This week, CONOR POPEprofiles bottle water

Tap water 0 cent per litre

We are lucky to live in a place where good quality drinking water flows from our taps and we would be quite mad not to take advantage of that resource. Okay, good quality drinking water costs money to produce but we’re still not paying directly for it. While tap water in some areas may have a slightly chlorine taste, that disappears if it is poured into a jug and refrigerated. But the bottom line is the waste, of money and of resources. Meeting the annual demand for plastic bottles in the US alone requires enough oil to keep 100,000 cars on the road for a year and that country also produces 70 million empty water bottles every day and, while the plastic can be recycled, nearly 90 per cent of it is binned.

Verdict: Impossible to beat.*****

Evian €1.39 for 2 litres, €0.70 for 1 litre

This is a low-salt option, which may be important for some people, although it did not make a blind bit of difference to the product in terms of taste, texture or appearance. Evian is a market leader and will be widely available and instantly recognisable to most people. There are plenty of Irish bottled waters on the market that are, at the very least, this product’s equal so while there is nothing wrong with it, we’d not be rushing out to buy it either.

Verdict: Why bother? **

Tesco Still water €0.49 for 2 litres €0.25 per litre

This is definitely the no-frills option and Tesco don’t even bother claiming it is mineral water or comes from some class of magical spring. It tastes fine, in so far as water tastes of anything. It is the cheapest of the bottled products we tried but we’d still have concerns about its value for money and we’d like to know how this is better value than the (still free) stuff that comes from our taps? Say what you like about mineral waters, at least they offer something slightly different to what comes out of your taps, even if it is only a feel-good factor. Tesco also tells us that we have to use this water within three days of opening. Why? Will it go flat? Lose its flavour? It’s water for pity’s sake, it does not need to be used within three days of opening. That is just ridiculous.

Verdict: Cheap, pointless. **

Fiji Water €2.65 for 1 litre

Eh, how much? €2.65? For a litre? Seriously? It is just water, right? Well, yes and no. If you mean does it look, taste and smell virtually indistinguishable from any other bottled water we have ever tried, then yes it is just water. But it also comes from Fijian wells, has been endorsed by celebrities whose names escape us and cost 10 times more than the cheapest option we bought, so it must be special? No. It might have a slightly smoother finish than the cheapest water and the bottle is certainly a whole lot classier but the air miles and price make this a product for the ridiculous.

Verdict: Ah here now.*

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