One of my two favorite gifts this year was a soda making kit.  In the kit, you get a coffee-machine like thing that helps you inject pressurized CO2 into water, a tank (or two) of pressurized CO2, several flavors of soda syrup and a few 1 liter bottles to hold the soda.

There are several things about soda making with this kit that are awesome.  First, it takes only about 10 minutes to make a liter of soda.  Second, soda made with this kit ends up being much cheaper than ordinary store-bought soda.  Finally, the kit comes with both diet and regular flavors, but even the regular soda is only about 30 calories per 8 oz, which is about 1/3rd of what you get with Coke.

First, you insert the CO2 canister into the main unit.  Then you add a bottle of cold water to the front of the device.  Both connections are screwed tight against a soft rubber washer, so the connections are pretty much air-tight.

Yes, I watch House.

Once the water is carbonated (which takes about 30 seconds), you add the syrup.  I wanted to try 'Cola' first.

Shake vigorously.

Shake very vigorously.

The finished product.

Cola tastes good!  It is somewhat sweeter than Coke -- perhaps a bit more like Pepsi, but not quite so sweet and lacking bite.  If you've ever had Shasta, I think it tastes a bit like that.  I think I'll try the Dr. Pepper knockoff next.  Can you believe they have a Red Bull knockoff too?  Yep, that too will be tried tomorrow.  I see a lot of soda in my future.