Pair Bottled Water Like Wine! Best Picks for Meals, Workouts & More | Water Sommelier Martin Riese

Summary

Podcast Summary: Culture Apothecary with Alex Clark Episode: Pair Bottled Water Like Wine! Best Picks for Meals, Workouts & More | Water Sommelier Martin Riese
Date: August 15, 2025
Guest: Martin Riese, World-Renowned Water Sommelier
Host: Alex Clark (Turning Point USA)

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Episode Overview

In one of the most distinctive installments to date, Alex Clark sits down with Martin Riese, one of the world’s only certified water sommeliers, for a fascinating deep-dive into the science, myths, and pleasures of bottled water. Together, they debunk pervasive marketing claims, explore how to pair water with food and wine, reveal tips for choosing water for workouts or taste, and conduct a blind tasting of bottled waters from around the world. Martin’s mission is clear: to elevate public knowledge about what’s in our glasses, help us appreciate the rich diversity of water, and advocate for access to clean, mineral-rich water for all.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Debunking Popular Water Myths

• Alkaline Water is Marketing, Not Medicine
  Martin calls foul on the alkaline water craze and American obsession with pH, explaining that the stomach's acid neutralizes whatever we drink.

  • “There is no perfect PH level that you can balance out your acidic body completely. Nonsense. It’s nonsense.” [02:19]
  • Imported concern: This is a marketing story created by companies who are just reselling tap water.

• “Smart” and Other Overhyped Waters
  Smartwater, Essentia, and similar waters are just vapor-distilled tap with added minerals, sold on branding and misconceptions about electrolytes.

  • “Smart water is nothing else than vapor distilled water. Beautiful marketing word for I’m boiling up tap.” [03:45], [10:26], [10:29]
  • Essentia is promoted for its “9.5 pH,” but that’s just another marketing angle. [17:53]

• The Truth About Purified Water

  • In the US, major bottled water companies simply reprocess municipal (tap) water and sell it on with minimal added minerals.
  • “[In Europe] purified water brands don’t exist...Every consumer would say, wait a minute, you’re bottling tap and selling it to me? What I have in my faucet?” [26:07]

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2. Water as a Sommelier Experience

• What Is a Water Sommelier?
  Like a wine sommelier, Martin develops “water menus,” pairs different waters with foods, and teaches people to taste and appreciate their differences.[03:55]

  • He created his own online water sommelier academy.

• Water Tasting: Water Is Not Just Water

  • Martin insists: "Plain H2O...doesn't exist on this planet...There’s always minerals dissolved.” [09:04]
  • Different mineral profiles mean different tastes—akin to salting food for flavor.
  • Bottled water can and should be paired like wine: light, low-mineral water with sushi and salads; more mineral-rich with steak. [07:21]

• Pairing Water with Wine

  • “When you have a glass of red wine in front of you and you have your highly chlorinated tap water maybe right next to it...that's literally like you would put ice cubes and lemon slices in your red wine.” [07:56]
  • Room temperature, still water is best for wine pairings to enhance wine flavor, not numb the palate. [08:56]

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3. Bottled vs. Tap: Health, Sustainability, and Taste

• Tap Water in America

  • Martin encourages filtered tap for sustainability: “I drink tap every day. It’s the most sustainable way to drink.” [05:13]
  • “Get yourself a filter system… reverse osmosis is what I use.” [06:35]
  • Tap isn’t always perfect (e.g., Flint, Michigan), but proper filtration usually solves the problem.

• Plastic vs. Glass Bottles

  • Avoid drinking from plastic bottles left in the sun or heat – leaching can be an issue. [17:21]
  • Glass is the safest and most inert packaging. Bottled water doesn’t expire; any expiration date is for the bottle, not the water. [17:23]

• US vs. European Water Standards

  • America’s obsession with purity strips water of minerals, whereas Europe celebrates mineral content for health. [26:06]
  • In Germany and other countries, some mineral waters are literally prescribed as medicine. [57:02]

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4. Choosing Bottled Waters for Different Purposes

• Best Waters for Workouts:
  Martin recommends high-mineral (“high TDS”) waters—more effective than “propel” or “vitamin” water, which are really just sugar-filled drinks. [22:26], [23:14]

  • “Geral Steiner” (from Germany; available at Trader Joe’s/Whole Foods)
  • “Crazy Waters” (Texas)
  • “Vichy Catalan” (Spain)

• Best Waters for Pairing with Foods

  • Low minerality (e.g., Saratoga) for lighter foods
  • High minerality (e.g., Three Bays, Borjomi) for richer or dairy foods or as a “healing” functional drink

• Is There a ‘Best’ Bottled Water?

