the WATER topic

[Blue Heron]

I'm curious about what kind of water eGulleteers drink when they are home?  Do you get bottled water delivered or maybe buy it at the grocery, or drink tap water or use tap w/ a filter?  If you drink bottled water at home, do you prefer sparkling/frizzante or natural?  Also for those that drink bottled water, does it have more to do with you like the taste of bottled water better, or do you have health concerns about your city water?  Has Sept. 11 changed anyone's water drinking habits at all?  Right now, I drink maybe 1/3 if the time sparkling bottled water (usually from Costco), 2/3 of the time tap water w/ Home Depot filter.  For the first couple of months after Sept. 11, I drank only store bought (natural) water, but as time has passed I have gone back to my pre-Sept 11 water drinking habits.  So, what kind of water do you drink at home, and why?

[cabrales]

I drink Pellegrino or other sparkling water primarily, or boiled water that I refridgerate. (I would drink Badoit or Chateldon if it were available conveniently.)  My refridgerator has an automatic ice maker that does not depend on bottled water, so I try to minimize use of ice cubes. I am considering adding light hints of orange flower blossom, honey or gingseng (it's supposed to be beneficial, and it also adds an interesting slightly bitter taste) to water I boil for refridgeration.  

I was drinking almost exclusively bottled or boiled water prior to 9/11. I am not convinced boiling of water would eliminate any additives provided by terrorists, and, if I were not already drinking so much bottled water, 9/11 considerations wuold only marginally push me in the direction of bottled water.

[Sandra Levine]

I drink NYC tap water at home, because, to my palate, it remains the best tasting water.  When I am traveling, it is the "food" I miss the most.  I've never had a bottled water that could compare.

[Jinmyo]

I have a Nikken filter that blah blah blah the blah blah blah so that blah blah blah. Whatever. The water tastes great.

I used to drink Appolinaris (mm. chewy) or Pellegrino (not as macho) every day. And experiment with new Italian and German waters every week. Now, as a treat, I'll stock some occasionally.

I used filtered water for drinking, for tea and coffee, for pastas, rice, soups, stocks.

[stefanyb]

Ever since I was a girl I have had  an affinity for sparkling water.  My family did not, but many of my friends families had seltzer delivery and I would spend hours begging and pleading for some of their heavenly bubble water.  Flavored seltzer or soda is just not as good and sparkling mineral water is also a second runner-up.

When I had my own family I always kept the house stocked full of bottles of seltzer and to this day we go through at least 12 bottles each week.

The size of the bubbles is critical.  The smaller the better as long as they maintain their zip on the tongue.  Sharp tingles are better than soft.  For the perfect experience the seltzer must be icy cold and must have a subtle "flavor" of the gas.

There is nothing worse than the bottom of a day old bottle of opened seltzer.  Simply a travesty.  It tastes nasty.  

This year I have been buying Canada Dry but over the years I have tried all the major brands.  Poland Spring sparkling was excellent until they switched to plastic bottles.  Totally ruined the product.

When I am not in NYC I am often at a loss to explain what it is I would like with my sandwich. Even in cities as close as Boston they frequently look at me  strangely when I ask for seltzer.  Club soda isn't the same (contains salt) and doesn't taste the same.

What should I ask for in your town?

[Jinmyo]

stefanyb, I agree that plastic bottles somehow seem to ruin the taste. Tinned water tastes metallic. Plasticed tastes...hmmm..flacid? Glass works best.

[tommy]

home:  tap filtered through a pur or brita or something like that.  (not the kind that connects to the tap, but rather the jug with the filter in the fridge)

driving, walking, etc:  poland spring or something similar

restaurants:  generally tap.  otherwise sparkling.

boy, that sure sounded boring.

[Beachfan]

When I lived in NYC and Northern California, tap was great.  In Southern California, I drink Pellegrino sparkling and Crystal Geyser still water.

Besides liking both of them a lot, they are at Costco and Trader Joes.

[franklanguage]

I drink NYC tap water at home, because, to my palate, it remains the best tasting water.  When I am traveling, it is the "food" I miss the most.

Well, I don't know; NYC tap water just tastes to me like pool water. In fact, there is plenty of documentation of fluoride's hazards (not to mention chlorine, which changes chemically to become dioxins, the stuff they found in Love Canal); I think people have been hearing the warnings for so long they've tuned it out.

