Solubility is the Secret!

Whether you buy soda in fancy bottles from the springs of France, of the Italian highlands, or the woods of Maine, what you get depends on the solubility of carbon dioxide gas in water - just as you learned in Chemistry I.

Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is a tasteless, colorless, and odorless gas. With persuasion, CO2 will dissolve in water and when you drink carbonated water, the CO2 will prickle in your mouth in a clean and pleasant way. The more CO2 hidden in the water the fresher and more thirst-quenching it will be.

Carbon dioxide occurs naturally in the air. Plants and trees inhale carbon dioxide and you exhale it with each breath. But CO2 does not get in the water you drink unless something forces it to be there. Nature can do this in deep natural wells or you can do it mechanically with a soda syphon. It takes a lot of persuasion to convince the carbon dioxide to dissolve in water. At the first chance, it will escape into the air. Pressure forces the CO2 into the water, the higher the pressure the better.

Another thing helps solubility: low temperature. The colder the water the more CO2 it will accept. So...it is high pressure and low temperature that makes good soda.

Now you can see why drinks go "flat." Carbon dioxide is an unwelcome visitor. The moment a drink warms up, the CO2 sees its chance and escapes.

Some people judge a glass of soda by the big bubbles that rush to freedom. But these bubbles are lost carbonation. They help your house plants but not your taste buds. When you do not see bubbles in your glass, you know you have made soda that will tingle your tongue. (Make a test: Put your finger into a glass of soda and watch the dissolved bubbles "grow" on your fingertip in their rush to get free.)

Information on this page is partly taken from the Mr. Fizz web site and is used with permission of Leland, Ltd.