Tag Archives: taste

Diving into the city of water – Venice

What better place to conduct a water tasting in Italy, than in the city of water – Venice.  Spontaneously I decided to jump on a train, seek out the fine waters the city has to offer and bring tasting notes to you. On the way I hope to provide you with a glimpse of the beauty this unique city has to offer. One of my favorite cities in the world and a magical place to explore.

I will be mainly focusing on Italian waters and there are plenty to choose from. They have taken over the city as there seems to be a shortage of foreign waters. There are a few around. I  discovered a very special non-Italian water which I will include in my review.

Fiuggi

The first water I am tasting is from the town of Fuiggi in the Lazio region. It runs through volcanic deposits in the Ernici mountains. In Europe this water is classified as Ogliomineral water, with a low mineral content. As a water sommelier I am focusing on water beneficial to wellness, but this water is advertised for its health benefits, primary for supporting breaking down kidney stones. I am cautious of such health claims, but you never know.

The water has a low minerality with a TDS of 181. The water has a light , easy flowing and mellow taste, it almost calms the taste buds. Nice, straightforward still water for a relaxing, smooth experience.

Here you see the water in front of the Bridge of Sighs. It is made of marble with stone bar windows. It connects the interrogation rooms with the new prison in the Doge palace. When prisoners would be escorted over the bridge to the prison , they would take one final glimpse of beautiful Venice before disappearing into the darkness of the prison.

Aqua Panna

One of my favorite waters in Italy has to be part of my tasting. I have written about this water in many tastings and blogs before so it does not need any special introduction. From the town Villa Panna and a low TDS of 241 it comes with a crisp , light and almost lemony taste. It is interesting to compare this water to the other low minerality waters. While I found the other ones more full bodied and rounded, Aqua Panna always stands out with a lighter and crisper appearance on the taste buds. 

Here you see Aqua Panna next to St Marks Campanile, the bell tower of St. Marks Basilica. Its 98 meters high and collapsed in 1902. It was rebuild in 1912 and inaugurated exactly 1,000 year after the original foundation was laid.

San Benedetto

I have not blogged much about this water, but it is one of the most popular waters inside of Italy. Some good restaurants around the world have it on their water menu. 

The brand is located in Scorze,  near Venice. The city of Venice pumps their fountain and tab water from the same region and proudly calls it ‘Aqua Veritas’ – true water. 


San Benedetto in front of the Rialto bridge

The water comes in many bottle shapes and sizes, I tried San Benedetto in the new eco green bottle. Good to see when major water brands move forward and contribute to a better foot print in the water industry. The water is on the edge of the medium minerality category with a TDS of 264. It has a smooth taste with a robust, balanced texture , there is a certain weight in the entrance with a clean finish. A nice easy flowing taste experience.

Fonte Essentiale 

I found Fonte Essentiale a remarkable still water. It comes from the Terme di Borario, 255 km northwest from Venice. It has a very high minerality of a 2,480 TDS which is unusual for still waters. High minerality waters have a high complexity and a different taste experience than low minerality still waters. You can feel this complexity on the taste buds. On entry it feels heavy and bold, complex as the taste buds experience the layers of this wonderful tasting water. I found it soft on the edges as you drink the water with a nice and energetic finish.

Here you find Fonte Essentiale on top of the Rialto bridge , the oldest bridge spanning over the Canale Grande. It is a beautiful stone arch bridge and a major tourist attraction in Venice.

S. Pellegríno

S. Pellegrino also does not need much of an introduction as it is a well known super brand and practically available all over the world. Yet it cannot be excluded from an Italian water tasting. What makes S. Pelegríno so special are it’s bold bubbles and yet a well rounded experience in the finish. With a TDS of 841 it comes with a high minerality. I love the energy of the texture, a truly enjoyable drinking experience. It has a pleasant, citric entrance with a lively finish.

S. Pellegrino in front of masks, normally worn during Carnivale in Venice

Donat Mg

While I selected Italian waters for this tasting, I came across this sparkling water from Slovakia, Donat Mg. With a TDS of 13,197 it is off the chart in terms of minerality so I had to experience it and create some tasting notes for you. The minerals contained in this water are several grams (1 g of Magnesium, 1.6 g of sodium, 2.1 g of sulfate) instead of the milligrams normal in waters. I know my taste buds are in for a stormy tasting experience. As expected the taste is quite complex with a bold set of bubbles. Just opening the bottle feels like unleashing a monster.

