glass bottle (20 ounces, or about .6 liters) with tap water, place it in the machine, lock it closed, hit the lever in short 2-second bursts, release the excess pressure, unlock the machine, and voila you have sparkling, bubbly seltzer / soda water.  (Seltzer or salsa?) The machine sort of looks like a penguin.  Hence the name.

Here’s a short video I recorded of the device in action:

As you can see, this appliance has lots of stainless steel, and it feels nicely solid in your hands.  There are no wires or cords, and it requires no electricity.  It comes with 2 glass carafes, and two Co2 cartridges.  The Penguin does use large carbon-dioxide cylinders, each of which lasts for about 6 months (depending of your frequency of use – each cartridge fills about 60 carafes.)  Also, the thing is just fun to use.  I like to squeezer a little lime juice into the carafe, after I pump it full of gas.

Now, if you prefer flat water, this is obviously not for you.  But if you like the fuzzy-nosed tingle of sparkling water, this is a cool, cool device.  I wouldn’t ordinarily buy Pelegrino or another sparkling water brand, so I can’t argue that it’s saving me money long term.  But if you do buy sprakling water at the store with any quantity or frequency, this machine will probably pay for itself in less than a year.  And this is a gadget that I definitely consider “eco-friendly” – especially compared with the possibility of an endless stream of glass or plastic bottles from the store.  You’re cutting down consumables by a huge margin, despite the recyclable carbon-dioxide cartridges.

Speaking of money, this is device is not exactly cheap.  it runs $200 at Williams Sonoma (that’s where I got mine.) Re-fill cartridges run $30, so they’ve set themselves up with a nice, repeating revenue stream. But I think the costs still bear out in your favor, depending on the variables mentioned above.  However, there’s no value you can really place on joy – and this device is joyful.

The WS website (and other locations around the web) offer other video demos, all of  which probably have greater artistic merit than mine (read: better lighting, a superior camera, and a better looking spokesperson.)  But I had fun making my video.  The company behind the Penguin is called Soda Stream USA; you can choose to purchase it directly from them, as well as finding additional recipes on their site (for those that crave flavor.)  There’s another excellent review of the device over at Uber Review if you want a second opinion.

If I were forced to give this appliance a numeric rating between 1and 10, I’d call it a 9.  It’s pretty, it’s functional, it’s green, it’s simple, and it’s fun to use.  If I have a complaint, it’s on cost.  Not because it’s not worth it, I just like my money in my own wallet.

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