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There has been some good advice written about maximizing carbonation with the Sodastream Soda Maker. Much of it involves the use of cold water, and proper addition of flavor media afterwards. I've been carbonating water by various methods for several decades, and another factor for maximum CO2 absorption onto water involves not only cold water, but patience. Dispensing CO2 up to or exceeding 3 buzzes, as mentioned in Sodastream instructions is wasteful, but keep in mind that Sodastream is in the business of selling CO2 and flavors. I keep a 2 liter bottle of water in the fridge, so my water is always cold enough. I dispense CO2 up to a single buzz, then walk away. If you immediately remove the bottle from the unit, you will lose pressure that needs to remain to allow more CO2 to absorb into the water. The longer you wait, the more absorption, the greater the level of carbonation, and the better the savings on CO2 use. Actually, I place the entire unit into the fridge so it remains cold while it is absorbing. About 30 minutes makes enough of a difference so that you can conduct an impressive chug and belch session, should you desire. The level of carbonation with only one Buzz is that good - as long as you wait a little. I've also read comments from several cheapskates and pennypinchers contending that they get more thrifty results from refilling paintball cartridges at Dicks, The Paintball Palace or somesuch sporting goods outlets. While cheap may be the name of the game, those of you dreading GMO's, artificial sweeteners, nasty chemicals leaching from old soda bottles, global warming and other horrors, Take Note: CO2 made for paintball guns needs to be only pure enough to launch a paintball downrange. It's not food or medical grade gas. You're not gonna eat that paintball. This means that the oil used in the CO2 compressors and distribution equipment ain't what you want to eat. Ingesting an unknown, non-food grade compressor oil ain't what I'd want to bank on for long-term health and safety. You wouldn't get granny's oxygen tank refilled at the local welding shop (or would you?) so why drink trace amounts of some potentially nasty lube not intended for consumption? And "it hasn't killed me yet" isn't a valid excuse. Safety is preemptive and not reactive.