A surprising mellow entrance is followed by several waves of mineral tastes, in a pleasant way. At the finish you almost feel that the water saved the best for last and you experience a boost of minerals to be remembered. The water brand advertises the water good for digestion (scientifically proven in a study in Berlin). You almost get an Alka Seltzer experience and I can imagine it to be a good remedy for hangovers. If you are in for a special meal, a good water for complex flavors, maybe even a good steak.

Guglie Bridge –
Historic footbridge across the Cannaregio Canal, with a carved balustrade & decorative gargoyles.

There a hundreds and hundreds of wonderful spring and mineral waters in Italy, so we only scratched the surface of the Italian water portfolio. Hope you enjoyed the journey to Venice and  let me know if you want me to review more of the Italian or a different water selection.

Stay thirsty!

Mindful Water. Easy ways to taste your water

In this blog I want to examine how water can help us to be more mindful and useful pointers how to best experience and taste your water.

Mindfulness has become one of the most important ways you can improve your life. It’s all about living in the moment, appreciating the now and being able to better control your thoughts. I will share a story with you on how mindfulness has saved my life during a meeting later.

The beauty of mindfulness is that a few minutes every day will have a tremendous impact on your daily life.

Over the past years, mindfulness has allowed me to take charge of my habits and bring more balance to my emotional state. I am using the app Calm , but there are many other options out there such as headspace or insight timer.

You might ask yourself now: but what has water to do with mindfulness?

Most people take water for granted. They sip water here and there, mostly when they feel thirsty or light headed. Many associate water with a meal they take. In most restaurants, a waiter will bring a glass of water as quietly as possible or open up a bottle of water and we sip almost subconsciously as we talk to others.

Hydrate

Being mindful about water can change your wellbeing and your happiness tremendously. Our body is made up of 70 percent water. The better we are hydrated, the better our organs will function. When we get the signal that we are thirsty it is often too late. Our organs do not function properly anymore and we rush to take a sip. Most of us are accustomed to the fact that water is all around us and that you just have to open up the tap to take a sip.

Did you know that by drinking water regularly you can lose up to 10 pounds of weight per year? Just by taking a few sips of water every day.

The quality of the water you are drinking is important. Tap water often contains chemicals to keep the treated municipal water safe and it often does not include enough minerals which your body needs daily.

Spring water on the other hand contains essential minerals, is free of chemicals and comes with a great taste. Drinking water does not only have to be a life saving automatic experience, it can be an enjoyable event.

In order to appreciate the taste, you need to be mindful of how you experience the water. Drinking water can be an experience to appreciate the moment and to be grateful for what we have. It is sometimes the simple things which can help us to get into a better mood and appreciate our daily life.

Let me give you a crash course in tasting. You can break down the experience into several components and you can be mindful of each step.

While your taste buds will be doing the heavy lifting, it helps to enhance the experience to utilize your other senses.

The look

Have a look at the glass, swirl the water around a bit. You can even smell the water, although in most cases the water will be odorless or will have a hint of sweetness. Have a look at the bottle. In great restaurants the wait staff can give you a bit more background on where the water is coming from and what makes it so unique. Knowing what to look for will help your taste buds later on. For sparkling water you can see the motion in the glass: are the bubbles fine or heavy? Do you see them rising to the top quickly or slowly. The intensity of the sparkle will give you an indication on how you might experience your tasting.

12504778 – fresh clean water splash in blue.

The initial sip

The initial sip: When the water enters the mouth, you will have an initial reaction to the water. Does it feels soft or heavy? Do you experience the energy of the bubbles? Does it feel elegant or bold? This can be sometimes a critical moment to decide if you like a water or not.

The taste

Now your taste buds go to work. Each of us experiences taste differently. It depends on the composition of our taste buds and how well we are tuned into the experience. It will also depend on our likes, if we like sparkling or still water, if we have a preference for the intensity or if we like a certain level of acidity. These decisions are made in fractions of a second and feel more like a ‘gut’ feeling. Being mindful and ask yourself: how does this water taste? What makes it special? Do I like it or not?

I like to add certain terms when I describe water.  To me there are several categories:

  • The energy feel: does the water feel vibrant or quiet? When the water dances with my taste buds, is it a slow, romantic dance or a quick, passionate, vibrant dance?
  • The flavors: Can I sense a bit of salt? Do I feel a bit of acidity? Maybe like a lemon? Like a piece of fruit?
  • The texture: Is the water velvety or silky? Does it feel complex?
  • Reflection: Does the water remind me of anything? Granite? Chalk? Silk?

