Most people think water is just water. Colourless, odourless, tasteless — a neutral carrier for hydration. The idea that water has a flavour profile, that it can be assessed and compared like wine or olive oil, tends to produce scepticism.
That scepticism is understandable. It is also wrong.
Water is one of the most complex substances we consume regularly, and the differences between a glass of municipal tap water and a glass of properly mineralised, low-TDS atmospheric water are immediately perceptible to anyone whose palate has been exposed to both.
What a water sommelier actually does
A Certified Water Sommelier is trained to assess water quality through a combination of technical measurement and sensory evaluation — the same approach a wine sommelier brings to evaluating a glass, applied to water. The assessment covers:
- TDS (total dissolved solids) — the combined concentration of everything dissolved in the water, measured in PPM. Low TDS water tastes clean and light. High TDS water can taste heavy, mineral-forward, or in compromised sources, simply wrong.
- pH — the measure of acidity or alkalinity on a 0–14 scale. Pure water is 7.0 (neutral). Most good drinking water sits between 6.5 and 8.5.
- Mineral content — the specific minerals present and their concentrations. Calcium and magnesium contribute to the characteristic taste of good spring water. Sodium makes water taste slightly salty at higher concentrations.
- Carbonation — the presence and level of dissolved CO2, which affects both texture and the perception of other flavour compounds.
- Temperature — water is most flavour-neutral at around 12–14°C. Warmer water amplifies off-notes; colder water suppresses both positive and negative characteristics.
Why most people have never tasted truly clean water
Municipal tap water in most urban environments contains chlorine and chloramine disinfectants, disinfection byproducts, trace pharmaceuticals, agricultural compounds, and dissolved minerals from ageing pipe infrastructure. The TDS of tap water in many Southeast Asian cities runs to 500–1,000 PPM or above.
Bottled water improves on tap water in many cases — but introduces its own variables: plastic leaching from bottles stored in warm conditions, inconsistent quality control between batches, and the microplastic contamination documented across multiple brands.
Most people’s reference point for “clean water” is, in practice, less clean water with familiar characteristics. The familiarity is mistaken for quality.
What genuinely clean water tastes like
Water at 10 PPM TDS — which is what AquaFromAir units consistently produce in Bali conditions — tastes notably different from tap or typical bottled water. The most immediate characteristic is the absence of taste rather than the presence of it. There is no chlorine note, no mineral heaviness, no plastic aftertaste.
With the mineral cartridge adding back calibrated trace minerals, the result is water with a clean, slightly rounded character that sits noticeably differently in the mouth than heavily mineralised or contaminated water.
The question is not whether you can taste the difference. You can. The question is whether you have had the reference point to recognise what you have been missing.
pH and alkalinity: what the marketing gets wrong
Alkaline water — marketed at pH 8.0–9.5 — has attracted significant commercial activity. The honest assessment: for most healthy adults, drinking water at pH 7.0–8.5 makes little meaningful difference to body pH, which is tightly regulated by the body’s own buffering systems. The stomach’s hydrochloric acid neutralises alkaline water within seconds of consumption.
What pH does affect is taste. Water at pH 8.0–8.5 has a slightly smoother character than acidic water — a sensory preference, not a health intervention. AquaFromAir water, after mineralisation, typically sits at a mildly alkaline pH of 7.2–7.8.
Hardness: the mineral balance question
Water hardness refers to the concentration of calcium and magnesium ions. Hard water leaves scale on kettles, reduces soap lathering, and has a distinctly mineral taste. Very soft water, while clean, can taste flat. The ideal range is moderate hardness — enough calcium and magnesium to contribute positively to taste and daily mineral intake, but not so much that the mineral character dominates.
AquaFromAir’s mineral cartridge is designed to achieve exactly this balance — producing good taste and appropriate mineralisation without the excessive hardness of many spring waters or the flatness of purely distilled water.
How to taste water properly
- Use a clean, odour-free glass — not plastic, which affects the sensory experience.
- Taste at room temperature initially, then again chilled. Different characteristics emerge at different temperatures.
- Compare tap water, a bottled brand, and filtered or AWG water side by side rather than sequentially — the contrast is more immediately apparent.
- Note the finish — what the water tastes like after you swallow. Chlorinated water often has a lingering chemical note. Clean water disappears cleanly.
Water quality is something I have thought about professionally for many years — and the thing that still surprises me is how consistently people underestimate how much it matters. Not as an abstraction, but as a daily, sensory, health reality. The water in your glass is not neutral. It is either working for you or against you.
