"water" news and stories

In the competitive, volatile market of food trends, one consumable blankets the majority of Earth yet is massively overlooked by epicureans: water. Commonly considered flavorless -- most would scoff to hear there are some 3,000 varieties of bottled water worldwide -- the commodity is getting reexamined as health issues abound and alcohol consumption is on the wane.

At the forefront of the water movement is water sommelier Michael Mascha, who is working to "educate people about premium bottled water" in hopes of "taking bottled water to the next level and making it a luxury item" -- a lofty goal, considering the liquid is most often regarded strictly as a commodity. However, after a private water tasting at New York City's Cook. Eat. Drink. Live. convention last weekend with Mascha -- a retired food anthropology professor at USC and self-proclaimed "authority on the art of water tasting" -- there may be more to water than meets the eye.

More on the art of water tasting and 'fine water etiquette' after the jump.

Erin Meister trains baristas for North Carolina-based Counter Culture Coffee and sporadically maintains the blog Meet the Press Pot from her home in New York City. This is part of a series for the caffeine-addicted.

Since brewed coffee is more than 90 percent water, it only makes sense to use the perfect H20 for the job, right?

But what is the "perfect" water for coffee? Are we talking about highfalutin fountains that'll bleed you dry, or straight-from-the creek agua with turtles still in it? Will a Brita filter suffice? Read more after the jump.

Vitamin Water has been in the news lately with some contretempts over the caloric content of their brightly colored, somewhat nutritious beverages. So it's fortuitous timing that they're coming out with 10-calorie versions of several flavors. Up for the dietetic treatment are Energy (tropical citrus/yellow), XXX (acai-blueberry-pomegranate/magenta), Multi-V (lemonade/white) and Essential (orange/orange).

Can you tell the difference between the 25-calorie bottle and the 125-calorie bottle? Well, the Essential lo-cal version is, weirdly, sweeter than the original, while the Multi-V is about the same. Along with the lighter revisions. Vitamin Water has also come out with two new standard-calorie flavors: Tranquilo (tamarind-pineapple/chartreuse) and Sync (berry-cherry/lavender).

I've already covered the cheap and environmentally-friendly way to indulge in your sparkling water and soda whims with a home carbonater. But what about bubble-free beverages?

Lemon-scented H20 may have ticked off some restaurant goers out there, like Slashfood's Annoying Restaurant Trends revealed, but it's still a great way to get flavor in your beverages without spending a lot of money and downing a lot of artificial flavoring and sugar.

Just fill a carafe with water, and add one slice of lemon. Almost immediately, you'll be able to taste the lemony scent to your water. The neat thing is that you can keep filling it up and having more, so one little slice of lemon can fuel many glasses. The most I've left one in my carafe is 4 days. After a day or two, the water tastes almost like lemonade -- just a sweet-flavored, lemony water, without the tart bite and sugar needed to tame it.

In a world where we need to cut back and watch our spending, something like this can save our cash for other foodie areas. Why spend $1-$5 a pop for a bottle or two to drink when you can save that cash and get that great cut of meat, fish, or other tasty ingredients?

Bottled water just got even snobbier.

Enfant terrible (bad boy) of French fashion Jean Paul Gaultier has designed his own glass Evian bottles, due to be released in 2009. Secretly? I love this. They have pretty snowflakes. Other reasons:

1. I can't afford very many Jean Paul Gaultier things, and here we have a solution for when I need to feel fancy and also need to pay rent.
2. They are a great host's gift for when you're going to a dinner party at the home of non-drinkers.
3. Glass bottles, so, you know, your insides don't get Saran Wrap'd.

A case of Christian Lacroix (current featured designer) Evian bottles is $118 on the website, so I expect the Gaultier bottles will be around the same price.

Seven special Evian Haute Couture Bottles will also be made, and auctioned off to benefit the Evian Water Protection Institute. Click here for more information.

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