Described herein is a beverage system that is configured to produce beverages having different characteristics, such as different levels of carbonation including producing substantially non-carbonated beverages and carbonated beverages with a single machine. The beverage system includes a beverage appliance and a beverage container. The beverage container includes a beverage material, which can include a flavoring ingredient for a target beverage. The beverage appliance is used to access the beverage material from the beverage container and produce the target beverage. The beverage appliance and beverage container are adaptable to produce the target beverage having any of a range of carbonation levels or other characteristics.

A beverage dispensing system comprises a container, an attachment mechanism, and a cartridge. The container may hold a mixing solution or liquid, such as water, to be mixed with the contents of the cartridge. The attachment mechanism is generally located within the container. The attachment mechanism may comprise an engagement assembly, a piercing portion, and a valve assembly. The engagement assembly may generally receive the cartridge within the attachment mechanism. The piercing portion may generally pierce the cartridge, thereby releasing the contents of the cartridge into the container. The valve assembly may generally open upon engagement of the cartridge with the attachment mechanism. The cartridge generally engages with the attachment mechanism to open the cartridge to be dispensed into the container, thereby combining the contents of the cartridge with the liquid within the container to create a drinkable beverage.

The invention relates to a cartridge (1) for inserting into a beverage-preparing machine, comprising a cartridge body (3) and a cartridge cover (2) connected to the cartridge body (3), wherein: the cartridge body (3) has a plurality of chambers (4) filled with beverage substance; the cartridge cover (2) has a cartridge-emptying unit (20), a mixing chamber (14), and a fluid feed (15) leading into the mixing chamber (14); the cartridge-emptying unit (20) is provided for transferring beverage substance from one of the chambers (4) into the mixing chamber (14); and the mixing chamber (14) is provided for producing a beverage by mixing the beverage substance transferred from the one chamber (4) into the mixing chamber (14) with a liquid fed into the mixing chamber (14) by means of the fluid feed (15); the cartridge being characterized in that the cartridge body (3) and the cartridge cover (2) can be rotated relative to each other about a longitudinal axis (L) of the cartridge body (3). The invention also relates to a method for operating a cartridge (1).