Mira Nabulsi holding bottles of water for a taste test.
This Opinion article is part of a Narcity Media series. The views expressed are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Narcity Media.
Choosing the right bottled water in Canada at a grocery store can be overwhelming when you realize how many different brands there are to choose from.
I've always been the person in my friend group to have a weird thing about specific water brands because I actually do taste a difference and some are more refreshing than others.
So, to put what people think is my bullsh*t to the test, I decided to blindly taste and rank seven water bottle brands sold in Canada. I also tested them with an at-home kit I bought on Amazon, just to add a bit of science into the mix.
The "16 in 1 Drinking Water Test Kit" checks the water's pH level, hardness, chlorine, lead, iron, copper, and nitrate on a test strip, and the colour reflects its results when cross-comparing it with a chart.
16-in-1 water test kit from Amazon.Mira Nabulsi | Narcity
It was not easy to come up with conclusions, but for the sake of this article, think of things as approximations rather than facts. I'm a food writer, not a scientist! Still, it's interesting to see the ballpark results of my at-home water-testing kit.
Water bottles sold in Canada.Mira Nabulsi | Narcity
So what's a good score for a bottle of water?
According to WebMD, "A pH of 7 is considered neutral. That 'seven' number is considered neutral or balanced between acidic and alkaline. If water is below 7 on the pH scale, it's 'acidic.' If it's higher than 7, it's 'alkaline.'"
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines are more lenient for tap water, with a suggested pH of between 6.5 and 9.
The City of Toronto states that in 2022 the pH level of water in the city was at an average of 7.5, which lies within the range.
Moreover, it's important to note that the Canadian government has approved the water brands sold in this article as safe to drink.
For this blind water bottle taste test, I opted to try Flow, Evian, Fiji, PC, Eska, Dasani and Aquafina because they are some of the most popular brands in Canada. Here's how the test played out.
Flow - EXCELLENT
Flow water.
When trying the Flow water blindfolded, I said that the water tasted "refreshing" and didn't have that "lead" taste. My tongue also didn't feel dry after drinking it and it's light. Obviously, I knew it was Flow.
The company markets itself as "100% naturally alkaline water sourced from our artesian springs. It has a smooth, clean taste and comes in eco-friendly packaging. Because the water you drink matters."
Even though our results showed that the alkalinity was 80 mg/L, it still lies within the safe range, which is usually between 20-200 mg/L.
Also, the bottle states that it has a pH of around 8.2, so we can conclude that our results for this test are accurate.
Blind test: ✅
- Total hardness: 250 mg/L
- Free chlorine: 0.5 mg/L
- Iron: 0 mg/L
- Copper: 0 mg/L
- Lead: 0 mg/L
- Nitrite: 10 mg/L
- Total chlorine: 0 mg/L
- Fluoride: 0 mg/L
- Alkalinity: 80 mg/L
- pH: 8.2
Eska - EXCELLENT
Eska water.
Eska is a water brand that I'm not very familiar with, but it was one I didn't mind. I felt as though it's a less dense water and I was neutral about it, but I guessed correctly.
This water brand is Canadian and proud, as they source the water from a glacier-formed esker in Quebec. They state on their website that "Eska natural spring water is 100% Canadian, land-crafted and filtered by the sediments of Abitibi’s own St-Mathieu-Lac-Berry esker – Canada’s ice-age old, unique, and precious natural wonder."
The website stated that "water with a pH of between 7.2 and 7.8 is ideal for maintaining good health," but I found that lay a little lower on the scale.
Blind test: ✅
- Total hardness: 0 mg/L
- Free chlorine: 0 mg/L
- Iron: 0 mg/L
- Copper: 0 mg/L
- Lead: 0 mg/L
- Nitrite: 0 mg/L
- Total chlorine: 0 mg/L
- Fluoride: 0 mg/L
- Alkalinity: 40 mg/L
- pH: 6.8
Evian - GREAT
Evian water.
The company advertises itself as "a uniquely sourced spring water that's always refreshing and naturally hydrating, with nothing added for taste or enhanced with extras - so you can reach your natural peak."
After one sip of water, I literally said, "This is Evian isn't it," and guess what? I was correct. I describe the water as "cool" and not "chemical," which are all things they say about themselves.
Nevertheless, the Evian bottle states that it has a pH of 7.2, but when I did the test, I was shocked at how bright the pink was. The water test looked more like an 8.2 to me, so I did the test two times to double-check and kept getting the same result.
