I used to think there was a lot of snoberry about bottled water - you know, at the end of the day water is water etc... but.....

I usually buy sparkling water, very cheap supermarket stuff for 15p) and add a bit of orange cordial to have in the day at work. I find it quite refreshing (especially chilled)

However, today I forgot to make it up and had to go to an off licence to buy some sparkling water. All they had was Harrogate Sparkling, for 50p and I had no cordial to put in it.

BUT when I drank it I swear it had a distinctive taste. The more I drank the more I was convinced it had an individual character rather like wine has.

Opinions? (or am I a sad old deluded fool)???

there is a reason evian spelt backwards makes a new word

....

It's ridiculous.We've got perfectly clean,good tapwater.We can transport millions of gallons of this shit around the world when people are dying of thirst.It's one of the most wasteful things we do on this planet.

There are probably a few things to note here.

1) You were drinking sparkling water which doesn't come out of the tap (well not usually!). Therefore I'd say it can't be a scam because you're buying something unavailable elsewhere.

2) They can make it taste different by putting different things in it. I have no idea what was in the water you drank on either occasion byt there may have been something added to make it taste nicer. It's also possible that you found the taste different due to the fizzyness.

So are you saying sparkling water can taste differently to still water? And if so, why?

How can C02 alter the flavour?

I don't know why Sparkling water does taste different to still but it really does.

In the last year I've travelled around the south east quite a bit and I can say that tap water does taste different in various regions but for the most part it's all OK and tastes fine if you put it in the fridge for a while or filter it.

Bottled water is fine when you're out and about but I truly don't understand why some people spend a fortune and drink nothing else.

None of Del boys customers noticed it wasnt tap water when he sold Peckham Spring so yes i guess it's a scam.

I live in a hard water area & even when the water is boiled / filtered & chilled, it still tastes nasty.

I would much rather buy a bottle of cheap nice tasting water from the supermarket than drink the nasty tasting stuff that comes out of my tap. I know it's not ethical but f**k it.

I have even added strong solutions of fruit juice to it & it still doesn't taste as good as the supermarket stuff.

You need a better filter then, I don't bother with bottled water now since getting a decent under the sink filter. I used to always buy bottled since like you I'm in a hard water area and the water has a definite taste and smell to it.

Bottled water does taste different depending on the brand, you can see they vary from the mineral breakdown on the label and that comes across in the taste. You may also be tasting some of the plastic!

I can tell the difference between mineral water brands, as odd as that sounds. Having lived abroad and not being able to drink tap water I've got used to mineral water to the point where I really don't like water from the tap. If you drink nothing but tap water you'll probably never know any different but drink enough of the good stuff from the Alps and you will.

and don't forget, it costs about the same as petrol for some brands - and if you think how petrol is made, people are making a hell of a lot of money out of all you bottled water drinkers

Well if you like sparkling water then you have to buy it, I am quite happy with tap water which I already pay for so see no reason to pay someone else to put water in a bottle.

I have had bottled water all the time since I was about 12 years old, never had a glass of tap water since. It may be psychological though because for some reason my Dentist at the time said my need of a couple of fillings was due to the drinking of tap water... It's silly, but I can't stand the taste of tap water as a drink now.

I just use a water filter and my tap water tastes fine. It gets rid of that chlorine flavour you sometimes get. I also use it in the kettle and it doesn't scale up.

The tap water in the area I live is awful and I can't stand the taste. You can blatently taste the chlorine in it.

But the tap water where I used to work was perfectly fine so I think it does vary from area to area. Also, I do not want flouridated water which I have heard councils are allowed to add to the water supply if they wish.

the problem generally isn't the quality of our tap water but the quality of the pipes that carry it to your tap!

Scam.

Bottled water is God's way of telling you you have too much money

doesnt sparkling water actually come from springs - different springs have different levels of minerals which is why they taste subtly different?



isnt that to help your teeth stay strong? the same reason its added to toothpaste?

I very much doubt the very cheap stuff I buy from the supermarket comes from springs.

That's why I'm so confused, my Dentist told me drinking tap water was the reason I needed some fillings...

I don't trust tap water. The government puts things in it such as flouride. The water in my area tastes foul and gritty.

Bottled water has a miles better taste and has been filtered to remove impurities.

I like my water carbonated.

29p is hardly breaking the bank!

Loving your work.

Not true. Whilst tap water has its drawbacks, such as limescale in hard water areas and the fluoride which some disapprove of, it is however extremely clean. Bottled water however has been shown time and again to have far more bacteria than tap water.

As for the taste issue, that is entirely subjective.