Other than oxygen, the single most important thing we put into out bodies is water. Water consumption is one of the greatest indicators of our health; if you drink lots of water, generally speaking, you are of better health.
In 2015 the bottled water industry was valued at $185 billion (US), and is forecast to reach $334 billion (US) by 2023, so its not surprising that there are LOTS of options when you go to the bottled water section of your favourite store.
I drink lots of water, usually just out of a tap, and I have for years. Here in Canada tap water has greater health standards than bottle water, so have no qualms doing so. I did start paying more attention to (and having more interest in) water after watching Down to Earth with Zac Efron. I was thinking about all the types of water they sampled in their episode on water, and since my wife doesn’t drink alcohol, I thought it might be fun to occasionally purchase some high end bottled water and do taste testing.
We are definitely not water sommeliers, but we’ll do our best! This bottle is far from what I would call “expensive”, but its a start:
GEROLSTEINER
- Germany – $2.49 CAD
- TMC/TDS* – 2479
- Glass Bottle
- Carbonated
If you have a SodaStream you probably have had carbonated water similar to Gerolsteiner, only without the mineral-y after taste. The carbonation masks the taste of the minerals pretty well, but not entirely. I thought that it tasted like drinking from a river, my wife thought that “if the smell of rain had a taste, it would taste like this”. I feel like I could smell river rock, or maybe a wet forest. Not off putting or overwhelming, I would recommend; not to quench an overwhelming thirst, but definitely as a sit down beverage on a hot day, in place of a cold beer; or as a side drink at a meal.
I like that it came in a glass bottle, for the environmental consciousness that it implies. Though plastic can be recycled easily now-a-days, it does seem to me that much plastic waste is water bottles. Psychologically, a glass bottle seems dangerous to leave laying about, and must at least be disposed of responsibly.
*TMC/TDS – Total Mineral Content, Total Dissolved Solids
Mind Flush - My S.H.E.T.T. Blog 