I'd love to see people identify fiji water in a blind taste test. The irony of all of this is that if we spent half what consumers spend on bottled water on better municipal water systems, your tap water could taste that good.

Okay but what is the individual's option if their municipal water sucks? Voting? But continue to drink the terrible water in the interim?

Whatever the individual's options, shipping water from fiji should not be on the table.

A good filter can improve the taste of municipal water. Maybe not to the extent of Fiji water (never tried it) but it can at least make it not terrible.

I don't think you've drunk a lot of water bottles. If you can't distinguish dasani from fiji, see a doctor.

I'd be interested to see what a doctor would say if I complained that most water tastes the same to me despite a huge price variance. They probably don't cover that one in medical school.

Cold brewed microplastics after a trip across the world, powered by extra virgin bunker fuel.

Yes, not so different from just about every soda or bottled drink right? It's a miracle people are taking climate change so seriously with this basically being the talking point.

Sodas are actually usually bottled somewhere near-ish to you. There are 900 coke bottling plants globally.

The big soft-drink brands optimize for cost. And transport is really a huge part when we talk about almost entirely water as product.

Actual soda fountains are fun to think, they make the stuff there on the spot from water supply, co2 and syrup... Minimising transport distance.

Soft drinks are usually bottled locally, with local water.

I think the people who complain about drinking bottled water are generally drinking less stuff from plastic bottles as a whole.

I’m far from an expert but the people of Fiji at large may not be benefitting from the water anywhere near as much as you think.

Unfortunately, articles on the issue are usually over a decade old and the new ones source the old ones. One of them presented information that a significant number of people gained access to clean water in the 2010s and then used the improved number as a slight to Fiji without information on how it progressed. If the official sensitivity to bad press remains that could be a contributing factor.

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2009/08/fiji-spin-bottl...

> Fiji is very special, it is the only water I've ever tasted that has that smooth texture

How does Fiji compare to Voss?

I am not a water sommelier, but I used to work at a place that stock a set of premium bottled waters, and Voss was one that was more sought after relative to other bottled waters.

> is the only water I've ever tasted that has that smooth texture

My head hurts.

Headache? Could be dehydrated. Maybe drink some water.