  • No. It depends on taste, the meal, your body, and the circumstances. [18:40]
  • “There is no best. That is a myth.” [18:46]

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5. Taste Test Highlights (Listen from 48:04 onward)

• Martin and Alex sample several waters:
  • Saratoga (USA): Low TDS (40), very smooth, minimal aftertaste—good with wine. [49:00]
  • Three Bays (Australia): High TDS (1,340), heavy ‘texture’, salty mineral aftertaste; “reminds me of accidentally drinking pool water!” —Alex [51:00]
  • Mountain Valley (USA): TDS 220, balanced, iconic American brand, used to be the official White House water. [52:41]
  • Borjomi (Georgia): TDS 5,000 (!), extremely salty and metallic, considered a “healing water” in Europe. “It’s like an aspirin.” —Martin [56:39], [57:27]
  • Historical German Heilwasser: Bottled mineral water with a medication label; recognized as functional medicine by doctors in Germany. [58:44]

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6. Water, Culture, and Society

• European spa culture prizes mineral-rich waters for health, not just hydration.
• “Pure” water without minerals isn’t healthy. “When water is 100% pure, don’t drink it.” [27:38]
• Many Americans are “overhydrating”—it’s possible to drink dangerous quantities in a short period. [33:12]
  • “No, you can drink too much water…your sodium gets diluted…your brain can stop functioning.”
• Water should be considered a human right and not be privatized. 2.2 million Americans lack running tap water—a critical infrastructure problem. [43:20]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Marketing Gimmicks:
  “The PH story is a marketing story created by water companies when they don’t have a story to tell.” —Martin [02:51]
• On Multi-Level Schemes:
  “The people creating videos online...literally lying to trick you into a multi-level marketing scheme. And I hate it.” [11:43]
• On 'Liquid Death':
  “When people believe this (the satanic rumor), they’re clearly dehydrated...Liquid Death is a very good water!” [13:56]
• On Plastic Water Bottles in Heat:
  “I called them up and said: guys, you cannot put plastic bottles in direct sunlight. It’s so bad for the water inside.” [24:58]
• On Overhydration:
  “Drink a bottle of water and eat an apple...there’s tons of minerals in the food’s water, more than in bottled water.” [34:29]
• On Water as a Human Right:
  “Water is a human right. I even think water is an animal right.” [43:20]

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Product & Practical Recommendations

For Workouts:

• High-mineral waters like Geral Steiner, Crazy Waters, Vichy Catalan, or in a pinch, tap water with added real salt. [60:51]

For Wine Pairings:

• Room temperature, low-mineral still waters (e.g., Saratoga).
• For sweet or rich foods, experiment with high mineral, sparkling water. [38:52], [39:04]

Water Filters:

• Invest in a high-quality filtration system (e.g., Delta Faucet RO); maintain all filters regularly.

At the Store:

• Look for brands transparent about their total dissolved solids (TDS) and mineral composition.
• Use Martin’s upcoming app (“Sourced”) for instant info via barcode scan. [46:30]

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How to Try Water Tasting At Home

1. Buy 4–5 different bottled water brands (ideally with various TDS/mineral profiles).
2. Bring to room temperature: cold dulls flavor.
3. Taste side by side to experience texture and aftertaste differences.
4. Make it a fun experiment—“Nobody is allergic to water!” [51:25]

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Final Remedy for a Healthier Culture

“Believe in yourself. That’s the most important thing...You are an individual on this planet. There’s just one of you. Be proud that you’re on this planet and give love to others who maybe sometimes need a little bit more love and understanding.” —Martin [61:51]

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Where to Follow Martin Riese

• TikTok: martinrieseofficial
• Instagram & others: martinriese

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For fans of health, culinary adventure, or anyone curious about water, this episode dissolves the boundaries between everyday necessity and refined enjoyment. It also leaves you wanting to check that label—and to find out what water might best go with dinner tonight.

Transcript

[A]

Have you heard this stuff about liquid death being prayed over by some satanic cult?

[B]

I love this. I think it's hilarious. And when people believe this, they're clearly dehydrated because liquid death actually is a very good water. I'm actually a fan of liquid death.

[A]

I've never heard of a water sommelier. What is the most overhyped, overrated bottled water in existence?

[B]

Smart water is nothing else than vapor distilled water. Beautiful marketing word for I'm boiling up tap.

[A]

Am I supposed to swash it around like wine?

[B]

Just drink it.