I've never had a bottled water that could compare.

Actually, I know one of the bottled-water companies has introduduced water with fluoride added.

[John Whiting]

Fluoride is another of those substances over which there is by no means unanimity. One thing is certain -- fluoride toothpaste, used twice a day without rinsing, reverses tooth enamel deterioration in the elderly. At least, according to a good friend who's head of a respected dental school. Of course he may be part of the Great Fluoride Conspiracy.

We never buy water, any more than we buy air. The most distasteful thing about London water is the slight taste of chlorine, now not nearly as bad as it used to be. We take water from the tap and leave it overnight in a loosely covered pitcher. The chlorine evaporates. We then refrigerate it in sealed glass.

Home filters are an excellent breeding ground for bacteria -- a much more likely danger than biological warfare. As for the latter, when it starts we want to be among the first to go.

[Blue Heron]

Home filters are an excellent breeding ground for bacteria -- a much more likely danger than biological warfare.

That reminds me... it's time to change our water filter.  Thanks.

[stellabella]

The most distasteful thing about London water is the slight taste of chlorine, now not nearly as bad as it used to be.

John, nice photo!

Maybe it was the water coming out of our tap, but I have noticed that London water is greasy--is it just me?  In fact, I am bringing my own mini Brita with me to London this summer to use in my flat.  Bringing it simply cuz doing so saves me the trouble of having to go get one there.

At home we have a chilled water dispenser on our fridge--the water is filtered, but we don't drink it--still it's a feature of the fridge and guests ofen use it.  My husband buys the bottled barrels of mountain spring water and has the dispenser that goes with them.  I use our Brita--I think it produces the best-tasting water.  I also buy cases of Coralba sparkling water and drink this when I want something more refreshing than flat water.

[Blue Heron]

At home we have a chilled water dispenser on our fridge--the water is filtered, but we don't drink it--

We also have a fridge with the cold water & ice cube dispenser that we don't use, because we  forget to change the filter on it.  Today when we change our tap filter, we'll also change the refrigerator filter...then maybe we'll use the dispenser again.  Our tap water tastes fine, but we use filters because the city water pipes are really old, and I think we are at the end of a line and the filters seem to catch rust and other particles.  Two of our neighbors get the water barrel delivery you described (one before Sept. 11, the other after as our city reservoirs are not covered and she fears terrorists tampering with the water reservoir).  As John Whiting said, bacteria is probably more of a concern than terrorists adding something to the water.

[Jim Dixon]

Portland has really good tap water. I remember reading somewhere that the soil profile of the Cascades combined with the Douglas fir forest ecosystem produces some of the softest water anywhere. The local craft brewers seen to agree. City water comes from a watershed on the slopes of Mt Hood, the Bull Run reserve, that's closed to public access. The water is chlorinated, especially during the winter when there's more turbidity. But it still tastes good.

So most of the time, I drink tap water.

But I came to like fizzy water after drinking so much in Italy, so I also buy Galvanina and Crystal Geyser at Trader Joe's. I stopped drinking soda a few years ago (I felt that the sweetness of diet soda was making me crave sweets more, and I didn't really want the extra sugar from regular), but found that carbonated water satisfied my need for something besides plain tap water.

Jim

[col klink]

When I lived in Austin, Texas, the water was just awful and I religiously used a Brita. When I moved back to Seattle I started drinking tap water half the time and seltzer the other half. Then after a trip back to see my folks in Upper Michigan and I couldn't find ANY seltzer (let alone any Canada Dry products) and had to drink the local water which was iron rich and almost undrinkable. I realized what a sissy I became. Now I drink Seattle tap, cholrine and all.

When my folks lived in nearby Redmond, they had a local water supply which wasn't cholrinated or treated in any other way other than being pumped from the ground. I still consider it the best water I've ever had in my life (it also made for the best beer I ever brewed). That water jumped off your tongue and made you want to drink the tap dry. When I spoke of this water in Texas, they couldn't understand how you could use so many adjectives for water. Water is just water for them. I felt sorry for them.

