There is no best water in the world, just as there is no best wine and no beer. We must present natural water as a natural product that has its place of origin.
Water is the most important drink in the world. Without water, there would be no life. Also, many other beverages would not exist, as most of them are water-based (e.g. spirits, wine, beer (). So let’s treat it as something special, unique. But not as a self-evident good.
Great water deserves a special place on the table. Did you know that you can combine different waters to different dishes and wines? Water is not meant to neutralize the taste, but to enrich it.
How do we separate natural waters?
Water is separated by mineral content, the abbreviation is called TDS (total amount of soluble mineral components). Each natural water has a label on the packaging of how many minerals are present. Check how many your favorite water has:
Super low mineral content up to 50 mg / l
Low mineral content from 50 to 250 mg / l
Mean value of minerals from 250 to 800 mg / l
High value of minerals from 800 mg / l to 1500 mg / l
Very high value of minerals from 1500 mg / l and more
We distinguish between non-carbonated and carbonated waters. Carbonated water is further divided into four categories:
Gently carbonated
Easily carbonated
Medium carbonated
Very carbonated
Natural waters can be obtained from different types of springs:
Spring spring – water springs from the hills, alps.
Artesian spring – water comes to the surface by itself. Artesian springs are the most protected springs in terms of pollution because water is always under pressure.
Well spring – similar to the artesian spring, but the water comes to the surface by pumping.
Rainwater – In some countries where the atmosphere is clean, rainwater is available. It is very low in minerals and very clean water.
Ice water – in the north they fill water from an iceberg and bottle it. It is thousands of years old water that is very low mineralized.
Glacier – More than 20,000 years ago, the earth’s surface was covered with glaciers. In some countries, they fill water from a glacier. This type of water is very low mineralized and tastes similar to rainwater.
Water purity
Water purity tells us how natural water is protected from pollution. This is determined by the measured values of nitrates in the water.
Top 0 – 1 mg nitrates / l
Very good 1 – 4 mg nitrates / l
Good 4 – 7 mg nitrates / l
Acceptable 7 – 10 mg nitrates / l
Drinking 10 – 50 mg of nitrates / l
We believe this record has given you new knowledge about water and broadened your view that water is not just water. In catering around the world, in addition to wine lists, we also find maps of various waters. When we come to a restaurant, we expect that they do not have only one type of beer, one type of wine, juice, spirits… The world is also expected to have different types of water in their offer, which the waiters recommend for different dishes. I am glad that borders and beliefs regarding the diverse offer of water in catering have also started to move in Slovenia.
If you would like to learn more about water or have a professionally guided water tasting, write to us at info@canawater.eu
Author:
Borut Niko Huber
The first Finewater sommelier in Slovenia