[A]

Have you ever had a water bottle brand pressure you to stay quiet about their water?

[B]

Yeah. Who?

[A]

If you're one of those people who think all water tastes the same, prepare to have your world rocked. This wins for the most unique episode I've ever done. I'm talking to Martin Reese, one of the world's only certified water sommeliers and someone who's turned his passion for H2O into a global mission. From tasting tap water across Europe as a kid to building water menus for top restaurants in la, Martin has made it his life's work to educate people on what's really in their glass. You've probably seen him on down to Earth with Zac Efroy or maybe Conan o' Brien breaking down the science myths and hype behind bottled water. In this episode, we dive into why different waters pair better with certain foods. Whether alkaline water is actually worth the hype, which brands are best when you're working out and even do a taste test. So make sure you're subscribed to Real Alex Clark on YouTube so you can watch that or watch it on Culture Apothecary Spotify channel because they do video. If you're new here or it's been a while, please pause and leave a five star review saying why this is your favorite show. Join the Cute Servatives Facebook group to meet like mind women who also love the show. Big shout out to Wirefly, who is once again letting us borrow their studio since a family of squirrels turn my studio into an ikea. Please welcome water sommelier Martin Reese to Culture Apothecary. What is the biggest water myth that you wish people knew was false?

[B]

I would say the whole alkaline story, especially here in this country, that everybody freaks out when you look at the store and you look at the bottled waters and they're all declaring their ph numbers. In Germany, where I'm coming from, nobody would care about that because it doesn't matter. Like water has different ph Levels. Your body has different PH levels. There is no perfect PH level that you can balance out your acidic body completely. Nonsense. It's nonsense.

[A]

That was going to be my next question was, is alkaline water really healthier? Is that something that we should be buying?

[B]

It's healthy. Obviously, it's water. But you don't need to alter your body for that. No, it's a myth. It's a myth. And it's clear because everything what I drink will go to my stomach. My stomach is super acidic. To break down nutritions and to kill mycobacteria, I would have food poisoning every day when my body would not fight in my very acidic stomach right there. So this idea that you can drink high pH water, that you can balance out your body, imagine that would be true. You would have food poisoning every day because your body could not actually fight microbacteria anymore. So it's completely nonsense. It's completely nonsense. The PH story is a marketing story created by water companies when they don't have a story to tell. Because most of these stories come from purified water companies who are actually selling your tap water. So it's not really sexy for an American person to hear. We are bottling Montebello tap water with 40 million people Sh tting on it every day.

[A]

Right.

[B]

That's not really a sexy story you want to hear. So therefore, they came up with the alkaline PH story.

[A]

I've heard of a wine sommelier. I've never heard of a water sommelier. What is that?

[B]

It's actually the same. Like, I had the idea when I was in my mid-20s in Germany. I worked in a restaurant, and a guest came to me and said, hey, Martin, you have over a thousand different wines, but you're just serving one brand of water. And he didn't like the taste of that particular brand. And he asked me, what else do you have? And I looked at him and I thought, like, he's absolutely right. Water has taste. Why not giving in options in the restaurant business? So I crafted my first water menu for many, many years ago. And from there, the media suddenly started to tell me, I'm a water sommelier. I was actually very uncomfortable with that name first because I thought, like, now I'm more like a water expert. I know a lot about water. But then I realized when I said, I'm a water expert, people thought, I'm working for the department of water and power and not in the restaurant. So that didn't work. So I just went with the water sommelier. Thing I'm actually now certified of water sommelier and I can certify water sommelier. So I'm actually a teacher now with my own academy where I certify water sommelier. It's a, it's the international water alliance and you can take actually a masterclass to become water sommelier.

[A]

Okay. That is so cool. And now the next thing that I want to do, I want to learn that.

[B]

And it's 100% online based. You don't have to travel for it because not everybody can travel. And I thought the more we know about water, the better is for this planet.

[A]

Should we as Americans ever be drinking tap water?

[B]

Absolutely. I drink tap every day.

[A]

Really?

[B]

Absolutely. Imagine we are in the United States of America, one of the richest country on this planet. And we, we, we, we need to tell our people just drink bottled water. I think we had, we would have a huge issue here.

[A]

Okay. But we have fluoride and arsenic and all of this in the water here.

[B]

First of all, not, not all tap water has that.

[A]

I think some states are outlying.