Often a taste will link with a memory. It could be a vacation trip we had to a river or a water fall. It might relate to our grandma’s farm and the spring in the back yard. Maybe a trip to a lake and a taste we had drinking the water on a hiking trip from a clean spring. These memories will try to link to the taste experience you are having right now.

I invite you next time you take a sip of spring or mineral water to be mindful of these categories and find a term that would work for you to describe the water. If you mention these terms to your wait staff they will be able to find you a water that matches the taste and you will enjoy the experience more. Water choices in a restaurant should be much more then just the question : Still or Sparkling?

Part of my job as a sommelier is to find good descriptions of taste, so that people can connect with the experience. It’s not easy as we all have a different understanding of taste. In the beverage industry these descriptions have to be appetizing and inviting so that you would be happy to try it out.

Drinking the water

And finally, drinking the water. When your water makes the way down your throat, it will be a unique experience for you. You might like it or not. This last stage is called the finish and in some cases you will experience an after taste. That does not have to be a bad experience. In some cases you like the experience so much that you will remember the water and would buy it in the future again because of it.

Being mindful

Most of us do not spend much time thinking of this in stages, but being mindful about a simple thing as experiencing a sip of water can open up a whole new world. The saying “ water tastes like water” is outcome of thinking when we do not describe or pay attention to the taste of water. Everything has a taste and everything leaves an impression , you just have to be mindful about it. This is similar to what I am experience in the tea industry. It is just like flying economy and business class. Once you have flown business class you do not want to go back. When we experience a certain taste in water we accept this as normal , as the status quo, but once we have the opportunity to taste something amazing , it will open up a new avenue for us and new possibilities to enhance the quality of life. And why not try to enhance our life with an affordable piece of luxury, a fine water which can add a bit of positivity to our day. Knowing how to taste a water and what to look for, will earn you street (or water) credit with your family and friends.

When I was in a workshop in Rome, during one of the presentations I started to get very bored as the presenter was very dry. I remembered my mindfulness practices and spotted a bottle of Aqua Panna in front of me. I started to think about the qualities of the water, the tastes and the history of this water. These thoughts got me trough the presentation and I took a sip of the water and was saved. You can read my reflections in one of my previous blogs.

Stay Thirsty!

A Different Kind of Sommelier

When I heard about Marc Almert being voted the best Sommelier in the world by ASI (Association de la Sommellerie Internationale), I was first of all happy. Happy, that a fellow German has won this title and that there is hope (half-jokingly), that my German taste buds have some genetic advantage in the world of tasting.

Once the happiness settled in and I congratulated Marc, one of my old questions came back to me: Why is it always wine that is associated with the word Sommelier? As a tea and water sommelier, how do I compare?

It also brings back a point I was advocating for over the past years, that we sommeliers would benefit from collaborating. Let me first be clear for the people which already have started to type comments: in Sommelier terms, wine will always play a major role, there is no question that wine plays a dominant role when it comes to fine beverages in the restaurant world.

But let us ponder an additional question for one moment: how can sommeliers, wine, water, tea or even olive oil or chocolate sommeliers benefit from collaborating with each other? Can the customer experience be enhanced by having a heightened experience as a product from Sommeliers getting along with each other?

Sommeliers from different areas do not need to be in competition with each other. I do not think there needs to be a conversation on which field produces the best sommelier. There is no need to look up or down, as respect for each other’s accomplishments will all move us in the right direction. Each specialist, who is passionate about his or her area can contribute to the table experience and add value to what ultimately the customer will benefit from.

@MartinRiese has successfully demonstrated that water sommeliers add significant value and bring water forward as a significant revenue center for the restaurant. Sommeliers like Martin make water entertaining and important for people to notice. The fine water industry is at the beginning of a new beverage revolution where the conversation on fine water will enter front and center.

How about that certificate?

I agree, that a 4-day summer course, where you are presented with a “Sommelier” certificate will not make you an expert. A one-year Tea Sommelier course which brings you to the ability blind taste tea and determine the year and even the tea plantation does. A hands on, intensive course over 3 months with the fine water academy and the expert guidance from Martin Riese and Michael Masha certainly will.

I remember the summers when my family went off to the beach to relax and I would stay for 8 hours in the kitchen to taste and describe different teas. I remember long weekends of water tastings to develop a palette for water flavors and textures. Tasting is an essential skill for sommeliers and it takes a long time to develop enough confidence to develop a good skill level. Certified Sommeliers in the tea and water industry with credible institutions are passionate individuals who want to make a difference in the world and lead the way to a higher level of spirit and sophistication in their industry.

