Water preference comes down to taste and temperature.
A sampling of Denver Post journalists tried and commented on six of the hundreds of products currently on the market, including tap water flavored with lemon and lime, per a dietitian’s recommendation. The nutrition facts are based on an 8-ounce serving and daily values are based on a 2,000-calorie diet. Most waters at supermarkets; Metromint at Whole Foods and selected grocers.
DENVER WATER with a squeeze of lemon and lime
Ingredients: water
Nutrition facts: Zero calories
Cost: pennies
Pitch: Use only what you need
Comments: “Tangy, lemony, not fake.” “Fertilizer, bitter, not refreshing.”
METROMINT Spearmint
Ingredients: Purified water, mint
Nutrition facts: Zero calories, fat, sodium, carbohydrates, protein
Cost: $1-$1.69 (King Soopers, Whole Foods)
Pitch: “The all-natural combination of pure water and real spearmint relieves your thirst, soothes your body and revives your soul.”
Comments: “This would be good during exercise; the mint is refreshing.” “Like drinking Wrigley’s Doublemint.”
AQUAFINA ALIVE WELLNESS WATER Berry Pomegranate
Ingredients: Filtered water, white grape juice concentrate, natural flavors, phosphoric acid, sodium hexametaphosphate, citric acid, potassium citrate, aspartame, potassium benzoate, potassium sorbate, acesulfame potassium, calcium disodium EDTA, vitamin E acetate, niacinamide, pyridoxine hydrochloride, cyanocobalamin, phenylalanine.
Nutrition facts: 10 calories, 10 percent of daily recommended value of vitamin E, niacin, vitamins B6 and B12.
Cost: $3 per six pack
Pitch: “A splash of real juice and E and B vitamins . . . a simple thing you can do for your healthy lifestyle.”
Comments: “Fruity, sweet; aftertaste like toothpaste.” “Funky aftertaste, but good until then, very mild.”
PROPEL INVIGORATING WATER Berry
Ingredients: Water, sucrose syrup, natural flavors, citric acid, sodium citrate, potassium citrate, caffeine, sucralose, disodium EDTA, calcium pantothenate, acesulfame potassium, red 40, pyridoxine hydrochloride, vitamin B12.
Nutrition facts: 20 calories, 5g carb, 4g sugars, 25 percent daily value niacin and vitamin B6; 4 percent B12; 25 percent pantothenic acid
Cost: $1-$1.49
Pitch: “A vitamin-enhanced, caffeinated, low-calorie lift that fits your active lifestyle.”
Comments: “Perky and energetic.” “Tastes like strawberry Kool-Aid.”
SOBE LIFEWATER Blackberry Grape
Ingredients: Filtered water, sugar, natural flavor, citric acid, ascorbic acid, grape skin extract, sodium citrate, modified foodstarch. L-theanine, vitamin E acetate, calcium phosphate, gum arabic, calcium pantothenate, yerba mate extract, niacinamide, pyridoxine hydrochloride, cyanocobalamin
Nutrition facts: 40 calories, 35 mg sodium, 10g carb, 10g sugars; 100 percent daily value vitamin C, 20 percent vitamin E, 10 percent each niacin, vitamin B6, B12, panothenic acid.
Cost: $1 -$1.49
Pitch: “Enlighten your life.”
Comments: “Grape bubble gum, very chemically.” “Good flavor; not too sweet.”
VITAMINWATER XXX Acai-blueberry- pomegranate
Ingredients: Vapor distilled, deionized, and/or reverse osmosis water, cane sugar, crystalline fructose, citric acid, vegetable juice, ascorbic acid, natural flavor, berry and fruit extracts, magnesium lactate.
Nutrition facts: 50 calories, 13 g carb; 100 percent of daily value of vitamin C, 10 percent each of Vitamins B3, B6, B12, and B5.
Cost: $1-$1.40
Pitch: “C’mon get your mind out of the gutter. We only named this drink xxx because it has the power of triple antioxidants to help keep you healthy and fight free radicals.”
Comments: “Yum—fruity, refreshing, not too sweet.” “Not bad; less sweet is better.”