Blind test: ✅
- Total hardness: 25 mg/L
- Free chlorine: 0.5 mg/L
- Iron: 0 mg/L
- Copper: 0 mg/L
- Lead: 0 mg/L
- Nitrite: 0 mg/L
- Total chlorine: 0 mg/L
- Fluoride: 0 mg/L
- Alkalinity: 40 mg/L
- pH: 8.2
President's Choice - GOOD
PC water.
When blindfolded, I said that the PC water didn't "taste so harsh" and felt "light." I actually thought it was Fiji, but I was so wrong.
The PC Natural Spring Water is typically seen as a cheaper brand compared to others like Fiji and Flow, but it didn't taste so bad.
However, when looking at the strip after testing the water, it ranked higher than the rest in terms of alkalinity. According to Know Your H2O, when water has high alkalinity, it can have "a salty, soda-like, or chalky taste." This is interesting because I didn't pick this up when I drank the water.
Blind test: ❌
- Total hardness: 50 mg/L
- Free chlorine: 0 mg/L
- Iron: 0 mg/L
- Copper: 0.5 mg/L
- Lead: 0 mg/L
- Nitrite: 0 mg/L
- Total chlorine: 0 mg/L
- Fluoride: 0 mg/L
- Alkalinity: 180 mg/L
- pH: 8.2
Fiji - OK
Fiji water.
Fiji calls itself "Earth's finest water" and they show their water quality results on their wbsite to prove it.
However, the results I got were quite different than those shown online. For example, Fiji said its pH levels are "perfectly balanced" at 7.7, but my numbers came in lower.
Even though I thought I'd be a fan of Fiji, my taste test proved otherwise.
When doing the blind taste test, I did not guess Fiji correctly. Actually, I thought it was Dasani because that water always creeps me out because it fizzes when you open it.
I said that the Fiji water "tastes bad" and that my mouth was getting drier the more I drank it.
Blind test: ❌
- Total hardness: 0 mg/L
- Free chlorine: 0 mg/L
- Iron: 0 mg/L
- Copper: 0.5 mg/L
- Lead: 0 mg/L
- Nitrite: 0 mg/L
- Total chlorine: 0.5 mg/L
- Fluoride: 0 mg/L
- Alkalinity: 40 mg/L
- pH: 6.8
Aquafina - Bad
Aquafina.
Aquafina is quite a popular water brand, and PepsiCo owns it so you can imagine its dominance in Canada.
Their website states, "Aquafina goes through a state-of-the-art purification process so that you get the refreshment your body craves in its purest form. Pure Water. Perfect Taste."
But when reading the results from the strip, I had to re-read it twice because the pH levels of the water showed as yellow, and there isn't even yellow on the comparison strip.
When looking online, Aquafina was placed at a pH level of 6 because it is taken from "municipal water sources" and then purified to obtain a 7, but the results show a lower pH.
During the blind taste test, I said it "tastes so bad, and like lead, dry and not refreshing." I then guessed it as Aquafina.
Blind test: ✅
- Total hardness: 0 mg/L
- Free chlorine: 0 mg/L
- Iron: 0 mg/L
- Copper: 0 mg/L
- Lead: 0 mg/L
- Nitrite: 0 mg/L
- Total chlorine: 0.5 mg/L
- Fluoride: 0 mg/L
- Alkalinity: 0 mg/L
- pH: 6
Dasani - HORRIBLE
Dasani water.
Dasani is another very prominent water brand in Canada, and it often reminds me of water found at concert venues and events, maybe because it's a Coca-Cola company. But regardless, like Aquafina, this isn't the one for me.
For starters, when you open the bottle, it fizzes. Why does water fizz? Doesn't that make you question a lot of things about the water?
Their slogan is "Invigorate every day with the purified taste of the world's most delicious water." But, I and this test certainly disagree with that.
During my blind test, I started off saying I do like it but then began to notice a bit of a rough aftertaste. I didn't know which water brand it would be but ended up saying PC because it was one I hadn't experimented with before.
In terms of the water test, the results were similar to what I found with AquafinaThe pH strip was oddly yellow, and again, I wouldn't say I liked the look of that. So, it's a water brand I will also be avoiding.
Blind test: ❌
- Total hardness: 0 mg/L
- Free chlorine: 0 mg/L
- Iron: 0 mg/L
- Copper: 0 mg/L
- Lead: 0 mg/L
- Nitrite: 0 mg/L
- Total chlorine: 0 mg/L
- Fluoride: 0 mg/L
- Alkalinity: 40 mg/L
- pH: 6
This article has been updated since it was originally published on July 14, 2023.
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