The other day, I went to go grab a bottle of water before I headed to work. To my surprise, we only had bottles of Aquafina. Usually, we have either Publix brand water or Zephyrhills bottles; but I just assumed that Aquafina was on sale, and I carried on with my day.
When I got to work and started to drink the water, it was then I remembered why you never see me with a bottle of Aquafina in my hand. In my opinion, the water didn't taste as 'fresh' or 'crisp' as water is supposed to taste. Because I didn't want to waste it, I finished it, and then I just filled the empty bottle with water from a dispenser in the office.
To see if my friends would agree with me, I sent out a Snapchat of the Aquafina bottle and captioned it, "Aquafina is gross". Some people were defiantly backing me up, or they were disagreeing with me. However, I got one response that really threw me off...
"Doesn't all water taste the same?"
While this sounds really dramatic, I was genuinely shocked. I thought people had favorite brands of water just like they had favorite foods. However, I also thought back to having this conversation with my parents before. I remember them saying that they also thought all bottled water was the same.
At this point, I'm thinking about how dramatic I am. Do I have sensitive tastebuds when it comes to water? Am I crazy? Do other people agree with me on this? I know I cannot be the only one who has the same thought that not all bottled water is the same.
While this is something we can argue about for hours, I decided to dig in a little further and do some research.
I found an article on a website called "Cooks Illustrated" all about a man named Martin Riese who is a certified Mineral Water Sommelier. This means that he can really tell the differences between water. He says that, for him, the taste of water can vary just as much as tasting different wines. He says that one major characteristic that differentiates waters is the amount of minerals that can be in the water levels. The amount of these compounds can vary depending on where the water is from, or the 'journey' the water has been on before being bottled.
This could be the reason why I, personally, enjoy a bottle of Zephyrhills water over a different generic brand. Zephyrhills brands themselves on being 'fresh' and coming from a beautiful valley. If you don't live in Florida, I feel bad for you. This water is truly the best of the best.
Maybe it's possible I am still being a little dramatic, but I REFUSE to believe that all bottled water tastes the same. Next time you're at the airport and you see that five-dollar bottle of Fiji brand water, maybe you want to actually pick it up this time.
