Burning Issue: Does bottled mineral water taste better than straight from the tap?

WATER is so abundant in our everyday lives that it is all too easy to take it for granted. I vividly remember moving from London to Stirling as an undergraduate and being amazed at the crisp, cold tap water – almost too cold to quench my thirst. My fellow director, a graduate of Edinburgh University, recalls the difference between Stirling, Edinburgh and London tap waters, with the first firmly at the top of the tree.

There is a discernible difference, even between tap water in different places. If that is the case, do claims there is no discernible difference between tap water and bottled water hold true? Poppycock, I say! Most people tend to have a preference in the supermarket for which brand of water they like – all that's missing is a knowledge of terminology to communicate the taste sensations experienced.

Further complicating the wonderful world of waters is the variety of origins – rainwater from Tasmania, glacial water from Canada, artesian water from Scandinavia, spring water from Somerset and naturally carbonated water from Italy. Naturally, these varietals occur elsewhere in the world, but crucially, they all differ in taste and character to one extent or another – and this is an incontrovertible scientific fact. Water is a universal solvent and absorbs the minerals with which it comes into contact.

Not everyone guzzles water as though they have been lost in the Gobi desert – the tap is good for that; for those who desire it, there are interesting waters available with innovative packaging that tells a story – so what is the environmental justification for enjoying an Australian shiraz over a Patagonian artesian?

CERI STANAWAY

principal researcher at Which?

BOTTLED water is marketed as pure, healthy, natural and clean, but that doesn't mean that tap water is unsafe or unhealthy. In fact, the UK has some of the best drinking water in the world, and in a Which? survey of more than 3,000 of our members, half said they didn't think there was any difference between bottled water and tap water in terms of quality and taste, with 18 per cent actually preferring it from the tap.

When we asked 48 Which? staff members to blind taste three waters – Evian, Tesco spring and London tap – about half couldn't identify the tap water. Overall, the Evian scored highest, closely followed by the tap water and the Tesco spring water, which were rated the same. Many tasters liked the fact that the tap water was "tasteless". One described it as having "no taste at all" and another said it had a "nice and pure taste".

UK tap water contains safe levels of chlorine to make sure it is clean, but placing a covered jug of water in the fridge for a few hours before drinking can reduce the chlorine taste. Where you live can also affect the taste of your water. As water journeys through the ground, it picks up minerals such as calcium and magnesium. This does not pose any risk to health but, if you don't like the taste, using a water filter can help reduce these minerals.

Aside from the taste, 84 per cent of the people we surveyed believe that tap water is better for the environment, and there's no contest when it comes to cost – at 0.22p a litre, tap water is 141 times cheaper than Evian, the best-selling mineral water, which even in a supermarket costs 31p a litre. So, are our reasons for buying bottled water drying up?