Meet the water sommeliers: they believe H₂O can rival wine – but would you pay £19 a bottle?
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/aug/28/water-sommeliers-rival-wine-terroirOpen linkView original on lemmy.worldhttps://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/aug/28/water-sommeliers-rival-wine-terroirOpen linkView original on lemmy.world
Meet the grifters...
The final fate of all water, no matter how much the bottle cost.
My body is a MACHINE that turns WATER into PISS
Just like those charlatans peddling water with baking soda-err... I mean alkaline water.
No. Stop trying to monetize everything.
Basically it's the same thing most monetize, namely the idiocy of some people.
Uh....a vending machine will charge $2.50 now for 1/3 of a litre of water in Canada, and people lost their shit at paying $1.50 a litre for gasoline.
I'd recommend ion chromatography here if you want accurate results lol
£19 a bottle for water so dirty that it leaves behind measurable solids when it evaporates.
Dude, the whole thing is a scam. We don't want to get bogged down with expensive fancy equipment.
It worked for Scientology
Their e-meters are relatively basic. They just slap $200 of components in a box and charge $5000 for them
MS is the way.
Given that we know what the mineral content of these different waters are, wouldn't it be a trivial matter to replicate that by starting with a very pure water source, and simply adding the right minerals?
Laughably so.
The point is it's a bullshit thing.
I think you read context that wasn't there. All I mentioned was level level of ease, and I got a reference that I didn't understand and then a odd tangent as way of an explanation.
It's not only trivial, people already do that for coffee.
Yes but us water experts are able to detect quantum fluctuations from the ground state of the particles in the water to optimize the ionization of the water and improve the interaction with your taste buds
We are being persecuted for our beliefs in homeopathy. They won't even let me pay my taxes with water from a jar of $100 bills.
Maybe it's like diamonds. Even if it's exactly the same it has no value unless it's extracted from conflicted zones.
Depends if you're counting Russia, looks like. DR Congo is the only other one on the list that's sus that way, although Zimbabwe is especially problematic even at peace.
Pfft. Once you actually start doing science the magic goes away. Do you just hate art? /s
Fuck no
This is just Nestle with extra steps.
This seems like a nice scam to get in on. I just need some magnificent facial hair to get started.
Have a comparable beard. Still don't get taken seriously.
Wait, it's NOT the Onion!
Fucking stupid , this brings me back to “Pen and teller’s bullshit episode on “fancy water” lol.
Was that the one where they used the garden hose behind the restaurant? I so loved that show.
Yep, that was the one.
Also included the set designer working as a cook, using $1 mashed potatoes and a blow torch to make a fancy meal
Penn and Teller did it....
In a restaurant, with a garden hose!
As someone who actually appreciate water, definitely NO. We have high quality tap water here, and although there are differences in taste, it's not worth paying extra for at a restaurant.
But if they attribute magic healing qualities, claiming it's from ancient magic/holy sites, I bet people would travel to get it, because that's how stupid some people are.
I mean... Wine tasting is a scam too.
No, no I would not.
Ideally, water shouldn't taste like anything. If you're deliberately seeking a taste, it's now another drink.
LOL, so it should taste like distilled water? :)
Ex wife wouldn't drink water, loathed it. Found out why when I visited her parents and drank the well water. She found water without all the minerals to be revolting.
Interesting. I've had hard water, I've had soft water. It has tastes, but none I really feel like I need. And I've experienced really strongly flavoured drinking water, which I don't recommend.
But, then again, I'm not a water sommelier, haha.
there was a penn and teller bullshit episode on this once. No they can't tell the difference. They served everyone tapwater from the same hose, but in fancy bottles, and now everyone started to have preferences.
Pretty much every restaurant in the US will give you free tap water (with ice in it, even). At some places they’ll even just bring it to the table before you ask.
But I wouldn’t recommend the US in general.
It’s one of the few things we got right, doesn’t redeem us but we did get that right
That and public libraries (though we’re trying to kill those now).
More like ice with some water in it.
That’s the way I like it. 😁
Here in Canada we get a free glass of water with ice in it around the same time you get your menu.
And in my experience I would recommend Canada. Although traffic in Toronto is terrible.
Most of our cities have terrible drivers.
For now....
Here in the US, the typical flow is that you'll be seated at the table with menus, and then the waiter will leave to get some waters. When they return and fill your glasses, they'll ask if you want to order any drinks, and regardless of whether you order anything besides water, they'll ensure that your glass of water is never empty.
However, I think California passed a law to require restaurants to only provide water when asked, but that might only be when there's a drought and a need to conserve potable water supplies.
Used to be the case, but you made me think about it. Nowhere around here has automatically served water for years, you have to ask.
while continuing to pump water to golf courses, of course.
Ah yes, maybe they offer Agua de Culo.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=v2qydjVbLJk&pp=
lol fuck off. yea I get it extremely rich people can be very stupid but don't bring water into your stupid grift. It is not a luxury, it is a basic human right.
oh hey it's that ProZD skit from a decade ago but unironic.
Is it a 6 or 7 L bottle? If not then hell no
laughs in norwegian
Aren't there several New York pizza/bagel joints that import NY water? Something about it being better or more authentic...
That pic has serious Salt Bae vibes. But if douchebags can convince people to buy $12,000 bottles of fermented grape juice, which was once free in Europe, then water can't be far behind.
Can it get me drunk? No? Then fuck off.
How fucking pretentious. Adults playacting. Reminds me of Nero during the fall of Rome. In capitalism nothing counts unless it sells and people with too much money buy all sorts of weird shit, so this may produce another "revenue stream".
As someone who only drinks water in restaurants and at home for several reasons: there are wild differences between different waters.
This seems like a step towards the water wars