I'm back home, and I am excited about the fact that the The water
quality test has arrived. I am more excited about water than any one
in their proper mind should be. I note to myself that I really need
to get out more. I pour a glass of water from the sink - Chateau de
Seattle, 2004.

And then I try to open the package. It's no go. I stare at the
package and notice the 'Keep out of reach of children' qualifier on
the label. Apparently, in an effort
to prevent children from testing the water , they have designed their
package so that no one will be able open it. I think for a moment.

Scissors.. I need scissors.

After wrestling with the plastic and the scissors, I am able to
free the tests from there hardened domain. I follow the complex
instructions – “Hey dimwit... place the stick in the
water and twirl for five seconds. Pull out
and compare to water chart.”.


Somehow, I am able to follow these relatively well.

[More:]

The results for Seattle tap water?


PH - 6.5


Alkanity – 80


Chlorine – 1


hardness – approx. 25


Somehow I take comfort in the fact that Seattle's water isn't
hard. I acknowledge the innuendo and move on.

Seattle's water, I should say, is not good, nor is it bad. It's
just sort of... myuh. On the back of the tongue, it leaves a slight
aftertaste that I ascribe to the chlorine, the chemical that is most
often regarded as the bane of all beverage drinkers every where. As a
comparison, I pull out a glass of Fiji water and run the same test.
The results?


PH - 7.5


alkalinity – 240


Chlorine – .1


hardness – approx. 50


Fiji, which has the better taste, as less chlorine and yet exceeds
Seattle water on the other scales. Very interesting.


I then set up the taste test, adding
Evian to the mix, as I have been told that it's high in mineral
content. Eight glasses of water. And I have to figure out how to
serve them.


In an e-mail, I had asked an
Internet “expert” what was the best temperature
to serve water. Their response?


“When water is chilled it tastes
better than at room temperature”. I quickly filed their
response under the “uh -DUH!”
category. And went researching elsewhere.
As mentioned before, I found that the best
temperature has been stated at 54 degrees
Fahrenheit. I pour eight different glasses
of water, place them into the refrigerator, and wait. To pass time, I
take temperatures of different cold beverages with my neato brand new
cold beverage digital thermometer newly picked up from Sur la Table.
It says its a “professional” thermometer. Somehow,
this boosts my ego.

I have placed a piece of tape on the
bottom of each glass, in which I have placed a number that
corresponds to a specific bottle of water. I will taste two glasses
of water together, choose the best. The loser will then compete with
other losers, the winners will compete with other winners. By the end
of the day, we should have the best of the eight and the worst of the
eight. We should also have a full bladder.


I pull the first two glasses out and
let them sit for 5 minutes in order to
bring them up to 54 degrees. The testing begins.


After two hours of checking and cross
checking, and setting up for double eliminations
and blind tastings, the results are as follows:


The worst? Dasani has a peculiar taste
that sits on the center of the tongue. Mineral laden or just
influenced by its container? Unknown, but certainly not fun to taste.

But it still doesn't beat the
horridness of Seattle Tap water. Just...blech. My suspicion
is that it is the chlorine that affects the taste to the point of
disappointment when compared to bottled
water.


The Best? Esker was really good,
and held me strong. A slight aftertaste which wasn't unpleasant,
but mostly cool on the palate.

But the best was Fiji, which was subtle on not overwhelming
in any aspect.

Next up... other waters including the fabled Brita filter.