Re:Which sparkling water is the best?
by snayan on Wednesday June 03, 2026 @09:42AM
(#48383978)
Other good bubbles around the world:
US - Trader Joes - Surprisingly good bubbles, couple different flavours but I like the plain shit. I think they use different suppliers regionally, SW US is my jam, it seems to pack a lot more punch on the bubble front.
US - Topo Chico, technically this one is Mexican, but Coke bought it in 2017. It's great. Broadly available in the western US, but should be able to find it in specialty stores throughout the country.
Thailand - Singha in the stubby glass bottles is great.
Vietnam - Danh Thanh. In the glass bottles. If it's plastic bottles make sure it was bottled in the past 30-60 days at most.
These are the ones that come to mind off the top of my head.
Re:Which sparkling water is the best?
by arndt on Wednesday June 03, 2026 @10:18AM
(#48384484)
Keep in mind that some sparkling waters, such as San Pellegrino [1] taste great IMO, but have pollutants in them you may care about. Worth considering adding that dimension to your chart.
Re:Which sparkling water is the best?
by tokarf on Wednesday June 03, 2026 @11:13AM
(#48385204)
@vmaxmc2 Most sparkling waters are not naturally sparkling, co2 is injected.
On the contrary, Rozanna and St Yorre and it seems St Géron are natural sparkling water ... and are the less liked ...
You should add that info to your matrix
Re:Which sparkling water is the best?
by whycombagator on Wednesday June 03, 2026 @02:51PM
(#48388148)
Topo Chico is definitely a must try. Costco does a “Kirkland Signature Italian Sparkling Mineral Water” which is surprisingly good. Like Topo Chico, the Kirkland water maintains carbonation for what seems like hours post opening, unlike some sparkling waters
Re:Which sparkling water is the best?
by gwbas1c on Wednesday June 03, 2026 @08:26PM
(#48392077)
A couple of things:
"Seltzer" and "Sparkling water" often mean the same thing, but a lot of semantics are different. "Seltzer" is usually lower-cost, and often flavored. (IE, plain seltzer is basically sparkling water.)
Some of the seltzers have strong flavors with artificial sweeteners, and thus sometimes the difference between a seltzer and a clear diet soda is very little.
European "sparkling water" (imported here) tends to have less carbonation and is more about the flavor from the minerals.
BTW: I suggest looking at sparkling water from Quebec. About two years ago I took my family there, and we kept buying big glass bottles of something good (can't remember the name) that appeared to be local. It'll be more like San Pellegrino / Perrier, compared to an American seltzer with heavy flavoring.
Re:Which sparkling water is the best?
by ASalazarMX on Wednesday June 03, 2026 @02:30PM
(#48387845)
I don't know why people have strong sparkling water preferences. HEB makes generic canned low-minerals sparkling water, and it's great because it has no flavor. Any purified water with gas should taste like that, but water companies add minerals to create a distinctive taste.
Anyone could analyze a Svalbarði bottle, and copy the mineral profile using purified tap water + salts + carbon dioxide. It's water.
Re:Which sparkling water is the best?
by DonHopkins on Wednesday June 03, 2026 @09:38AM
(#48383903)
I love spicy water! Putting it that way makes me thirsty for more.
I retired my Sodastream claptrap (for both practical, economic, and ethical reasons), and got a tank of CO2, a regulator, and an adaptor for standard PET soda bottles.
The important thing for getting a lots CO2 into the water is chilling it as cold as possible, and a good trick is to put a little bit of water in a bottle, setting it on the side in the freezer so you get long thin ice at the bottom, then whacking it to break up the ice and give it lots of surface area, then adding tap water to it. The trick is figuring out the right amount of ice to make for the size of the bottle and water temperature, but once you find the balance, you can get the water very cold this way, and get a lot of CO2 into it to make it extremely fizzy.
You can also boil the water beforehand and let it cool to room temperature before chilling, and that will remove most of the air dissolved in it, which allows more CO2 to dissolve. But that's a minor optimization (that takes time and energy and hassle) on top of the important thing which is simply chilling it to as close to 0 degrees as possible.
Then buy heavy glasses or mugs and put them in the fridge or freezer, so you won't need any ice (which makes it go flat quicker), and it makes it delicious and satisfying to serve and drink. A&W Root Beer drive-ins are famous for their frozen mugs, which freeze the root beer into slush, and they sell big thick A&W mugs to use at home. There used to be one in Mountain View near the railroad tracks, where I got mine.
I've been enjoying Darcy O'Neil's "Art of Drink" for tips and recipes. He has several videos about carbonated water itself, and many others about different flavors and formulas. He even shows how to make super spicy soda with Capsaicin!
