Does YOUR Water Come from a Volcano?

A little bit of rain in the north coast of a remote island. It sinks down and is filtered through ancient volcanic rock. A distinct, soft, smooth mouthfeel? Are we talking about wine? Nope. 

Fiji water. 

My 30 day drink nothing but water challenge is now in full swing, and I decided today as I walked into a nearby convenience store (in the 14 minutes I had during a break in my Mozart class) and walking by the iced teas and fruit juices, that I would become a water connoisseur. But what is there to taste? It's just...two hydrogens and one oxygen. 

I decided to try Fiji water today. After a little research, this is what I found:

Fiji gives back 1% of it's profits to go towards helping the environment. It claims to be sustainable, and eco-friendly. But it's a huge company. I find it hard to picture a few Fiji natives going into the earth to fill up these rectangular bottles. That's the other thing. It's good water (not that I'm sure what "bad" water would be...probably the water left over in a pot where you just cooked hotdogs)...but the bottle is rectangular! It doesn't fit into the handy little backpack pockets that are meant for normal shaped water bottles. Looking at the analysis of the water I see silica, calcium, magnesium, pH, bicarbonates, and total dissolved solids (wouldn't they not be solid?). 

So what are these?

Silica comes from minerals, and is released under water during volcanic activity. Fiji water is filtered through a volcano. That makes sense. Was YOUR drinking water in a volcano?? I think not. Unless you are currently sipping from a rectangular bottle. 

Magnesium comes from minerals and is usually found in sea water. Minerals. Volcanic rock. Under ground. Makes sense. 

pH level is 7.8. That's slightly alkaline. Not as much as sea water (7.9), but more so than blood(7.3). 

Bicarbonates...necessary for digestion. That's a good thing!

Reading about total dissolved solids is really confusing...but there are 220 of them in the water. Caused usually by calcium, nitrate, and some organic matter...but usually just used for aesthetic reasons. Like taste. 

It's true. Fiji water does taste pretty good and the taste does vary from it's other bottled water pals. 

I invite you to read about Fiji Water. There are plenty of articles that warn you about "things you didn't know about Fiji water". Honestly, I'm not here to start any huge debates. I'm here to inform you of my tasting notes and research regarding H2O (I was trying to sound like a snobby wine-o just now). 

But just in case you didn't know...that's what's out there. 

And their bottle, although a little inconvenient and unwieldy, is very aesthetically pleasing:

As you can see, I was a good girl and drank all my water. I'll make good use of the bottle by refilling it a few times before I recycle it!