Have you ever heard of a restaurant that offers a menu of luxury waters instead of quality wine, or of a wedding where the newlyweds are toasted with expensive H2O instead of champagne or fruit juice?
Luxury water provides much more than various types of ordinary mineral or tap water.
A bottle of such water can cost several hundred dollars.
It can even be paired with food, from steak to fish, just like wine.
These expensive drinks are known as premium water and come from natural sources, such as volcanic rocks, melted ice from glaciers, or water droplets from fog.
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It is even possible to get it directly from the cloud.
Each type of these waters has the characteristics of the place of origin, and unlike the usual bottled waters, it is completely unprocessed.
Now there are hundreds of brands of premium water around the world, and there are even experts in it.
Does water have a taste?
As with wine, there are now water sommeliers whose job it is to evaluate each product and differentiate it from the others by mineral content, taste and mouthfeel.
"Water is not just water.
"Every water in our world is different and has its own taste," says Milin Patel, a water consultant and sommelier who has pop-up store (a limited-time retail outlet offering selected and often exclusive merchandise) in London.
He organizes water tastings during which you can try various bottled and tap waters.
Patel tells the BBC that he wants to educate people, especially the younger generation, about the different types of water and their tastes.
"Remember that at school we learned about the water cycle in nature (hydrological cycle) - evaporation, condensation and precipitation.
"However, we missed something - remineralization," he explains.
"So when that rain falls, the earth soaks it up and then the water seeps through the different rocks and layers of the soil and picks up minerals like calcium, magnesium, potassium, silica, etc.
"It is through this process that the water acquires a mineral taste," explains Patel.
Water from sources such as icebergs or rain, which has not naturally passed through the ground, usually has a lower content of total dissolved solids compared to water from springs and wells.
Patel has a collection of different waters from around the world, from tap water to a variety of high-end waters that cost up to US$318 per bottle.
At the tastings organized by Patel, people taste different waters and try to describe the unique taste of each one.
"We give people the opportunity to look at water not only as something without taste.
"Once you start researching and drinking water thinking about it, you'll be surprised at the vocabulary it can evoke," says Patel.
"You hear nice words, such as soft, creamy, soft, velvety, bitter, and sometimes sour.
"And many people often say - 'Oh, this reminds me of my youth', 'this reminds me of a holiday' or 'this reminds me of my grandparents' house,'" he adds.
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Water tasting competitions
Association Fine Water Society, which brings together bottlers and distributors of premium waters, holds annual meetings where producers of these types of waters gather from all over the world, from Bhutan to Ecuador.
The association also hosts international water tasting competitions.
Most of the participants of the annual meeting are representatives of family businesses that produce water from remote areas
"In the beginning, the idea of water tasting was ridiculed," says Dr. Michael Masha, co-founder of the association Fine Water Society and the Academy of the same name.
"It all started about 20 years ago when I had to stop drinking alcohol," he reveals to the BBC.
"When suddenly the bottles of wine were removed, I looked around the table and saw another bottle that I hadn't noticed before, and there was water in it.
"I thought maybe I could apply my urge to seek pleasure in everything to water instead of wine," he adds.
Premium water provides much more than just fluid intake, he believes.
He explains that it provides an opportunity for people to explore, share the experience and enjoy something special, all of which they can do even with children, which they cannot do with wine.
The demand for premium water is increasing, claims Dr. Maša.
He believes that the reason is less consumption of alcohol and carbonated soft drinks, especially among the younger generation, who follow a healthier lifestyle.
In addition, these rare, unprocessed waters can be sold with a story about their origin, similar to premium wines, making them more attractive to customers.
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Water and food
Some restaurants in countries like Spain and the United States now offer menus that pair premium water with food.
"I am currently creating a menu for a restaurant with three Michelin stars in the United States.
"We plan to present 12 to 15 carefully selected waters that complement the taste of the food and the ambiance," says Dr. Maša.
"When you eat fish, you will be served a different kind of water than with steak.
"It has to have a lower mineral content so it doesn't interfere with the taste of the fish."
Dr. Maša is also working on projects of super-luxury residential areas that will have 'rooms for experiencing the taste of water' instead of wine cellars.
Premium water is also popular in cultures where alcohol is avoided for religious reasons, especially at weddings, explains Dr. Maša.
And it can be a great gift instead of expensive champagne, he claims.
But, of course, there are also opponents of this trend.
'morally wrong'
Millions of people around the world struggle for access to clean water, so many are against the idea of monetizing the most basic life substance in this way.
In 2022, 2,2 billion people did not have access to safe drinking water, of which 703 million did not have access to a basic water supply, according to the United Nations.
Other opponents of this trend claim that it is a scam, because water is just water and there is no difference between drinking tap water, bottled water and so-called premium water, except for the price.
On the other hand, environmentalists point out that any kind of bottled water harms our planet, because the bottles end up as garbage or in a landfill.
Carolyn Roberts, professor emeritus at Gresham College in London, believes it is unethical to spend hundreds of dollars on a bottle of water while millions of people struggle to access clean water.
“It's almost like flaunting your wealth when you go out to dinner.
"If you say, 'I'm paying for this wonderful bottle of water that's flown in from Antarctica or Hawaii somewhere,' people might like that."
"However, in reality, no one benefits from it.
"It's all about money," he tells the BBC.
"And more importantly, it's also bad for the environment.
"Whether it's plastic that breaks down into microplastics, the production of which uses fossil fuels, or glass that is very heavy and needs to be transported thousands of kilometers from remote areas, which contributes to carbon emissions," she emphasizes.
"So it's not just about money.
"It is also about the ecological damage caused by this so-called top quality water".
But Dr. Maša claims that premium water is not only produced for the rich.
He explains that there are premium waters that cost only two dollars, and highlights the difference between natural premium water and processed water, which can have harmful effects on the environment.
"From a sustainability point of view, it doesn't make sense to pour recycled tap water into a plastic bottle.
"You drive your SUV to the supermarket, take the plastic bottles home, drink the water, and throw the bottle away."
"It's incredibly wasteful."
He suggests using tap water instead of processed bottled water.
"We often forget that drinking tap water is a real privilege that many people around the world do not have," he concludes.
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