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.
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.
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!
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.
[1] https://www.oasishealth.app/search/item/38?name=san-pellegri...
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.
UK - Harrogate and Buxton
thank you!
super depressing no one has mentioned La Croix (nb it's pronounced la-CROY). the best sparkling water in the entire world. very few minerals
I recommend to try out Vichy Catalan[0], tastes really good and has a slight salinity to it.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vichy_Catal%C3%A1n
Slight?? It has 3g of salt per liter, which is very high - not least because 1g of that is sodium. Having said that, I like it very much.
Oh yea I will!
Disappointed Topo Chico isn't included. I've tried sparkling water all over the world and it's my favourite.
Topo Chico gang! It's my favorite too, in particular the 12oz glass bottles. I really like how it has thick bubbles and doesn't easily go flat.
Their 'Sabores' (flavored) line is nice too, even if I find it doesn't have that same bubbly-ness.
Thank you for your contribution sir, I will try your Topo Chico.
I like goofy projects like this. Too bad I've never seen most of these brands in the US.
Man, looks like the sparkling water world of the United States is a whole new universe for me to wander. I'm excited.
St Yorre is my favourite. I will have to seek out this Rozana !
I also liked St Yoree and really like Rozana for a few glasses a day.
I always bring a six pack home when I’m in France.
that's crazy
No way I don't believe you
Better out of glass than plastic. Glass cools the liquid and also cuts the risk of microplastics and leaching.
I'm lucky where I live. I think we have some of the best public water in the world. We have one thing right.
> We were waterlogged men.
I laughed, thank you.
Fun article, from someone who detests sparkling water (water shouldn't be spicy!)
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!
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
Spindrift not in the list?
Spindrift is amazing. So much better that champions of other brands will disqualify it on the basis of it actually having a trace amount of sugar.
> We limited ourselves to ones that you could readily buy in Paris, up to the limit of what we could carry.
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.
personally, disagree on Spindrift being considered water. that jazz is homeopathic juice.
Never seen it for sale in France! I will order it and taste it. We don't want fizzy blind spots over here.
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