What is a Sommelier?

If you google ‘Sommelier’ most likely the words ‘Wine waiter’ or ‘Wine steward’ will pop up on the top of the list. Ads for sophisticated wine schools and expensive wine classes will be offered. Other beverages will not appear until far, far down the list and rarely in the context of Sommelier.

Sommelier history

King Philippe V of France first recognized the job of sommelier as a formal profession in the fourteenth century when a ‘sommelier’ was a court official charged with the transportation of supplies. The word came from the Middle French – a ‘saumalier’ was a pack animal driver, derived from the word ‘sauma,’ referring to either the pack animal or the packsaddle. In King Phillipe’s day, the job of sommelier involved keeping the provisions of the royal house well-stocked. It also involved taking nibbles of perishable foods and sips of perishable wines to ensure that they were still edible and had not been poisoned. A wise sommelier would need to take careful stock of the popularity of the nobleman or monarch he chose to serve if he wished to preserve his health!

The modern version of a Sommelier

As a dual Tea and Water Sommelier, certified by the World Tea Academy and the Fine Water Academy, I am enjoying my ability to learn and educate in two different yet equally passionate industries. I made it my mission to be a bridge ambassador, who can connect the world of tea and water and identify opportunities for the hospitality industry. I am working with brand owners to develop strategies and ways to get the public more excited and more educated about incredible products the industry has to offer.

Everybody has a different preference and a different flavor and taste profile. Sommeliers taste hundreds of different products to be able to recommend an option to a customer which they would enjoy. Some people might like sparkling water, some might like a still water, some a green tea and some an oolong tea. We all have a different set of taste buds with which we are enjoying the world and it is the opportunity of sommeliers to find that magic match. Sommeliers can spark interest and highlight the benefits of high-quality products to enhance the customer experience.  

A night to remember

I had a wonderful collaboration experience in November 2018. During a networking event for my current job, I met the Olive Oil Sommelier Benedetta in Italy, who conducted an Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar Tasting. I learned new things and most of all I could sense her passion to give people more information about Olive Oil and Vinegar, in order for them to improve their choices and their experience selecting the right oil in the future.

For me that is the essential point: A sommelier has the ability to spark an inspiration in people and show them a side of a beverage they have not seen before and what will make their experience better and more enjoyable.

Each island of the beverage industry produces experts who have a passion and developed a way of presenting their knowledge to people who do not think about beverages in such an extensive way.

As a water and tea sommelier I have the good fortune to be certified in two wonderful industries. What connects these industries is the passion to make their beverage more visible and more exiting to the public.

Conclusion

The bottom line is that Sommeliers from different industries should collaborate more and exchanging perspectives and ideas that will benefit us all. I would love to see a cross industry network of Sommeliers to present their ideas to each other.

I am looking forward to the Fine Water Summit in Stockholm in a few weeks where I will talk about the bridge between Water and Tea and the opportunities for both industries. I am looking forward to exchange ideas with the best of the best in the fine water industry in looking towards new trends for the future.

Looking forward to sharing my insights from the summit here on this blog.

Until then, Stay thirsty!

5 quick changes before Valentines Day that will make your life better

The internet is full of articles about making your life stronger and better. Companies will try to sell you stuff which you don’t need or will promise you a short cut to an easier life. We are disappointed when they do not live up to their promise and sink further into despair.

The following five tips are from my own life, they are proven and have done amazing things for me. And most importantly they will not cost you a fortune, some of them are even free, and will improve your live in significant and long lasting ways. We are looking for big changes but sometimes the best improvements are right under our nose.

Hydration

The game changer. One of the areas that will have the biggest impact on your life. Chances are that you drink water once you are thirsty or you have a beverage with your meal. You don’t think about water on a constant basis, even though you consist of 70% water. We focus on so many things in our life but we ignore the most important aspect of our body because we believe it is working and does not need much attention.  Many meetings and places I go to, I am the only one carrying around a water bottle with me. If you are one of the few people who bring (hopefully reusable) water bottle, you are ahead of the game. Just by sipping water through the day you support your body and your brain in many functions, you provide the oil for your engine. Try the 8 x 8 rule, 8 glasses of 8z per day, easy to remember. After a few weeks of sipping water on a constant basis, you will not even notice it anymore, sip on autopilot and your body will be up and running.

While many people reach for the faucet in the morning, you can kick start your day in a much better way.  Drink a glass of fine mineral water first thing in the morning and you tell your day that you mean business. Your body will receive a jump start portion of minerals to fire up all vitals. Your organs and metabolism will thank you. You can even add a spritz of lemon to the water for an extra boost of vitamin C.

