First of all, the unit looks great. I opted for the Matte Black Aarke Carbonator 2 rather than the Stainless Steel. My sister likes the Brass version as it almost looks like Rose Gold. But I opted for Matte Black as it's simple and looks great in my kitchen next to my black Keurig. The machine is very sleek and smooth, the Matte Black look awesome. I'm not a big fan of shiny chrome or anything like that, so this is right up my alley. Just simple and elegant.

Regarding the use of it, it was so easy, I was worried I wasn't even doing it right. So easy to install and screw in the carbonating cartridge, extremely easy to screw in the PET bottle and even easier to pull down the handle and start carbonating. I ended up carbonating my first bottle 3x to get extra bubbliness. Suprisingly enough my 3-year old nephew likes carbonated/sparkling water, he drinks the perrier cans with the family all the time. So he really loved what came out of this machine. It's toddler approved! First I had him drink just the carbonated water, which tasted very similar to a plain perrier or san pelligrino sparking water. Then I added some flavor, Diet Ginger Ale, for the first one. Man, let me tell you, it tasted great with ice. My mom loved it, my sister, my brother and especially my 3-year old nephew. He kept asking for more.

Aarke, you've definitely got yourself a loyal customer. I'm very pleased with the look, the ease of use, the taste, the design, all of it. Great product, I highly recommend it to anyone! I'm going to tell the whole family and my friends about it. I also love that it's definitely environmentally friendly since we're making it at home and not wasting cans, bottles, etc.

Go for the Matte Black! You won't be disappointed!

Our household quit drinking soda a couple of years ago. We enjoyed water, sometimes with a squeeze of lemon or lime, but we missed the bubbles. Last Christmas we got this Aarke carbonator and we love it. We use it every day, often multiple times a day.

The Aarke is easy to use. You need to buy a 60 L CO2 cylinder separately. For us, a cylinder lasts 4-6 weeks. We buy the SodaStream brand from WallyWorld. You buy one at full price, but when it's empty you just go to the service desk and they'll swap it for a full cylinder. A swapped cylinder is usually about half the price of a brand-new one.

When you buy this carbonator, it comes with its own bottle. Once you've loaded the canister, you just put water (plain water, no additions) into the Aarke bottle, screw it onto the carbonator and pull down the lever until it makes a buzzing noise. The first time I used it, that noise was so grating that I worried there was something wrong. But no, that's just the way it sounds. Anyway, you use the lever once for light carbonation, twice for medium and three times for ultra-carbonation. We usually use twice. The water stays fizzy in the Aarke bottle for at least a day or two. That's the longest we've ever gone without using it all up, so though I expect it would stay fizzy longer, I can't say for sure.

Though you're not supposed to carbonate anything other than plain water, of course you can add in whatever you want after you've done the carbonation. We only use lemon or line juice, but there are loads of syrups readily available if you're interested.

You might ask why, especially if we use SodaStream cylinders, we chose the Aarke for our carbonator. The answer is for its good looks. Since this is a small appliance we use every day, it sits out on our counter and we want it to look good. You have multiple colors to choose from, so you should be able to find one to suit your own home decor.

Poorly manufactured bottle fell apart in the first month of use (see photos). In addition I have been going through carbon bottles 3-4x faster than soda stream. When I looked into it I noticed the gasket is leaking carbon slowly from my bottles. I am switching back to the SodaStream. I have bottles that I still use and are in great shape from over 7 years ago. I sense these are the reasons why the original is not sold in terms of the carbonator and the bottles. Can't seem to find them anywhere without buying the carbonator and, well, not sure if it is worth the massive premium that looks better over being able to rely on a well-manufactured product that doesn't fall apart after initial short-term use. Don't fall for the sparkle, go for utility and price value!

I've owned the Aarke II for just under 3 months and am really pleased with it. I load up the bottle with tap water every evening and give 3 good pumps and pop it into the refrigerator overnight. In the morning I start my day with a quick 8 oz. glass and take my vitamins, followed by a coffee and light breakfast. I then manage a few more glasses throughout the day while working and by dinner time I've had a full bottle of water.

I've never been a big water drinker, but found myself dehydrated more often, perhaps just the stress of the pandemic. I couldn't seem to get myself motivated to drink a liter of water a day, it seemed like a chore, so I had started buying sparkling water - some with flavor some plain - to try to make hydration a little more enticing. But after a while I got tired of lugging cases of water home each week and, if I'm honest, I wasn't thrilled about the number of plastic bottles that I was going through, which didn't always get recycled. It was all starting to feel like a burden. But then I saw The Aarke II and took a chance and ordered it - suffice to say it has been a game changer.

I did the math and the Aarke has paid for itself in both time, conservation and dollars spent on packaged water already. I've found it very easy to use. The gas cartridge screws into the bottom with no effort and the bottle screws in neatly to the pump mechanism which is well sealed so there is no spray or mess. The drip tray collects any backwash through the tube, and I empty that about once a week - just pick up the machine, take it to the sink and pour it out. My first cartridge has lasted a full 90 days, and is still going, so that's at least 90 liters so far. The unit sits neatly under the overhead cabinets and has a relatively small footprint. I chose the stainless steel version (because it happened to be slightly reduced compared to the other colors at the time) which feels solid, cleans easily and looks modern and smart with everything else in the kitchen. Some have said the quality isn't good, but I don't see the issues. It's stainless steel, not chrome, so you can see it looks like an industrial machine.

For reference, I've got the 2nd generation and there is a newer model out which may have additional features. But for me, this model has performed exceptionally well, surpassing my expectations. Not only is it beautiful and functional, it has really added to my quality of life. I had owned one of the cheaper competitors originally, but it was fussy and ugly and leaked. The Aarke is solid Scandinavian design and high quality, a true simple luxury.

I've recently started to experiment with adding ginger shots which turns it into a pep cocktail. All around a great machine that is allowing me to once and for all achieve my hydration goals and check off that box on my daily planner that says "drink water." I've never been able to do that before; at least not consistently.
Now I don't even have to think about staying hydrated. I just enjoy drinking water. Definitely one of the best investments I've made all year.

I'd like to clarify some of the other reviewers comments since no one seems to be addressing them. This machine works just fine. Some people complain that they're not getting as much carbonation as they would like but they are probably doing one of two things wrong. The water is either not cold/up to the fill line or they're not holding down the lever until it makes a distinct sound. If you don't do either then it won't be bubbly. I've had the machine for a week now and i've had no issues so far. I even make my soda extra carbonated and it has a nice bite to it that I didn't even know was possible before i got this machine.

Setup is ridiculously easy. You just flip the machine over and put the C02 bottle inside of the hole and that's literally it. You just screw the included water bottle and then pull the lever a couple of times and you're set.

Does this machine work better than a soda stream? Probably not, what you are getting is a better form factor though. It looks really nice in person. It has a nice heft to it and it seems really solid. As far as i know there is only one moving part which is the lever, so i'm expecting this machine to not break anytime soon, but if anything happens ill update my review accordingly. One final thing is that I was surprised that the machine did not need to be plugged in