Remember when water was just… water?
I used to think water was just for hydration, or a hangover prevention strategy while chugging cocktails on date night. Recently though, it’s become so much more.
An entire water menu has sprung up at a La Popote restaurant in Macclesfield, a fine dining spot that’s featured in the Michelin Guide.
And they even have a water sommelier – as in, an actual professional who will pair your Iberico pork chops to the bottle of H2O with the closest texture match.
Doran Binder is the restaurant’s certified water sommelier and he’s responsible for the water list, which features everything from Crag, the house spring water which costs £5 to Vidago, a naturally sparkling mineral water from Portugal, that’s priced at £19 a bottle.
What does £19 water taste like?
Water’s flavour and texture are down to something called TDS (total dissolvable solids), which tells you how mineralised your water is, measured in mg/l.
TDS levels affect the taste and mouthfeel of water, with high levels typically tasting saltier and more bitter, even with a slightly sulphuric taste or aroma.
Doran encourages us to, ‘think of TDS like natural electrolytes’ and explains that they taste slightly medicinal at high levels because they are.
‘Why do you think Roman soldiers were guzzling mineral water? At astronomical TDS levels, it gave them energy – like Lucozade without all the sugar,’ he adds.
In contrast, water with a low TDS typically tastes more neutral, purer and with less texture.
Vidago has a super high mineral count of 2,853g/l TDS, making it a serious sparkling mineral water.
It has particularly high levels of iron, which is said to have therapeutic properties, and the water comes from a deep, 200-year-old aquifer, which naturally produces fine, long-lasting bubbles.
Flavour-wise, there’s an incredible oyster shell minerality, it’s saline, with a lightly herbal bitterness, bight bubbles and some bicarbonate notes.
It even resembles a non-vintage Champagne if you keep your eyes closed and I couldn’t get enough of it.
Christopher Tanousis, another certified water sommelier who co-owns Aqua Amore, a company that has been selling luxury water in the UK for almost twenty years, isn’t surprised by this verdict.
He believes some specialist waters could even replace wine as a food-matcher during a meal.
‘If you had a bad water, it would diminish the flavour of the accompanying food,’ he explains.
‘There are some waters that go especially well with food. For example, waters with high natural carbonation will cut through a fatty meat (like lamb) beautifully.’
What’s the difference between pricey mineral water and tap water?
But what’s the difference between a £19 water and a bottle from the supermarket? The answer might surprise you, as it’s ‘not much’.
Doran explains: ‘Fine water brands are built around a romantic water source in unusual places which can generate a “story”. For instance, Vidago has a palace built around its source.
‘Conversely, Aldi’s, is bottled in an industrial unit in Trafford Park, specifically made for volume production.
‘But, the better water is, quite simply, the one you like the most.’
Christopher clarifies that there are three types of water; mineral, spring and table (tap).
Mineral water is the ‘most highly regulated water in the EU’ and must be bottled directly at the source, so it is microbiologically pure (i.e. the mineral content isn’t affected). It also must have a stable mineral analysis over two years, meaning the mineral levels must remain constant during that time.
Likewise, spring water must also be bottled at source, but can have a varying mineral content over two years. And in the case of table water, anything goes, it is generally processed to achieve the required levels by the water authorities.
Interestingly, both spring and table water are natural or from underground sources. In 60% of cases, spring water is extracted from the same layer in the ground as table water, so they’re not that dissimilar.
With all that in mind, I put a few other fancy mineral waters to the test to find out how they taste. Here’s what I thought of them…
Eira Still, Norway, available at aqua-amore.com
TDS Count: 9mg/l
Textured, with a slight sharpness (like melted snow), fresh, pure, almost tangy, extremely hydrating but bizarrely drying on the finish with a slatey, rocky aftertaste (like licking a river stone).
Neue Water, Denmark, available at neuwater.com
TDS Count: 330mg/l
Lightly textured, pure, slight marine character, silky, slight punctuation of zestiness on the finish.
Clearer Water, Ireland, available at Brityard on Regents St
TDS Count: 391mg/l
Light on the palate, creamy with some good texture. No sharpness, stoniness or minerality, very pure in flavour. Great neutrality
Marzia Still, Italy, available at aqua-amore.com
TDS Count: 1,372mg/l
A definite silkiness and weight to it, very pure tasting, creamy, satin-like, lubricating almost leaving a layer of silk in your mouth. Very good.
Eira Sparkling, Norway, available at aqua-amore.com
TDS Count: 9mg/l
Pronounced bubbles but very smooth, velvety, good amount of salinity and bicarbonate, but fresh on the finish. Doesn’t leave an after taste
Clearer Water with Bubbles, Ireland, available Brityard on Regents St
TDS Count: 391mg/l
Sharp, fine bubbles, low salinity, zestiness on the finish, almost lemony.
Marzia Sparkling, Italy, available at aqua-amore.com
TDS Count: 1,372 mg/l
Bicarbonate on nose, herbal bitterness on palate, saline, bright, brisk, mineral, stoney, slatey, fresh as a daisy!
Vichy Catalan, Spain, available at aqua-amore.com
TDS Count: 2,900g/l
Delightfully salty, bicarbonate-like almost like a citrussy Alka-Selzer, herbal, mineral, soft and silky texture, lemon pith bitterness with a touch of sweetness – endlessly complex!
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