Fine Water at Dinner

The conversationalist. With most people using water from the tab, using water for dinner becomes uninspiring, dull and boring. By having an interesting, exotic and unique mineral water at your dinner table will enhance your experience, you can add something special to your evening at small cost. We will have the opportunity to talk about where the water comes from with our family, dream about an exotic location at a rain forest or mountain area. We will experience a unique taste from a different part of the world. Life is all about special moments and creating unique experiences, even during a normal, routine work day. The more you can enhance your normal day and make it special, the more value the day will have to you and your mood will increase. Life for me is to create a growing mosaic of meaningful moments.

With valentines day around the corner, you can make your dinner special by ordering a wonderful bottle of fine still or sparkling water along side your food. Impress your date with stories about where the water came from, the romantic environment of a rain forest or mountain stream. Water is life and it is good sometimes to dream.

Fine Water Tea

The enhancer. Most people make their tea with tab water. You work hard, you invest everything you got into your life,you purchased an amazing high quality loose leaf tea,  you deserve the best cup of tea possible. Using the right water for making your tea will bring out the best flavor and your taste buds will thank you for that. Tea water is a vessel to bring our the best in tea as the tea master has intended. Use high quality spring water for tea water. I know it will be a bit more pricey then running it from the filter or tab, but you deserve a good cup of tea and not just an average one. Look at the label. Select a water with a super low TDS level (below 50 if possible) and a ph level of 7. Any other water will not give you the best possible experience. A water with a high mineral level will interfere with the minerals in the tea itself and the ideal taste will be off.

Life is too short to drink a bad tea.

Tea of the day

Diversity. We are living in times where diversity and cultural connections are more important than ever and that’s good. Diversity will make us stronger and we can only learn more from each other. The most interesting thing about tea is the thousands of different types and blends and mixes which are available around the planet. We could drink a different tea for the rest of our lives and just have experienced a fraction of what is available. And new types are coming onto the market every day. Sommeliers are here to identify the best solution for you. You like a certain taste. You might like it more fruity, more sweet, more milky or like me ultra pure. Make it a habit to include a new tea every day, learn about different tastes, research the tea, ask sommeliers more about a certain tea type. I am here to help you to make the best out of your day and make your day special.

Fine Water and Friends

The socializer. Water and tea are great platforms to share new experiences with friends and family. Next time you go to a restaurant, see what waters or teas are on the menu. Ask the waiter what they have. You can share this new experience with your friends and you can impress your family with your knowledge about a certain water or tea. Like any knowledge there is so much around us which we have not experienced yet, which is just waiting for to be explored.

You can gift that knowledge. You can gift a special someone in your life with a water 101 course at the fine water academy to learn more about water.

I hope these tips have send a spark of inspiration your way and make you think about trying one of these tips out for yourself. They are small ideas and changes but can have a big impact on your life.

Stay thirsty.

We All Want The Same Thing From Taste -Zero Calorie Drinks

One habit I’ve gained from my zero calorie drink habit is to find creative ways in finding satisfying tastes and flavors. Just because I have elected not to consume calories in my drinks does not mean I do not want to have fun and find excitement in my life. By contrast, it has challenged me to find new ways to fulfill that need. I love the fact that I can better control my calorie intake and my overall diet.

A few suggestions and tips if you would like to try something similar

I realized that we are all the same when it comes to what we want from our drink selections. Yet the result and the outcomes of our desires are vastly different and can be either good or bad for your health. I am trying to nudge you down the path of a more healthy diet in 2019.

We all look for a taste that excites our taste buds. Sadly in today’s world we are sometimes just ‘downing’ our food and drinks without paying attention to how they taste to us. I guess if it does taste not bad, it must be good.

What makes us taste differently?

For a sommelier this becomes the eternal question. Sure, it would be simpler if we all liked a few tastes – a few products on the market – done. But having this infinite diversity of tastes and cultures is what makes our job as sommelier so special, so unique. We try to guide you in finding your personal product which matches your taste. We all have a different amount of taste buds with different intensity and yes, the tasting map is still a myth.

Yet there is so much more to tasting, and being mindful about it will enhance the quality of our life. I am able now to find great taste in water thanks to the education of the Fine Water Academy. I am able to select different teas based on my mood or the time of the day to enhance that time of the day and to bring more energy to the day.