[B]

I know, I know, I know. And I agree with you. And obviously I would get a filter. I have a filter at home.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Like I think it's very important to filter your water. But to say I'm against tap water, I would never say that because this is clearly the most sustainable way to drink actually water is through your tap. And not everybody has the money or the, the, the, the, the ideas of going to bottled water. I love bottled water, but I wouldn't, I wouldn't force every American to just buy bottled water. I think that would be not okay. Then we have bigger issues. Then we really need to talk to our government and tell them like what's going on here.

[A]

Like, well, I would agree with that.

[B]

Yeah, we need to actually because we saw what in Flint happened. Even the government said everything is cool and safe. I had Flint, Michigan tap water. They gave it to me in, in one of, on a show and obviously I just smelled it. It smelled like you're putting two lime slices up your nose. That was the smell of that tap.

[A]

Sick.

[B]

Terrible, terrible. So I don't want to scare people from tap. I would highly recommend get yourself a filter system. I have a reverse or small system where it's actually I'm bringing everything pretty much out of the water and then I'm adding back minerals in. So this is like a very cool fancy RO system what I have on Delta Faucet. I love them. They're doing really cool stuff. And my faucet even is like when I go with my hands to the faucet, it starts the water. When I remove my hands, it starts, it stops again. Because I want to conserve water as well. That's very important to me.

[A]

When we go to a restaurant and they say, do you want like the house still? Do you want the bottled still or do you want the sparkling? What should we be ordering when it comes to water at a restaurant?

[B]

Depends what you're eating and depends what you're drinking.

[A]

Wait. Water should be dependent on what you're eating. Like wine.

[B]

When water has taste, like by wine, we all know this. The concept of wine tasting, we all know wine has different taste. Like a SA BL is slightly acidic and light. So that would be great for sushi versus a heavy Bordeaux blend. Red wine grapes would be great for your steak. We all know that. Because different taste pairs perfectly. So now imagine you have a Saratoga, for example. What I brought is super light in minerality. That's actually great for salads and sushi because it doesn't have so much minerality versus like a bojo me. What I have as well is super intense. That water. That would be amazing for my steak.

[A]

What?

[B]

So yes, you can actually pair it. And I'm always saying my job as a water swimming is I can make your wine taste better. And they're like, wait, what? He's saying. Yeah, because when you have a glass of red wine in front of you and you have your highly chlorinated tap water maybe right next to it with three lemon slices and five ice cubes in it, that's literally like you would put ice cubes and lemon slices in your red wine. And I think we all agree we're not doing this. We're not creating here sangrias right now. Like, we want our red wine, but that is what you actually do to your body when you drink this super acidic water right next to it, this super cold water as well, you first of all numbing up your taste abilities while you're even then bothering with your wine. When you already numb up your taste buds, the ice cubes, what literally numbs it up. And then this lemon slice will make you super acidic on your mouth. And then the tannins of the red wine will completely interfere. Now you want a still water, room temperature. Your red wine will taste so much better suddenly.

[A]

Okay, I am shook right now that you are telling me that you should be drinking water with different types of foods that different brands have. I just thought water was water.

[B]

I'm always seeing all my Videos. Water is not just water. And I'm saying this for two reasons. First of all, because just plain H2O, what water from a chemical standpoint would be, doesn't exist on this planet. Oh, it doesn't exist. That's mankind made water, distilled water. That's just plain H2O. But. But mother nature doesn't know that concept of just plain water. There's always minerals dissolved. There's always calcium, sodium, potassium, silica. So all these amazing minerals, what your body actually wants, they're always in water as well. Why? Because we have the water cycle. 97% of the water is in the ocean. It evaporates. Clouds are created coming down sometimes, even here in Phoenix, hopefully rarely. We need rain. We need an la rain as well where I'm living. But the second the rain comes down and it hits the ground, because water is a universal solvent, there is no more. There's no other liquid who has more dissolving power than water. It will pour now, go through the stone layers and will leak out minerality. And these minerals give water taste. So it's kind of like you're cooking a soup without salt. Tasteless. You're adding a little salt to your soup, all the flavors appear. That's exactly what mother nature does. Different mineralities in different measurements give a different taste profile.

[A]

What is the most overhyped, overrated bottled water in existence?

[B]

Smart water in essentia, in my opinion.

[A]

What's the problem with smart water?

[B]

Smart water is nothing else than vapor distilled water. Beautiful marketing word for I'm boiling up tap. That's all that is. It's boiling up tap. They're adding back electrolytes. Fancy word, electrolytes. Everybody's like freaking out about electrolytes. Guess what? Electrolyte is just a fancy word for minerals. And minerals are salts. So the same people who bashing Dazani because they're adding salt to make you thirstier don't understand that salt is an electrolyte. And then they're buying smart water because they're adding electrolytes. By the way, from a measurement standpoint, both waters have exactly the same measurements of tds, Total dissolved solids. You can measure how much minerals actually combined electrolytes combined in the water. That means Dazani and Smart water is, in my opinion, almost the same. Comes from the same company.

