On a recent road trip I had an interesting conversation. It went something like this.
Me: What's that your drinking? Friend: Fiji water. It's really good. Me: Um, why? Friend: It's from Fiji. <with a look like I should know this already> Me: What does being from Fiji have to do with being good? Friend: It's the taste, it taste way better then any water you'll ever try. Here have some. Me: <takes a swig> But I don't taste anything. Friend: Told you.
Maybe it's me. Maybe I haven't fallen for they hype but for the life of me I can't taste the difference. Nor can I justify the outrageously high price for water from Fiji. I'm just fine with my tap water than you. The thing I really don't get is the need to ship water from half way around the world, it makes me wonder. Where do native Fiji people import their water from. Is there some place in the world where they import Philly water? People can go on a on about how pure bottled water is but they're not buying it because it's pure. If they wanted "pure" water they would buy distilled water. In an age where somewhere around a billion people don't have access to reliable access to clean drinking water we are shipping water from one side of the earth, at great expense, burning oil, and filling the water in plastic bottles also made of oil. I'll quoteThis New York Times article.
quote:Clean water could be provided to everyone on earth for an outlay of $1.7 billion a year beyond current spending on water projects, according to the International Water Management Institute. Improving sanitation, which is just as important, would cost a further $9.3 billion per year. This is less than a quarter of global annual spending on bottled water.
Decadence isn't easy, is it?
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
I like Fiji water. In addition (the key between a and d ha decided not to work), I really don't feel comfortable drinking the tap water here.
In fact, when I left my pet at the vet for boarding, he informed me that they will only give an animal there bottled water to be careful becau()e of the iffy city water.
-pH
Posted by Nighthawk (Member # 4176) on :
Really depends on the city. In Coral Gables, the water coming from the tap was CLOUDY, so that's a no-no.
But there's a difference between common bottled water (which I can get at Publix for $0.30 a gallon) and "gourmet" bottled water. I can't tell the difference between either one, quite frankly, and I sure as hell ain't paying three times more for a smaller bottle of water than I do for a Coke.
Yeah, I know... I'm a programmer. My bloodstream is 12% Coke as it is.
Posted by Pelegius (Member # 7868) on :
I am lucky to have excellent water from a well down the street, which provides me with spring water (all water in the Texas hill country is spring water.) But I have been places where the water has been iffy. While traveling in Mexico as a young child, my parents made me brush my teeth with bottled water. I also drink bottled water in Europe, where it is cheaper than soda. But I am unhappy spending more than 0.50 Euro for it (0.25 was the best price I found, at a truck stop between Partas and Corinth.)
P.S., why does my computer spew out all sorts of useless bits like ?, but not a Euro sign, it does $, ¢, ¥ and it used to do Pounds, before I changed the O.S.
Posted by cmc (Member # 9549) on :
I think Fiji water tastes like it has glue in it. Elmers glue to be exact. My 'favorite' bottled water is Poland Springs. I moved south and can't get it anymore... When people drive down to visit - they bring me cases!!! : ) Though, I don't have a problem with tap water, there's just something about cold PS water that I love. It's probably all in my head.
Posted by Palliard (Member # 8109) on :
Heh, you people are spoiled. When I lived in Manhattan (the one in Nevada, and not the one you're probably thinking of) if you let our tap water sit for a couple of minutes a thin film of mineral oil would form on the surface. It smelled like rotten eggs and tasted a bit like gunpowder.
Needless to say, we drank a lot of coffee or tea or anything else that would mask the taste.
Now water comes in bottles. My preferred brand is "distilled".
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
I grew up with the nastiest tap water I've ever tasted. It tastes stale, chalky, metallic, and at the right time of year, like bleach.
I grew up drinking Arrowhead. All my friends did, too; either Arrowhead or Sparklets, they were the two water delievery services. Soon cheaper purify-on-the-spot places sprang up, and then came the accessible home filtration system. The Brita is an amazing thing; it purifies even La Crescenta water into a drinkable substance. And it's soooo much cheaper than having water delivered, or even going out to get it at the store.
Posted by aspectre (Member # 2222) on :