Short cuts

Sometimes we are keen to find short cuts. That is not only true for tastes but also for other areas in life. When we drink a soft drink we like the taste combined with the sugar rush that kicks in immediately after the first sip. We like the little buzz we get after the first cocktail or alcoholic drink together with the taste.

Imagine a world where you do not have that sugar kick or buzz but experience the world as it is. Drinks that do not put your system into insulin lock down or shut down your brain cells. Living a sober and on the extreme side, zero calorie drink life has done more for me than I could have ever imagined. Gone are the days of hangovers or bad stomach aches due to ‘something’ I drank the night before.

As I started to combine my drink diet with better nutrition, mindfulness and fitness, something magical happened. I started to dream bigger dreams, achieve higher goals and feel better about myself. I am able to reach for the stars and grab them with only the sky being the limit. I gave up something small but gained a much better and fulfilled life.

The taste of water

The taste of water continues to fascinate me. I am travelling around the globe with open eyes, experiencing the world more in a more mindful way and discovering things I could have not imagined before. I see globalization not as a threat but as an opportunity to grow and expand in my abilities every day. And I am achieving that with feeling good about myself. A major part is due to my perspective on life and my relationship to taste.

15067806 – dripping heart over the water

I continue to explore the relationship between water and food. Since my studies with the fine water academy and my eye opening visit to the water library, I am continuing to explore matching and contrasting pairs of water and food. My all time favorite is Vichy Catalan and dark chocolate. This is an amazing example of how two different components that taste great individually, can create a flavor symphony together. If you have access to this water and dark chocolate, try it. You will not be disappointed. Also, the podcast of Martin Riese has great episodes on food and water as well of course the amazing fine water facebook site.

Just yesterday I tried one of my favorite flavor experiments and I would highly recommend it to you. I brewed a cup of Earl Grey from a standard supermarket tea bag and a cup of high quality Earl Grey made from a high quality loose leaf tea.

Flat vs Flavorful

The different is staggering. The standard tea bag tea will taste flat, but if you are used to this taste you will not notice the difference. Its like flying business class for the first time. Once you experience that it is hard to go back to economy.

A high quality loose leaf tea will come in dimensions. You will have a great entrance of the tea. It will swirl around and leave your taste buds nourished and excited. Great teas will stay in your memory and will make a taste impression for a long time to come.

The same goes for water.  If you taste tap water it will be an OK experience, but once you compare it with a high quality fine water from an amazing source you do not want to go back. There are waters that will leave you longing for more which you will remember years after you first tasted them.

One such water for me is Cotorella from Italy. It is something about the stage between the mouth feel as it is swirling around and the finish. It leaves you wanting to take another sip.

So with that go out and explore the great waters and teas this world has to offer and hopefully they will bring a little bit of joy into your life.

Stay Thirsty!

The 4 fantastic dimensions of water that will make your day

As a water and tea sommelier I am probably thinking and living water and tea more than the average person is. My goal is not covert you into super experts, I want to find a way into your heart and give you ideas on how water and tea can enhance your life and give you a better experience.

You can look at water from different perspectives. For the normal person in the developed world, if you get thirsty, you get a glass of water and move on. But water can be so much more. I hope that the following thoughts can create a spark of inspiration in you to see water in a different angle. If I get you to think a few minutes about water – mission accomplished.

Water as the most essential component of life

As a child growing up in Germany, I did not pay much attention to water. It came out of the tap, it was in the fridge, I just had to say the word and water would appear.  I did not realize that it is the most essential liquid on the planet. You only miss something, if it is not there. Fast forward a few centuries and here I am sitting in Yangon, Myanmar, one of the least developed countries in the world. Suddenly my relationship to water changed on so many different levels.

Water is a valuable commodity, something to be appreciated and to be grateful for every single day. We need to pump water into a tank every day to make it available and then it can only used for the bathroom and for washing the dishes. I cannot even brush my teeth with this water and I have to use bottled water for that. We have water filters around the house and have to spend a lot of time every day to ensure that my family and me has clean drinking water.

And I am one of the lucky ones in Myanmar. A large part of the population cannot even afford to by the purified water sold here in big 5 gallon bottles. The have to drink the poor quality water just to survive. Some of the people will get sick and some will even die on diseases from bacteria in this water. Providing access to clean drinking water to the people of Myanmar is one of the missions of the UN here in Myanmar.

 

Water for hydration

About a year ago I changed my approach to hydration drastically. I started to carry water bottles around with me and take a sip every once in a while. The change in my well being has been dramatically. It contributed (together with diet and exercise) to my 75 pound weight loss. Proper hydration (constant sipping with up to 2 liters a day) is like the oil for an engine. It will help your body to perform more efficiently. While easy to do and a game changer, still very few people pay attention to proper hydration. If you really want to help your body, use good quality mineral water. The minerals will help your organs to function better and assist in proper digestion of food. It also promotes vital brain functions. 

