A Swedish design company founded in 2013 by two experienced industrial designers (and friends), Jonas Groth and Carl Ljungh, the brand is on a mission to re(de)fine the home appliances industry – and their carbonators are rapidly gaining a cult following around the world. Having strong environmentalist principles, Aarke aims to produce made-to-last quality, using premium materials and a unique design approach.

Once you’ve inserted your CO2 cylinder into the tower, the exciting bit can begin… Just add tap water up to the fill line of your carbonation bottle, screw it onto the head of your Carbonator 3 and push the stainless steel lever down until the drinks maker makes a satisfying buzz. Then release the lever, unscrew the bottle and seal it till you need it – making fizzy drinks for friends and family couldn’t be easier. And with three independent safety valves inside, it couldn’t be safer, either.CR’s take: The highly-rated SodaStream Terra is among the easiest soda makers to use: Insert your bottle top in a clamp, push the clamp into place, and press the button on top. The Terra offers other bubbly benefits; for one, it needs no electricity to work. Performance-wise, it doesn’t ice up when operating; its cap stays on under pressure; and because it has no preset carbonation levels, you can vary the amount of fizz by the number of times you press the button. Will you be able to store the machine easily or will it need to stay put? When choosing a countertop kitchen appliance, especially if you have children, it’s important to consider weight. Soda water makers have broad ranges of weights, typically between 3 and 20 pounds. If you plan to use your machine regularly and have ample countertop space, a bulkier machine may be for you. The bottles are made of PET (polyethylene terephthalate), which can be recycled along with the other recyclable plastics in your household. Use-by date on the bottles: Carbonating water requires gas regulator valves to be set around 55PSI, which in turn needs bottles that can withstand the pressure. The majority will have a two-year lifespan before needing to be replaced. Ease of use We make sparkling water in each machine, rating it for how simple it is to fizz the water.

Other features of the Soda Sensei, however, make it a so-so selection. Icing is a bigger problem for this unit than for the others. The Soda Sensei’s injection nozzle sits deep in the water, making more of it vulnerable to freezing, so it doesn’t carbonate as consistently. This model also requires a bit more work than the others here to make seltzer. You need to put a large, specially designed cap on the Soda Sensei bottle before you add gas. Once you’re done carbonating, you have to release some gas by pushing a tab on the cap, wait for the hissing of the escaping gas to stop, and then replace the large cap with a small cap. Notably, we found that once we put the small cap on after adding a lot of gas, it was hard to slowly release some of the resulting high pressure. So sometimes the cap popped off, spewing seltzer everywhere. Designed for efficiency as well as good looks, the sleek polished steel tower of the Aarke Carbonator 3 will not only look fabulous on any kitchen counter, it’ll allow you to make your favourite sparkling drinks at home, too. Ideal for garden parties, mobile home owners and off-grid holidays, because the carbonation is created solely by the gas cylinder, you don’t need to plug your Aarke Carbonator in to create fizzy drinks, so you can make them anywhere you’re happy to take the carbonator.

AARKE CARBONATOR II Classic Soda Maker

They’ve added a rotation damper to the control lever to allow for a more controlled release of pressure in the bottle; improved the pressure release valve to give a quieter, more ‘sophisticated’ sound when carbonation is complete; and, lastly, they made sure that this beautiful machine is made with even more high quality, sustainable parts that will help it to become a long-lasting fixture in your home. Aarke soda makers are designed to be easy to use. Just insert a CO2 cylinder into the tower, add tap water up to the fill line of your carbonation bottle and screw it into the machine. Push the stainless steel lever down until you hear a buzz, then release the lever, unscrew the bottle and seal it. Canisters of CO2 are available separately and Aarke carbonators are compatible with the 60-litre SodaStream gas cylinders we sell online, and the recycled canisters we sell in store. Built to last

If you're concerned about how many plastic bottles you get through when buying sparkling water from the supermarket, you'll see a huge reduction in plastic waste through using products such as SodaStream.The three-year lifecycle gives SodaStream bottles a far smaller carbon footprint than buying bottled sparkling water every week. We made dozens of bottles of seltzer to evaluate the six soda makers in our tests. We rate each model on how easy it is to use, including when attaching and detaching bottles and using the controls. We use standard 14-ounce CO₂ cylinders, which work in any soda maker. Number of BPA-free bottles included: Most will offer a one-litre bottle in the box with a maximum fill capacity of 850ml. But some brands like Aarke and Mysoda offer two, making life easier if you’re pre-chilling or want some on the go or for families. Developed to work perfectly with Aarke carbonators, the brand’s Flavour Drops come in a variety of flavours, like sweet Wild Strawberry and refreshing Cucumber and Lime. Sugar free and made with natural flavourings, just add five drops of Aarke flavouring to a glass of freshly carbonated water and enjoy. Each 50ml recyclable bottle of Flavour Drops makes up to 40 litres of flavoured fizzy water, so you can save on those trips to the shops. Accessory appeal Ease of setup We analyse how easy it is to set up the sparkling water maker, including inserting the CO2 cylinder and water bottle.