Despite today’s obsession with retro there are plenty of things that should stay left in the 80′s where they belong; Bros, dayglo scrunchies and Fat Willy’s Surf Shack t-shirts immediately spring to mind.

One item however that we are very happy to see back on our shelves is the one and only Soda Stream! For those who don’t, or are too young to remember, Soda Stream caused quite a stir back in the 80′s as the only way to make your own fizzy pop (as we called it back then!) at home. The “Soda Stream” itself was/is a simple machine that allows you to carbonate your own water at the touch of a button. Simply fill a plastic bottle with tap water (or bottled if you’re posh), stick it in the Soda Stream, press down on the lever a few times until the machine makes a funny noise, then add Soda Stream concentrate to make a bottle full of pop of your choice.

What with the recession of the 80′s most parents could only afford fizzy drinks like Panda Pops or Corona, so the Soda Stream provided an economical and awesome way of creating 12 litres of pop from a single bottle of concentrate. Well if there’s one good thing to come out of today’s economic collapse it’s that we can all save a fair whack on buying endless bottles of pop and just use a Soda Stream machine instead. With bottles of concentrate costing less than three quid and a 2L bottle of pop costing at least £1.50 these days, you don’t have be a maths whizz to work out the savings!

Not only is Soda Stream retro-tastic and economical but it’s also good for the environment. Soda Stream bottles are reusable and so doesn’t create the waste that disposable bottles and cans do.

Another great thing about Soda Stream is that they make perfect presents. I guarantee you that any child of the 80′s being presented with a Soda Stream will give you a huge smile in return accompanied with a “wow Soda Stream!!” They will then immediately revert back to childhood and drink about 3 litres of pop in one go!

Even my colleague at the site, who didn’t have a Soda Stream growing up has been captivated by the machine after discovering mine. She’s already bought her own, stocked up on enough syrup to survive a nuclear holocaust, and is making fizzy pop for anyone who comes within a 50 feet radius of her house! She’s in good company though, celebs like Johnathon Ross and Davina McCall are big fans of Soda Stream and have been very vocal about how much they love their new machines.

Soda Streams are out now at selected stockists nationwide just in time for summer. Unlike the 80′s however where we had to wait to go and do a ‘big shop’ at the large Safeways to pick up Soda Stream flavours, you can harness the power of the internet and buy online from anywhere in the country by visiting the Soda Stream website at www.sodastream.co.uk