Water as a culinary experience

Water can be so much more than just proper hydration. Since there are so many different high quality mineral available,each with their unique terroir and story behind them, making such waters part of your meal experience, will allow you to learn about cultures, and makes you appreciate the different tastes around the world. There are some waters I am deeply connecting with and it is always a joyful experience doing so. The Cottorella water or Aqua Morelli water from Italy are such examples. Drinking them is a unique experience , one that adds a bit of pleasure to my daily life and is a piece of affordable luxury to add something positive to our day. Pairing water with different foods is an art by itself, but will create a wow factor to your next dinner party. See the fine water facebook site for some amazing inspirations.

 

Water in a futuristic dimension

I would like to leave you with another dimension of water, which I strongly believe in, but a lot of people dismiss as nonsense. Water has memory. Watch the documentary here and you will understand. It was amazing to see the experiments where water was played sound of a genetic blueprint and then was able to recreate building blocks based on that memory; just incredible. We are still in the beginning of this journey, but I strongly believe that water will play an important role in medicines in the centuries to come. I love the fact, that the water brand 10,000 BC, which bottles 10,000-year-old glacier water, plays inspirational music during the bottling process.

I hope these thoughts made you stop and think about water in a way you might not have before and maybe one or two things can be useful to improve your daily life. Feel free to reach out to me in case you have further questions, I am always happy to answer them.

Stay Thirsty!

You are experiencing your water all wrong

In the fast-paced world we are living in, where we are constantly on the run, the experience of eating and drinking does not get the time it deserves. We experience the taste of what we eat and drink either as a thumbs up or thumbs down.

 

Slow down the time

A sommelier slows down time and breaks down the taste experience into several components. Tasting is the most essential skill for a sommelier, it is both art and science. That skill is built on a lot of practice, a sense of curiosity and a way of memorizing the different experiences into different categories.

Tasting tea

When I started as a tea sommelier with the World Tea Academy, just to keep up with the programme I had to spend hours in the kitchen tasting and describing tastes. It involved all senses, the look of the tea leaf, the smell of the dry and wet leaves, even the sound of the processed leave and the crispness when you roll it through the fingers.

I still remember my times during the summer in Swansea,Massachusetts. While the family would happily make their way to the beach, I would stay from morning to evening, preparing, tasting and describing one tea after the other. Tasting is providing your mind with a memory, an experience linked to a product. It is that process of constant repeating, one tea spoon slurped into the mouth which makes for a better sommelier. 

Water tasting

Tasting water is similar but also a special experience on its own. While most people agree that tea has different tastes and it becomes easier when the tea also has a different color, convincing and inspiring people, that the same colorless and mostly odorless liquid can have different tastes, can be a challenge.

But a challenge I am willing to take on thanks to my studies with the Fine Water Academy.

The smile on a face of a person that ‘gets it’ , that sees the difference in the taste and the value that the experience has brought to them, is reward enough.

To start tasting as a non-taster, you best break down the process into 4 parts:

  1. The prep work

Not mandatory but very useful, trust me on this one.

The first part of tasting happens without even having a single drop in your mouth. Research. Look at the label of the bottle. Find the TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) number, if high, your tasting experience will be much more complex than a low number, where your taste buds will get a different vibe. Read the minerals description and see if any of the numbers jumps out and is higher than the others. In most waters the mineral content is small , measured in milligrams so a fraction of a gram compared to the 1,000 grams of a big water bottle. Try to research where the water is coming from, the terroir we had in the previous blog entry.  It will help you later to categorize your taste experience, when it comes full circle and helps you to compare to waters from other regions.

  • The arrival

Now take a big sip of the water.

 

We will leave the slurping for another blog entry, for now just take a nice, juicy sip. Feel how the water enters into your mouth, feel the sensation. Some waters will come with a big entrance, with a big weight on the tongue, while others will be light as a feather and will sneak their weight in. I love the way Aqua Morelli from Italy, a low TDS water, enters, almost unnoticed without any attraction. Other waters want to be noticed, take Perrier from France with loud, bold bubbles it wants to be the star of the event. Sip after Sip you will experience the difference between a quiet and loud entrance or something in between. The water makes its way to the taste buds and they can sense its arrival. Just notice the sensation and link it to the water brand. Check.

