Best mineral water — Explainer video

Transcript

Best mineral water: what really reveals quality.

There is no such thing as the best mineral water. There is the water that suits each person’s purpose and taste. And there are the analysis values on the label that make every brand comparable.

Tests and best-of lists work with fixed criteria such as sensory profile, mineral content, packaging or price. That is legitimate. But every scheme weights things differently, and none of them the way each person would. Then there is the palate: what one person perceives as balanced tastes flat to another.

Five figures are enough to place any label: total mineralisation, calcium and magnesium, sodium, important for anyone watching their salt intake, sulphate and hydrogen carbonate, and the pH value: below 7 acidic, above 7 alkaline. Carbonation lowers it noticeably.

A reading example, expressly not a recommendation: the analysis of the Castels spring in Mels, from which Piz Sardona is bottled. Total mineralisation: 540 milligrams per litre, just inside the medium range, between 500 and 1,500. 4 milligrams of sodium per litre: remarkably little. And pH 8.0 marks the water out as naturally alkaline.

More productive than the search for the best water is the question of what it is for. For sport and heavy sweating: waters with a higher mineralisation. For a low-sodium diet: a low sodium value. For coffee and tea: soft, lightly mineralised water. And with meals, a still water with moderate mineralisation.

Is expensive mineral water better water? No. The price reflects brand, packaging and distribution channel, not a grade of quality. What matters is the label, not the price tag.

More on this in the Piz Sardona Academy.