Re:Which sparkling water is the best?
by wink on Friday June 05, 2026 @09:47AM
(#48412527)
Unfortunately San Pellegrino is owned by Nestle, but yes, while usually not buying any bottled water (just using our excellent tap water), it's also my favourite.
US - Trader Joes - Surprisingly good bubbles, couple different flavours but I like the plain shit. I think they use different suppliers regionally, SW US is my jam, it seems to pack a lot more punch on the bubble front.
US - Topo Chico, technically this one is Mexican, but Coke bought it in 2017. It's great. Broadly available in the western US, but should be able to find it in specialty stores throughout the country.
Thailand - Singha in the stubby glass bottles is great.
Vietnam - Danh Thanh. In the glass bottles. If it's plastic bottles make sure it was bottled in the past 30-60 days at most.
These are the ones that come to mind off the top of my head.
[1] https://www.oasishealth.app/search/item/38?name=san-pellegri...
Topo Chico, the thick glass bottles
Jarritos Mineragua, also glass bottles, these are commonly flavored at taco trucks, but I only do plain
Proud Source sparkling, tall silver cans
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vichy_Catal%C3%A1n
Their 'Sabores' (flavored) line is nice too, even if I find it doesn't have that same bubbly-ness.
"Seltzer" and "Sparkling water" often mean the same thing, but a lot of semantics are different. "Seltzer" is usually lower-cost, and often flavored. (IE, plain seltzer is basically sparkling water.)
Some of the seltzers have strong flavors with artificial sweeteners, and thus sometimes the difference between a seltzer and a clear diet soda is very little.
European "sparkling water" (imported here) tends to have less carbonation and is more about the flavor from the minerals.
BTW: I suggest looking at sparkling water from Quebec. About two years ago I took my family there, and we kept buying big glass bottles of something good (can't remember the name) that appeared to be local. It'll be more like San Pellegrino / Perrier, compared to an American seltzer with heavy flavoring.
I always bring a six pack home when I’m in France.
Anyone could analyze a Svalbarði bottle, and copy the mineral profile using purified tap water + salts + carbon dioxide. It's water.
I laughed, thank you.
Fun article, from someone who detests sparkling water (water shouldn't be spicy!)
I retired my Sodastream claptrap (for both practical, economic, and ethical reasons), and got a tank of CO2, a regulator, and an adaptor for standard PET soda bottles.
The important thing for getting a lots CO2 into the water is chilling it as cold as possible, and a good trick is to put a little bit of water in a bottle, setting it on the side in the freezer so you get long thin ice at the bottom, then whacking it to break up the ice and give it lots of surface area, then adding tap water to it. The trick is figuring out the right amount of ice to make for the size of the bottle and water temperature, but once you find the balance, you can get the water very cold this way, and get a lot of CO2 into it to make it extremely fizzy.
You can also boil the water beforehand and let it cool to room temperature before chilling, and that will remove most of the air dissolved in it, which allows more CO2 to dissolve. But that's a minor optimization (that takes time and energy and hassle) on top of the important thing which is simply chilling it to as close to 0 degrees as possible.
Then buy heavy glasses or mugs and put them in the fridge or freezer, so you won't need any ice (which makes it go flat quicker), and it makes it delicious and satisfying to serve and drink. A&W Root Beer drive-ins are famous for their frozen mugs, which freeze the root beer into slush, and they sell big thick A&W mugs to use at home. There used to be one in Mountain View near the railroad tracks, where I got mine.
I've been enjoying Darcy O'Neil's "Art of Drink" for tips and recipes. He has several videos about carbonated water itself, and many others about different flavors and formulas. He even shows how to make super spicy soda with Capsaicin!
Introduction to Carbonation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhsOFFYc-N0
Carbonating Water: The 2 Most Important Things To Do
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBNJ7yzIvtw
Quick Carbonation Setup Soda Water
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWkvNGQsOes
Seltzer, Club Soda, Carbonated Water, Soda Water: What's the Difference? Which One Tastes Better?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgTj-xWBXZw
Electrolyte Mineral Water Formulation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUS7qi6_xvQ
Soda Frequently Asked Questions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5l9qC9E5qRc
Carbonated Water on Tap
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Un6_OXYiRZA
Capsaicin Hot Drops for Drinks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXHAypkueps
I'm lucky where I live. I think we have some of the best public water in the world. We have one thing right.
Is Sprindrift even available in Paris? It's an American company, and from a few minutes of Googling, I doubt it's available outside the US.