Creating sparkling water with the BIBO Fizz – review

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I’ve been coveting a fizzy drinks maker for a long time now. I even had one on my Christmas list that the OH refused to buy because it would ‘take up space’ and not be used. Little did he know that I ended up working with BIBO to review one of their BIBO Fizz sparkling drinks maker and try making our own sparkling water. N and I love it, and my brother’s been impressed with the results too.

I’ve always drunk a lot of water (I don’t drink tea or coffee) and N isn’t bad about drinking it. But sometimes you want a bit of variety, and being able to fizz your water is a great way to do that. Now I’m on a keto diet I can’t have the shop bought fiavoured waters I like as they’re full of sugar. But with BIBO Fizz I can make my own flavoured sparkling water just by adding a squeeze of lime, lemon or orange to give that hint of flavour. I was looking forward to trying it out.

The BIBO Fizz also takes me back to my childhood when we had a similar machine, although that was used for fizzy drinks with lots of sugar in (and grim dandelion and burdock which my mum loved!).

What’s included in the BIBO box

I received the BIBO Fizz with the reusable 1 litre bottle and the first CO2 cylinder. The BIBO Fizz is quite tall but takes up only a small worktop footprint, so I’ve cleared a space easily for it near the sink. It came in black, although I would have liked to have seen different colour options so you could choose one which went with the kitchen.

I like that you don’t need electricity to run it. No plugs, cables or unnecessary extra electricity needed. You just put in and turn the gas cylinder in the back, pop the back cover back on, and you’re ready to go.

How do you use the BIBO Fizz

All you need to use the BIBO Fizz is tap water. Yes, you can add flavourings (make your own or buy your favourite fizzy drink flavours if you want). But you just use tap water and make it fizzy before adding anything else.

It’s so easy to use and N’s decided it’s his job to use it. He did struggle with the fizz button at first as he didn’t push it down hard enough. But now he’s got the hang of it.

You simply fill the bottle up to the fill line with water. Attach the bottle back into the machine – it tilts up and you pop it in to the carbonation injector (sounds like a car part!). Push the bottle back to vertical for fizzing. Then press the button on top to force the gas out and so make sparkling water.

Depending on how fizzy you want it, you can change the fizz level. You can also adjust the length of button press depending on how sparkling you want it, e.g you need more fizz if you’re then adding flavouring afterwards. The number of presses and length of time to press are given in the user manual.

Once your water is sparkling, switch the gas release lever on the carbonation injector and wait for the pffzzz release. Then you can uncap and pour out your drink.

At first we struggled to remove the cap and work out what the lever on the lid was for. The instructions weren’t the clearest because the pictures in the manual don’t show the release button, or the fizz level buttons. But we worked it out in the end.

How fizzy does the water get?

I think it’s a bit of trial and error at first. Water does tend to get quite fizzy. We use level 4 on the fizz levels, and if you serve it straight away it keeps its fizz quite well through a meal.

My brother wanted to try some flavourings we had. We fizzed the water, but once we added the flavouring, put the lid back on and tipped it a couple of times to mix, we found it lost quite a lot of its fizz. However, we’ve since tried again and by fizzing it with a longer button hold for 4-5 times, it keeps it longer.

I’d definitely advise fizzing your drinks just before drinking, rather than fizzing them, then adding to the fridge for a bit before drinking. We like cold drinks – so we should change to drinking immediately but adding ice instead.

Personally I quite like the slightly less fizziness. N’s decided it depends on the drink whether he wants it more or less fizzy.

What we like about the BIBO Fizz

If you usually buy sparkling water, then you’re going to save a lot of money and plastic. One CO2 cylinder will give up to 60 litres of fizzy water. Yes, you need to buy a cylinder, and they send a returns label to return your canister when you order the next one, along with refunding your £10 deposit. But it’s better than buying water and reduces plastic use.

It adds variety to your water options, giving you the option of sparkling water meaning you’ll potentially get more water into your family if they’re not keen on plain tap water.

You can add the sparkling water to make fizzy squash – N likes this, or add your own flavouring. I like adding a hint of citrus. Lots of shop bought sparkling waters are full of sugar, but you can make your own sugar free versions.

The small footprint doesn’t take much space up in the kitchen. There’s no cables to worry about either, which means you can easily store it away if needed.

It’s fun to use. N is already planning table tennis parties over school holidays to have friends over to play, and he’s planning to make fizzy drinks at their request. We reckon from the 1 bottle made, you can get 3 large glasses worth of drink out of it.

If you want to try a BIBO fizz for yourself, you can buy direct from BIBO. The usual RRP is around £82, but it’s on offer currently for just under £60.

What flavours would you add to your sparkling water?