What You're Actually Tasting in Water

Pour two drinking waters into identical glasses. Before looking at the labels, notice the first sip, the texture and the finish. You may find a clear difference, a small one or none that you can confidently name.

All three are useful observations. A tasting is a way to describe your experience, not a test you need to pass.

Composition can influence flavor

Dissolved constituents can affect taste and odor. EPA’s secondary drinking-water guidance distinguishes aesthetic effects from health-based requirements. A total dissolved-solids figure alone cannot predict which water you will prefer.

Individual concentrations matter, as do combinations. “Full,” “light,” “round” or “crisp” are sensory descriptions, not laboratory units or nutritional rankings. Our mineral explainer describes what the measured numbers mean.

Keep the comparison fair

Serve samples at the same temperature in clean, identical glasses. Use glasses without detergent odors and avoid strongly flavored food immediately beforehand. Give the samples simple codes so the packaging does not lead your first impression.

Temperature is part of the tasting conditions. If you want to compare chilled and room-temperature water, make that a separate round and keep the other conditions consistent.

The home tasting guide includes a scorecard with room for aroma, first taste, texture, finish and preference. You do not need elaborate terminology; a few words that you can use consistently are more helpful.

Preference is not a safety test

A pleasant taste cannot establish the absence of contaminants. An unfamiliar taste does not identify its cause either. Follow water-supplier and public-health notices, and use suitable testing when a safety question needs an answer.

Similarly, a lower-mineral water is not automatically inferior. Processing, storage and the person tasting all affect the comparison. It is possible to prefer different waters in different settings.

Put Recovery in the same blind tasting

If Unbelievable Recovery Water is one of the samples, keep its label hidden until you have made your notes. Then compare the experience with the dated mineral measurements.

Our Drink. Feel. Smile. identity invites an everyday moment of enjoyment. It does not require every reader to describe the same flavor. The best outcome of a tasting is discovering what you notice and what you like, then being able to choose it again.