  • The mouthfeel

Once the water has arrived, your taste buds will go to work.They will examine on what their guest has to offer. This will be the most complex step in the tasting process where many different events can occur. It will be a combination of different taste sensations. Some waters will be light,they will be salty, some might have a slight bitterness, and some will have a sweetness to them. And here comes the most interesting part of tasting. Your collective taste memory will come together, almost as a grand jury and will present the verdict, if you as the person likes that taste or not. All of your taste experiences in your life, all the foods and drinks you like or hate, will contribute to this decision. I like this sip of water or I do not like it.

Ask yourself : Why do I not like this taste? Do I not like the small or large bubbles? Is it the sweetness? Is it the saltiness? That reflection and description of the taste experience will help you to find the taste you like better. And as sommeliers we can help you with this. Every person tastes different, because of our taste bud composition and sensitivity but also because of our taste journey through our life. That dislike of lemons might play a role or that like of apples. When you can be descriptive to a sommelier on what you like or dislike in a restaurant, we can help you to find a water that fits your taste preference and the structure your taste buds will enjoy. Like the embracement of our diversity, our different tastes make us unique and our job as a sommelier so interesting.

  • The Finish

Once you explored the sip of water, it is time to actually drink it. It will lead to another important experience in the taste journey-the finish. How you will experience the drinking of the water will have a huge impact if you want another sip of that brand or not. For me the best example is always Cottorella, a low TDS water from Italy. After every sip and the tasting experience my brain sends me another signal : “I want another sip of that!”.

 

Supermarket assignment

So next time you are in a supermarket, pick up a water you have never tasted again and a bottle which is very familiar to you. Try the 4 steps and reflect after each step. Describe the impressions, best write them down as tasting note next to the name of that water. You are on your way on becoming a taste expert. And next time you are in a restaurant, describe your impressions to the wait staff or the sommelier of the house, they will be hugely impressed and will make sure that your water experience will be the best you ever had in a restaurant.

Stay Thirsty!

The astonishing surprise of taste in fine luxury water

Does water have taste?

Recently I get this question a lot when talking water to my friends and colleagues. My answer, out of my gut, has been so far:

Yes, of course!

Over the past week I realized, that the fundamental challenge is not if water has taste, but how to describe and make people aware of the fine differences when tasting water.

As a sommelier, tasting is THE essential skill together with describing tastes and making people excited about that description.

Tasting is a journey. It is the sum of our experiences we had in our life with different types of foods and liquids. Tasting is linked to other senses: smell, visual and sound experiences. 

The taste map

We all taste different, we have millions of taste buds in our mouth, each of them positioned uniquely to give feedback on a taste we experience. Sometimes during our life we hear about the taste map, different regions on our tongue that taste different things. That map turns out to be wrong, call it fake news. Each taste bud can taste any taste type, although with a different intensity. That makes us unique as humans. We all have a different taste perception of the exact same food based on this unique profile. That makes the job of a sommelier difficult, finding something that tastes good and appeals to a lot of people, even we are all different and have different taste perceptions.

The taste types

There are five different taste types: sweet, salty, bitter, sour, umami (savory). Some literature calls for other tastes but these are the 5 most agreed on categories. As we start our life (and most likely we start with our mothers milk), we start to experience different tastes in the liquids and foods we are given. Some of these tastes we will start to like, some of them we will start to dislike. It is the collection of these experiences that shape our taste profile and our perception of tastes. We start to develop preferences and favorites build on these childhood memories and experiences in our life journey.

 

Taste of water

Most of us do not think of taste when it comes to water. I even heard now that some people use it to ‘neutralize’ the taste before tasting something else. As a sommelier I spend the past years to examine this aspect and bring more inspiration to the taste of water and tea.

Fine Water contains minerals, their level is measured by TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) and that number is printed on the bottle. TDS will tell you the level of minerals and you normally find the composition of minerals on the label of the water bottle. Lots of sodium and your water will taste salty, other minerals will tilt the balance towards bitter, sweet or sour. Bubbles in water will add to this complexity and will let you experience the taste of water in a different way. Did you know that salt water in the ocean has a TDS of 35,000 ? Your average mineral water in the supermarket will have a TDS of 250 – although you should not drink salty sea water as it will be damaging to your body.

 

Bottle check

So next time you pick up a bottle of water in the supermarket, look at the label and try to find the TDS number on the label. That will give you an indication of what to expect in terms of flavor complexity. In the next couple blogs I will try to unpack this flavor profiles with some exciting examples of different waters.

Stay Thirsty!