I’m making my own sparkling water at home, using an automatic bottle shaker that I put together out of purchased parts and a 3D-printed bottle cradle. I take tap water, doctor it with some extra minerals, add a tiny bit of fruit extract for a hint of flavor, and then carbonate it while shaking it with this machine.
There are lots of ways to make homemade sparkling water. I opted to use method #3 from the linked post. I bought a tank of food-grade CO2 from a local gas supplier. I cap one-liter soda bottles with carbonation caps, chill them, and then carbonate them while shaking them using my machine. The initial dollar outlay for the carbonation setup and the parts for my machine was obscene (~$450) but the ongoing cost will be trivial as all I’ll be paying for are CO2 tank refills and tap water. I’ve calculated that my payback on these startup costs is six months, when compared to the cost of the Pelligrino Essenza that I was buying.
Some “tips and tricks” I learned along the way:
- Many of the write-ups on this method suggested using two-litter plastic soda bottles. I found that the water went flat before I was able to finish drinking a bottle that big. I prefer using one-liter bottles for that reason. I mix up a batch of water, minerals, and flavorings in a four-liter jug and then portion it out into four one-liter bottles. Those go into the fridge to chill before I hook them up to my CO2 tank and shake them for five minutes each on the shaker machine.
- CO2 is absorbed much more quickly if the water is chilled and shaken while the CO2 is being injected.
- I use plastic bottles so that I can squeeze them to push all the air out of the bottle before securing the carbonation cap to the top. Once I connect the CO2 hose to the bottle it pops back to full size and firms up. This makes for more complete carbonation of the water.
- The pressure setting on the CO2 regulator will determine how fizzy the water gets. I started with mine set at 30psi but that gave me too much fizz. I’ve now got it set to 20psi.
- I found a spreadsheet online that calculates what minerals need to be added to tap water to make it equivalent to various brands of sparkling water. I got the water analysis report from my local water utility’s website to get the mineral content of our water to use as the starting point for the spreadsheet. It told me that all I needed to make a Pelligrino-like water was to add tiny bits of salt and gypsum to our tap water. I ultimately eliminated the gypsum as the concept of drinking plaster dust didn’t appeal to me much and I couldn’t tell the difference without it. So now I just add a pinch of kosher salt to the water before chilling it.
- I do like the fruit extract-flavored water that Pelligrino sells. I found a fruit extract that I like and I add it to my water at the same time I’m adding the salt. I use a dropper bottle and add 20 drops of extract per liter of water. It adds just a hint of fruit scent and flavor to the water.