Jim, I recently made a pilgrimage to the Deschutes Brewery in Bend, and they said they use the public water from the Deschutes river. I assume their water is also good because they make the best beer on the planet.

[=Mark]

I drink my local tap water.  When I feel I'm not getting my daily requirement of dioxin from it I eat some Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream.   :wow:

[Ron Johnson]

Here in Kentucky we add bourbon and occasionally a sprig of mint to our tap water.  It tastes better that way.

[Jim Dixon]

colklink...I also like the Deschutes (both the beers and the incredible watershed), but tend to drink the beers made closer to home (within a few miles). My winter fave, Bridgeport's Ebenezer, just won some kind of beer award in Europe...it's a winter seasonal, and no longer brewed, but I have a case stashed in the garage. For warm weather I switch to Bridgeport's award-winning IPA, very, very hoppy and the perfect thing on a hot day when I get home from work (I commute by bike, so I get nice and hot coming home).

Portland has quite a few other good brews worth a pilgramage.

Ron...I should attribute this recipe to Mark Twain, but don't really know where I heard it. Take two silver drinking cups, fill both with finely crushed ice. In one, muddle fresh mint leaves with a bit of superfine sugar. Pour a good shot of your very best sippin' whiskey into the other. Throw out the first one and drink the second.

Jim

[franklanguage]

Take two silver drinking cups, fill both with finely crushed ice. In one, muddle fresh mint leaves with a bit of superfine sugar. Pour a good shot of your very best sippin' whiskey into the other. Throw out the first one and drink the second.

Sounds like a bourbon sno-kone to me!

[jhlurie]

Hey, has anyone tried the new "Gatorade Water".  It's called something like "Propel".  I find it a bit amusing that Gatorade would side track into the water business.

[Blue Heron]

Never heard of it, but your post prompted me to do a quick search which turned up an amusing review of it on epinions.  I had to laugh when one taster said it should be renamed Projectile.  I've noticed a number of so called energy vitimin & who knows what else enhanced watery flavored drinks showing up at the grocery.  

[jhlurie]

I don't know.  On a whim (and a total cost of 50 cents) I bought some from a deli a little while ago.  Lemon flavored.

Frankly, it tastes very similar to ANOTHER Gatorade product called (who knows why) Gatorade Ice, but with much less sugar. 2g/8ou. vs. 14g/8ou.  Both are clear "light" fruit flavored concoctions meant to taste less "artificial" than classic Gatorade.

I wasted some money on something called Glaceau Fruit Water once.  The "Propel" seems to have more sugar than THAT stuff (actually it had NONE... but the "Fruit Water" tasted like the worst, flatest destilled water you've ever had--Propel actually tasted considerably better with its little tiny bit of sugar).

The whole thing is fairly amusing, I suppose.  This pretense that you are buying flavored water to substitute for soda or something like that.  When I want water I'm fairly undemanding--I'll have something fairly "common" like Poland Spring (esp. since I don't like seltzer, or any type of carbonated water).  When I want something to substitute for soda, it's either one of the two or three diet sodas I actually like or one of the two or three Gatorade flavors I actually like.

Fruit juice is for special occasions--and then I usually go whole hog and try to get fresh squeezed.

Oh.  And funniest by far are these "super-oxygenated waters".  Brands like O2Go, which no doubt Propel is competition for, except Gatorade doesn't go quite as far with the bogus routine of actually claiming health benefits.

[jordan]

After visiting the Poll Station and reading about waters I grew curious as preferences. In 1995 there was a water tasting held (I think in NY State) and the winners based on taste alone were surprising. I will not reveal the tasting results just yet because I would like to know what the egullet community likes. I like Badoit (when available) with food because the bubbles are small and not overwhelming, otherwise I am a fan of club soda as a refreshment. For still water it's Poland Springs but I am not too picky. I am afraid of tap water because the aqueduct to NYC is so old, not to mention the pipes with in the buildings. How do you feel?

[cabrales]

With food, Chateldon or Badoit (sparkling) in France, and Pellegrino (even though a bit starker) in the US.

[Fat Guy]

I drink NYC tap water filtered with a Brita, which I bet would score pretty high in any blind tasting. In restaurants I refuse to pay what they charge for bottled water so I drink tap. If they have a filtration system they get bonus points in my book.