I Tried the Aarke Carbonator Pro (and I Love Its Beautiful, Bubbly Water)

Are you a sparkling water head? A La Croix cultist? Can’t sit down to watch TV without a cold Spindrift? I’ve been there, my brothers and sisters in spicy water. These days, my home is just totally overrun with carbonated waters and flavored seltzers. There’s a whole shelf in the fridge with three full beverage organizers dedicated to this shit; it’s stacked to high heaven in the pantry, as well. We keep a steady supply of La Croix (the “Pure” flavor, because that’s the best one, don’t @ me), Spindrift, Ghia spritzes, and other drinks I probably don’t even know about. Every grocery store order and Target run is bookended with questions like, “Do we need La Croix?” and “Did you get the Spindrift?” Failure to secure more of our revered liquid gold before it runs out is met with derision and the threat of excommunication (not really, but sometimes it feels close). It’s not a good way to live.

In my house, we’ve decided that cutting out the La Croix (et al) would not only reduce our trash and recycling load, but would also lighten our grocery spending by a lot. Food waste has become a big concern in many home and commercial kitchens (this book is excellent on that topic), and attempts to reduce disposable packaging and lower carbon footprints are growing priorities for more and more people, including us. (Maybe it’s because we’ve entered the era of “global boiling?” Who can say, really?!) Like, sometimes I think I might even get a Tesla. (My bank account as I typed that: Whoa, slow down, buddy—no need to go that far.) But I do think it’s good to come up with ways to be more sustainable at home, if not only to feel better about yourself. Now, granted, I did barely pass geometry in high school, but a quick check on the Amazon/Whole Foods app tells me my sparkling water consumption comes out to around $40 a month, or just under $500 a year on, well, fucking cans of water. If you, too, are a soda fiend, a sparkling water slut, or just a general beverage enthusiast, I can only imagine that your bills must be similar… or worse! Needless to say, it would certainly help to get an at-home carbonation gadget—so that’s what I started looking into.

When the SodaStream came out—one of the first big, modern home carbonators—I jumped on it. It was like $80, and promised high quality carbonated water at home. I did quite enjoy it for a bit, and felt it actually did produce pretty decent carbonated water, but there were also a lot of things I didn’t like about it. The plastic bottles didn’t feel great to me (and got grimy easily, because they’re goddamn plastic); the water was spicy but didn’t stay so for super long; and, frankly, it just wasn’t that sexy of a machine. Did I make thousands of Campari sodas with it during the pandemic? Yes. But it also lost its luster for me, so I also kept an eye out for the next thing. (For the record, I highly recommend the SodaStream if you want a more economical carbonator and are fine with it being plastic. It’s literally a fine and solid device, I just demand excellence in every realm of my life, LOL.)

The next thing that felt really worthwhile to me came from Aarke, the Swedish design company founded about a decade ago by Carl Ljungh and Jonas Groth. Wow, Swedish design? I thought. I don’t watch Fanny and Alexander (the great masterpiece by Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman) on my TV that’s sitting atop an IKEA entertainment center once a year for nothing! My general philosophy is “get more Swedish stuff,” so this was an easy sell for me. Thus, I scored an Aarke Carbonator Pro, which is a modern, minimalist-feeling machine.

This thing looks like a robot from Interstellar or 2001: A Space Odyssey, which is increasingly the only aesthetic I care about. It’s tall and sleek, with parts gliding smoothly up and down; the carbonator takes up very little space side to side, and is appropriately tall considering that it holds a CO2 canister within. I don’t know whether it’s because it’s Swedish or just because making carbonated water seems like a pretty easy process, but the Carbonator Pro is extremely simple to use. You just put the full glass bottle (I use filtered water from my amazing Brita, because why not?) in the base, close the compartment around it, and then press the button on top one, two, or three times, depending on how spicy you like your water. You pull the lever on the side to release the compartment and free your newly sparkling water. Then, like the civilized human being you are, you mix it with Campari and drink it (and then do that three or four more times before dinner). It’s a beautiful machine. And the best part is that the water tastes good. That being said, in all fairness, I don’t think any home device is going to reach the crispy perfection of industrially carbonated beverages, in the same way that a bottle of Coke from the gas station will never taste as good as a fresh Coke from McDonald’s. Indeed, there is a magic to the processes of capitalism that is simply beyond our understanding.

Still, the whole thing feels very elevated. It’s made of stainless steel, is easily operable with one hand, and, most importantly, it uses a glass bottle. My entertaining dream is to slickly put one or two glass bottles of just-bubblified carbonated water out on the dinner table, and the Aarke allows you to do just that. You can buy more glass bottles, and subscribe to the CO2 so you never run out.

Overall, this is definitely a bougie upgrade compared to the Sodastream, but it’s perfect for people who want to lead more sustainable lives, love contemporary-minimalist Scandinavian design, and enjoy super good carbonated water regularly. Also, the glass bottle is a major selling point, since, unlike other carbonators with plastic bottles, you won’t have to replace it or worry about it decomposing or anything.

TL;DR: The Aarke Carbonator Pro might be the best home carbonator I’ve experienced to date. It looks very cool, is hella easy to use, and features a super nice glass bottle as its receptacle. The water is delicious if you drink it when it’s fresh, and for far less than the price of a year of stocking your home with sparkling water, you’re making a sustainable choice. And if that doesn’t do it for you, at least you can ride out the era of “global boiling” with some good ol’ spicy water… until there’s no more water, that is.

Buy the Aarke Carbonator Pro on Amazon or from Aarke.

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