I love sparkling water. My setup at home is a filter jug to clean up my tap water and a carbonator from “another brand”
(which I’ll get into later), to make sparkling water. I’ve been looking for an alternative to my existing carbonator and stumbled upon Aarke. Thanks to Aarke and the Irish sustainability-focused shop Faerly, I’ve gotten my hands on an Aarke Carbonator 3 (C3) to test out.
What Are Water Carbonators?
Water carbonators are devices designed to infuse water with carbon dioxide (CO₂), creating carbonated or sparkling water. These devices cater to people who enjoy fizzy drinks and are a popular alternative to purchasing pre-bottled sparkling water. By carbonating tap or filtered water at home, users can reduce waste, save money, and customise carbonation levels.
Needless to say, these are popular these days. I wanted to stop buying bottled sparking water for sustainability reasons. Now, with the Re-turn scheme, buying bottled water would absolutely wreck my head (though I support the scheme).
How Do You Buy CO₂ Canisters?
This is the most important point to have locked down before buying a water carbonator. You have to buy CO₂ canisters regularly. Each canister will make about 60 litres of carbonated water. I buy my CO₂ canisters through Faerly.ie and their exchange programme. It costs a little to get set up because I have 4 canisters at any given time to increase my value when returning them. But since Argos closed, this is the easiest and most reliable way to have CO₂ canisters in stock at home.
The Sodastream Problem
At the time, Sodastream was the solution. I had reviewed a couple of their devices and they were really the only company available in the Irish market. Harvey Norman and Argos offered me a route to replace my CO₂ canisters too. I even had lots of warm memories of this brand being in my Granny’s house and didn’t think much of promoting a brand like this.
Flash forward a few years and the thought of promoting Sodasteam is reprehensible to me. SodaStream, an Israeli company which has faced boycotts primarily due to its operations in Israeli settlements located in the occupied West Bank. These settlements are considered illegal under international law, and companies operating within them are often viewed as complicit in the ongoing occupation of Palestinian territories.
Amnesty International has declared the actions of Israel a genocide and I truly believe people should act with their wallets alongside anything else they do. Brands like Starbucks, McDonalds and Sodastream do feel these impacts, so it’s worth paying attention to where you spend your money.
Which is where we start to talk about Aarke.
Who is Aarke?
Aarke is a Swedish company founded in 2013, focuses on premium kitchen appliances. So from the get go I have to highlight that you shouldn’t expect Aarke and Sodastream to land in the same price brackets. You could consider Aarke to be the Apple or Kitchen Aid style product of the kitchen.
Aarke products are designed to be user-friendly but also sustainable. I am not going to preach from my soapbox about low-lifespan products and plastics, but basically, if you can afford high-quality, long-lasting machines – this is what Aarke aims to produce.
The Aarke Carbonator 3
To fully understand the Aarke design principle, it’s best I just start focusing on the Carbonator 3. You can check out my intro to the product on TikTok too.
Design and Build
My old carbonator was plastic. Very plastic. The Aarke C3 is the ultimate aesthetic addition to a kitchen. The build quality is incredible, crafted from high-quality stainless steel with clever design features.
For example, the machine’s design cleverly hides away the CO₂ canisters in the primary pillar with a minimalist design. I know many will read this as being pretentious, and I apologise for that. But I really like this design style and sometimes do pay a premium for it (I use iPhone sure!).
The C3 is operated with a single lever and below where the bottle hangs is a drip tray. A thoughtful inclusion which always irritated me about my old carbonator.
However, I did find some flaws. The old machine I had included a quick grasp for bottles which I confess was nice to have. I struggle sometimes screwing the bottle into the C3, but it’s getting better over time. Also, the bottles included with the machine are not dishwasher safe.
Thankfully, from a sustainability point of view, if you have old Sodastream bottles, they should be compatible with the C3 too and some of these are dishwasher safe. But use these at your own risk. Aarke recommends you only use Aarke bottles as they have extra safety features including pressure release. Expect Aarke to address this in 2025 with new bottles.
One possible annoyance I avoided. I’m grateful for getting the matte black C3 as there is a purely stainless steel version. I’m guessing that one is a fingerprint magnet and the real reason you get a cloth in the box.
In general, the design of the Aarke is that of a premium kitchen accessory that will elevate the look of any kitchen counter.
Functionality and Performance
The Aarke C3 is incredibly simple. You fill your water bottle to the line, screw it onto the machine and give the lever 3 pumps. This gives me the level of carbonation I like, but you can give more or less to your own personal taste.
My Sodastream machine was powered, meaning it took up a socket in the kitchen and could only sit in one area. The Aarke C3 requires no power, making it easy to place wherever you like.
Using a lever instead of a button is a small thing which I’m finding quite satisfying. That might be the beer drinker in my enjoying taps though.
One final note I want to add, which is going to make you judge me, is the consistency of the sparkling water is excellent. This is likely down to the bottle having it’s own built-in release valve giving consistent carbonation levels. I say you’ll judge me because if you don’t drink sparkling water, you’ll never know how sweet that right amount of bubbles is!
Aarke also offer a wide range of flavours you can add to your water. As part of this review, they sent me Tropical Mango. It was nice and not overly artificial. I’m not going to dwell here though because I really just drink straight sparkling water and flavours is going to be really subjective.
If you’re still with me, thanks. Let’s keep going.
Value
Right, we’re into the most challenging aspect of this review and I think I know how to address it. If you are just looking for a water carbonator and want cheap and cheerful, the C3 isn’t the product for you. There are cheaper products on the market that will give you sparkling water.
The Aarke C3, however, is the best-designed and best-performing water carbonator I’ve ever tested. I like the look of it, the sparkling water it produces and the minimal footprint it takes up in the kitchen.
The biggest argument I can make for this product is that I wager in 5 years, this carbonator is still operating without any issues. That’s down to build quality and the quality of parts used.
Is a water carbonator, in general, a good value purchase? Absolutely. If you drink sparkling water and are buying bottled water regularly, you really should be considering a water carbonator. The long-term value comes back to you, admittedly after a long time, which is another point for the C3 thanks to the likely long lifespan.
Aarke Carbonator 3: The Goosed Verdict
The Aarke C3 is a great water carbonator. Just how good a purchase it is will come down to:
- How much do you love sparkling water
- What is your buying power
- How much do you value aesthetic
If all of these are being answered on the higher end, the Aarke C3 might well be the best carbonator for you to buy. The Aarke C3 is available today from Faerly.ie.
Right now it’s reduced to €157 making it an excellent gift for Christmas.
