What you should know about natural, mineral and spring water

There is no single best water in the world, just as there is no single best wine or beer. Natural water deserves to be treated as a natural product with its own place of origin.

Water is the most important drink on earth. Without it there would be no life — and many other drinks would not exist either, since most of them are water-based (spirits, wine, beer). So let's treat it as something special and unique rather than something we take for granted.

Great water deserves its place on the table. Different waters can be paired with different dishes and wines — water isn't meant to neutralise flavour, but to enrich it.

How natural waters are classified

Waters are classified by mineral content (TDS — total dissolved solids). Every natural water lists the amount of minerals on its label:

• Super low mineral content: up to 50 mg/l
• Low mineral content: 50–250 mg/l
• Medium mineral content: 250–800 mg/l
• High mineral content: 800–1500 mg/l
• Very high mineral content: 1500 mg/l and above

Waters are also classified as still or sparkling. Sparkling waters are divided into four categories: lightly, gently, medium and strongly sparkling.

Types of springs

1. Spring source — water emerges from hills and mountains.
2. Artesian source — water rises to the surface on its own. Artesian sources are the best protected from pollution because the water is always under pressure.
3. Well source — similar to artesian, but the water reaches the surface through pumping.
4. Rainwater — used in countries with very clean air; very low in minerals.
5. Iceberg water — bottled from ice mountains in the far north; thousands of years old and very low in minerals.
6. Glacial water — from glaciers that covered the earth more than 20,000 years ago; very low in minerals, with a taste similar to rainwater.

Water purity

Purity tells us how well a natural water is protected from pollution. It's measured through nitrate levels:

• Excellent: 0–1 mg nitrates/l
• Very good: 1–4 mg nitrates/l
• Good: 4–7 mg nitrates/l
• Acceptable: 7–10 mg nitrates/l
• Drinkable: 10–50 mg nitrates/l

In hospitality around the world you'll find water lists alongside wine lists. We're glad to see Slovenia opening up to a more varied water offering in restaurants and hotels.

If you would like to learn more about water or arrange a professionally guided water tasting, write to us at info@canawater.eu.