I thought I'd make a separate topic just to list what worked and what didn't in sodastream syrup experiments. We can't really rule out failures by my amateur self, because they may work in the future with slight variations of carbonation level, brand of ingredients, and the coldness of both water and syrup (colder seems better at carbonation and combining time). Hopefully others can add or critique examples.
1) Pink Lemonade... I have mentioned this as my lucky find of a perfect easy drink. I use defrosted canned (minute maid) pink lemonade concentrate to fill most of the void above the fill line of a carbonated sodastream bottle, then tip it end over end once to mix. Amazing balance and zing... try any commercial soda after that and it will seem crude in comparison. I cut 2 slits on the bottom of the can, then widen one to allow pulp thru (rinse empty bottles well due to pulp).
2) Extra Pink Lemonade... This is a very satisfying family of drinks that lets you be creative while minimizing problems like foam backfires. Fill the upper void of bottle over half full of defrosted canned lemonade concentrate, or a lesser amount of harsh limeade. This gives an acid bite without foaming... then cautiously add something fun like grape (the usual pinking ingredient) or other rosy defrosted concentrate. Be careful... some things like orange can cause an instant foam volcano. I sometimes add concentrated flavor drops, such as cherry or amaretto. Be aware that some cheap frozen concentrates have an off taste, as if the pasteurization went overboard.
3) Breakfast Syrups... I have pretty much tamed the family of fruit syrups such as made by Smuckers. I start with about one third lemon or limeade as above. Then I slowly pour in chilled syrup like blueberry until the foam gets too high. Cap it and you will notice the cold corn based syrup doesn't mix at all. Instead of endless tipping or even shaking, I found a twisting motion of your wrist whips the stuff into solution and makes a nice translucent rose color with foamy bubbles. At least this works with the half liter bottles... the thing is you need to whip the heavy syrup out of the bulbous bottom or top.
4) Diluted fruit juice... I tried ocean sprays version of blueberry (includes some grape and apple) and half filled a liter sodastream bottle. Then fortified it with a fair amount of sugar to balance the coming carbonic acid. I then carbonated a half liter sodastream bottle (this optional size really beats the large one which lets things get old and flat) and poured it into the liter bottle. It foamed a bit maybe because wasn't chilled enough, and gave bland and undercarbonated results. Darn it, I just realized that a touch of lemon or lime would have helped. But overall I couldn't add more carb without diluting the already weak taste (I had tried this earlier)... and couldn't increase the juice without losing more carb. So it seems this gives an inferior result to blueberry syrup. Yeah, i know it could be solved by carbonating the already mixed juice, against sodastream advice.
1) Pink Lemonade... I have mentioned this as my lucky find of a perfect easy drink. I use defrosted canned (minute maid) pink lemonade concentrate to fill most of the void above the fill line of a carbonated sodastream bottle, then tip it end over end once to mix. Amazing balance and zing... try any commercial soda after that and it will seem crude in comparison. I cut 2 slits on the bottom of the can, then widen one to allow pulp thru (rinse empty bottles well due to pulp).
2) Extra Pink Lemonade... This is a very satisfying family of drinks that lets you be creative while minimizing problems like foam backfires. Fill the upper void of bottle over half full of defrosted canned lemonade concentrate, or a lesser amount of harsh limeade. This gives an acid bite without foaming... then cautiously add something fun like grape (the usual pinking ingredient) or other rosy defrosted concentrate. Be careful... some things like orange can cause an instant foam volcano. I sometimes add concentrated flavor drops, such as cherry or amaretto. Be aware that some cheap frozen concentrates have an off taste, as if the pasteurization went overboard.
3) Breakfast Syrups... I have pretty much tamed the family of fruit syrups such as made by Smuckers. I start with about one third lemon or limeade as above. Then I slowly pour in chilled syrup like blueberry until the foam gets too high. Cap it and you will notice the cold corn based syrup doesn't mix at all. Instead of endless tipping or even shaking, I found a twisting motion of your wrist whips the stuff into solution and makes a nice translucent rose color with foamy bubbles. At least this works with the half liter bottles... the thing is you need to whip the heavy syrup out of the bulbous bottom or top.
4) Diluted fruit juice... I tried ocean sprays version of blueberry (includes some grape and apple) and half filled a liter sodastream bottle. Then fortified it with a fair amount of sugar to balance the coming carbonic acid. I then carbonated a half liter sodastream bottle (this optional size really beats the large one which lets things get old and flat) and poured it into the liter bottle. It foamed a bit maybe because wasn't chilled enough, and gave bland and undercarbonated results. Darn it, I just realized that a touch of lemon or lime would have helped. But overall I couldn't add more carb without diluting the already weak taste (I had tried this earlier)... and couldn't increase the juice without losing more carb. So it seems this gives an inferior result to blueberry syrup. Yeah, i know it could be solved by carbonating the already mixed juice, against sodastream advice.