by Eva Strand, from the July 1999 Newsletter

The sensitive, holistic, spiritual ‘90's, when getting wasted means having a double espresso—and when Echinacea is on the ingredient list for chicken soup—is catching up with me.

Last evening we had a little get-together to compare the tastes of bottled water. This has probably been going on in California for quite some time — but I bet a bottle of fresh spring water that this was the first water-tasting party in Moscow, Idaho.

The evening began with a glass of crystal-clear Essentia from Global Water Technologies Inc. in Seattle. Essentia has been purified with reverse osmosis, then enhanced with increased alkalinity and fortified with electrolytes such as magnesium, potassium, sodium and calcium. Essentia is smooth and pleasant with very little flavor. Of all the water we tasted, Essentia had the least flavor.

The local contestant, Idaho Ice from Elk River, Idaho was also very smooth and plain on the tongue but had a tad bit more mineral flavor than Essentia. I like the fact that Idaho Ice is bottled locally, practically in our back yard. It seems that we shouldn't have to pay the environmental and other costs of transportation for water, since there is plenty of it right here.

Crystal Geyser natural alpine spring water, bottled in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California was said to 'tickle the throat' according to a few of the testers. I found the flavor quite pure, with about the same mineral hint as Idaho Ice.

The natural mountain spring water from Big Spring Water Company in Lewistown, Montana, put some new words in our mouths – sweet, slight almond flavor, lack of mineral taste. We liked it.

Water More Precious than Gold – a 'real liquid asset' from Okanogan Highlands Bottling Co. in Tonasket, Washington, was a full, earthy, complex water—nothing for the beginner. This particular sample had an unfortunate "bottle aftertaste." Perhaps that was only a problem with this sample. Half of the profits from the Okanogan Bottling Co. goes to grassroots organizations that are actively trying to protect our environment.

Trinity from Trinity Springs Ltd. in Paradise, Idaho, has a pure, clean taste with an obvious, but not unpleasant, mineral component. Trinity Springs advertise their water source as the deepest known source for spring water in the world. I agree, since 2.2 miles down is really down there. Trinity geothermal water has not been excessively filtered or purified and contains naturally-occurring silica and fluoride. Trinity, of course, meets US EPA and FDA standards for safe drinking water.

It is difficult to rank the different waters from good to bad. All of them do the trick for me. However, this was a fun opportunity to sharpen the taste buds and become aware of the fine nuances in a necessity often taken for granted.

After all this clean water, we turned around and finished the evening in a orgy of ten different kinds of decadently-marinated olives, one of which was describe as having the taste of "romance on a hillside."

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