Journal
Notes on bottled water: where the springs are, what the numbers on a label mean, and which bottle to choose for a table, a hotel room or a guest list of two hundred.
What is TDS in water, and what does the number tell you?
Total dissolved solids, measured in mg/L: how the figure is produced, how to read it on a label, and why it changes how a water tastes.
Spring water vs mineral water vs purified water: what is the difference?
How the FDA defines each label, where artesian water fits, and why a European natural mineral water can read differently.
The best glass bottled water brands
Eight waters in glass, from Voss to S.Pellegrino, compared by origin, style and mineral content, with a note on why glass keeps taste neutral.
The best premium sparkling water, compared bottle by bottle
Eight sparkling waters grouped from light to saline, with TDS, pH and origin side by side, and what to pour with what.
What water do fine dining restaurants serve?
Why the table gets one still and one sparkling bottle, the names that recur, and how to set the same table at home.
Where does Acqua Panna come from?
A spring estate in the hills north of Florence, the limestone that shapes the water, and the four glass sizes it comes in.
How much bottled water do you need for an event?
A planning method for weddings, conferences and parties: bottles per guest per hour, a table for 50 to 250 guests, and the still to sparkling split.