I'm a ‘water sommelier'… which supermarket sells the best sparkling H2O & key detail if you're thirsty in a heatwave
WHEN it comes to drinking water, for most of us the hardest decision is still or sparkling.
But there is a growing trend among the privileged for high-end H2O.
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Reality star Kim Kardashian has a fridge filled with only Norwegian-based Voss, singer Mary J Blige insisted on Fiji water in her rider and tennis ace Serena Williams eulogised about bathing in a tub of Evian.
Footballers Cristiano Ronaldo and Steven Gerrard and Superman actor Henry Cavill have all invested in bottled water brands in recent years.
And the world's most-expensive ever water, Acqua di Cristallo, was sourced from springs in Fiji and France and a glacier in Iceland, came in a 24-carat gold bottle, and sold for £42,000 a time.
But this liquid craze is no surprise to 'Bearded Water Sommelier' Doran Binder, from Macclesfield in Cheshire. He serves hundreds of different types at his Crag Inn Water Bar.
Doran, 52, is on a mission to educate the world on water, insisting it varies in taste just like wine and some will leave you more hydrated than others.
'Liquid goldmine'
He says: 'People are always telling me 'water is water, Beardy,' but I'm out to show them that it isn't.
'There are all kinds of different water from around the world and they each have a different taste.
'I also drink different types of water according to what I'm doing.
'Some are good for rehydration, others for the gym and some for tasting with different types of food.'
The type of H20 you should drink and how you should consume it generates fierce debate in more obscure corners of social media.
Can drinking nothing but fizzy water for two weeks really help me shed my excess weight
Father-of-five Doran has gained a huge following on TikTok and Instagram from posting about its differences including tap versus bottled, filtered or natural, and water's various sources.
He has a business interest in the subject, too, because in 2016 he discovered that the pub he had bought in the Peak District national park was sitting on 'some of the best' natural spring water.
Since then he has been collecting Crag Spring Water from the aquifer, and shifts 1,200 bottles in reusable glass each day.
Until I went to one of Doran's two-hour tasting sessions at his bar, I was one of those people who believed 'water is water.'
I wouldn't give any thought to which bottle I picked from the supermarket fridge and I normally just ask for tap when I'm in a restaurant.
But with the bottled water market in the UK worth over £1.6billion — and a third of us preferring the taste to tap — there are clearly plenty who side with Doran.
After trying a range of natural spring waters from his collection, I too had to conclude that water is not just water.
HIS RULES
WHEN tasting water it should be drunk at room temperature rather than chilled.
Swill it round your mouth for four or five seconds before swallowing.
Drink from a wine glass.
Don't add ice or lemon.
Water from a glass bottle tastes better, but choose glass, which has been recycled.
Total Dissolved Solids, indicated as milligrams per liter (mg/l) on a bottle, tells you how many minerals are in the water, with 100-200 best for rehydration.
And some of it really can change the flavour of your food.
A mouthful of mineral-rich Vichy Catalan did make cheese and chocolate taste more creamy.
He says: 'You can season your mouth with water.'
Doran, who used to 'do hair' in the fashion industry, even claims to have lost 22lb by increasing his daily water intake from two litres to four, as it helped to reduce his appetite.
Surprisingly, he is neither 'for or against' local authorities adding fluoride to drinking water, to help prevent tooth decay, but argues that natural spring is better for you.
Bottled water is not all overpriced and overhyped either — as Doran reveals he is a fan of Lidl's San Celestino sparkling.
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His unusual water career came about by 'accident'.
Doran moved to a farm close to Shutlingsloe hill in the Peak District in 2012, to be close to the three children from his first marriage.
Soon after, he gave up drinking tap water in favour of the local source.
Four years later, he brought the nearby 300-year-old Crag Inn pub, and had the water tested as part of an annual water safety inspection.
A local expert informed him that he had a 'liquid goldmine' coming from a natural spring under its car park.
Having got a taste for the natural stuff, he closed the pub and trained as a certified water sommelier.
Doran concludes: 'It is exciting to be at the forefront of this water movement.'
But while I agree with Doran that water deserves more appreciation, I will not be giving up tap any time soon.
H20 OWNER'S FOUNTAIN OF KNOWLEDGE
ALKALINE: Ronaldo's Ursu9 brand is part of a health trend, with claims its alkaline natural mineral water helps your 'organs vitality' recover by balancing out 'acidification.'
Doran is a fan of this water sourced in El Oso, Spain, and says bluntly: 'It is better than Steven Gerrard's water.' The former Liverpool ace was an ambassador for Angel Revive, which was forced to close last month.
ENERGY DRINK: Doran argues that water with a high TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) is good for a workout because it has extra minerals to replenish the body post-exercise.
You can definitely taste the difference with Borjomi, which has a volcanic origin in Georgia, but the higher sodium content means he would not recommend it for regular rehydration.
HEALTH: On the very high end of the mineral scale is Donat, from Slovenia, which claims to help with indigestion and has a high magnesium content.
Doran describes it is a 'health tonic' and the taste does come with a tinge of the medicine cabinet, which is off-putting.
GLACIER: Sourced from a glacial range in Italy, Lauretana claims to be 'the lightest water in Europe.' It is described as 'crystalline,' because its TDS of only 14 means it has little residue and strangely leaves your mouth feeling dry, meaning you drink more water.
SPARKLING: Many sparkling waters come with their fizz at source, including the naturally carbonated Perrier. They also have four levels of the strength of bubbles, the lightest being 'effervescent' and the most powerful 'bold'. The smoother Vichy Celestins is Doran's favourite.
PURIFIED: Doran is against 'purified' water, which has not come directly from a natural spring.He pulls a face when showing me popular brands Smart, Fit and Actiph, which first distill the water then add in 'electrolytes,' such as calcium.
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