[A]

Okay, so the worst bottled water, Tough to say.

[B]

I'm not even against purified water brands so much. I'm more against a company when they're starting to lie into your face. Or misleading the consumer about some marketing gimmicks and words like ph and alkaline and hyper oxygenated water suddenly or all this like in my opinion, nonsense and then they're charging $5 per bottle for it. I think it's, it's crazy.

[A]

So who's the biggest scam artist?

[B]

There's a multi level marketing company, it's called Kengan. They are, they're based out of Japan. And these people, the water is fine. There's nothing wrong to drink that water. It's safe for consumption. But it's an overhyped ionizing machine. And they can, they can differentiate the different PH levels in that water. First of all, PH does matter. Again, like it really doesn't matter. If you think the age of nine or seven, it doesn't matter. Your body will neutralize it. But these people creating videos on the Internet and literally lying, lying and lying and lying to trick you into a multi level marketing scheme. And I hate it. So my job as a waterswimminger is I debunk all the time these videos and they hate me for it. They really hate me for it. And it's hilarious that they hate me so much for it because from a scientific standpoint, they are so wrong and it's so sad sometimes to see that how crazy they actually are in their videos. Like this one video, I just had to debunk it on Saratoga. You can look at a zip code down here and it says Blue Triton Incorporation, Stanford, Connecticut. So that's the headquarters of this company because underneath it says White Cedar Spring Source, Maine, where the water actually comes from. So the person who wanted to trick you into the multi level marketing scheme, she looked at the zip code and thought this water comes now from tap in Connecticut. So clearly she cannot read because it says clearly underneath spring sauce. And where the spring sauce is looking the same with Aquapana, she said like, oh, it comes from Nevada. He said, no, Aquapana comes from the Tuscan area in Italy. It clearly stats it's on the bottle. I've been there. I saw the spring sauce.

[A]

What do you think of Aquapana?

[B]

It's a great water.

[A]

Okay, so that's a good one because all the fancy restaurants, I feel like that's their bottled option.

[B]

Yeah, it's Pellegrino and Aquapana. I can tell you why, because it's owned by Nestle. I'm not the biggest fan of the Nestle Corporation. Let's say it like that.

[A]

We're not either.

[B]

The water by himself is great. I try to avoid it because I don't like the mother company.

[A]

Speaking of debunking crazy claims on water, have you heard this stuff about liquid death being prayed over by some satanic cult and it's cursed if you drink it? Is that true?

[B]

I love this. I think it's hilarious. And when people believe this, they're clearly dehydrated. They should actually drink a little bit more. Liquid Death. The liquid death actually is a very good water.

[A]

Really?

[B]

Yes, it's a very good water. Comes from a spring source. So it's a. It's a very good water in there. Used to be from Austria, from a very beautiful mountain source. And now they chose it because they're most of their sales here in America. And I think it's great from a sustainable standpoint as well that you should source in America and not ship it from A to B. I'm actually a fan of liquid Death. I like the water. I like their whole marketing gimmicks. I think it's hilarious what they're doing because they literally did everything the opposite what a bottled water company would do. But a lot of people don't know where actually the name liquid death comes from. It comes from death to plastic. That's the reason they put it into a can, because they didn't like the idea that you're using so much plastic bottles.

[A]

But isn't an aluminum can really just coated plastic?

[B]

Absolutely. But it's like for me, the PT bottle, the plastic bottle is actually not that bad. It doesn't like heat. That's a problem. When you have a pet bottle in the heat and sunshine, then we have an issue because then something will leak out. In general, the pet bottle is a pretty safe, cool composition. But glass is for me the best.

[A]

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[B]

I wouldn't do that.

[A]

You would never drink that.

[B]

No, no, no, no. I have. Because in Los Angeles it's pretty warm as well. And I always have six bottles with me in my trunk. I have it because it's important to me because you never know when you're stopping somewhere, suddenly you need water. You never know. So it's important to always have bottled water in the car. Buy glass bottles. Nothing can happen to these. Nothing can leach out or get in in a glass bottle. I had 10 year old glass bottles. They are totally fine. So expiration ditch, by the way, is a glass gimmick as well. The expiration date of bottled water is literally for the container, not for the water inside.

[A]

What's wrong with essentia?

[B]

Because Essentia is like this idea of 9.5 ph ionizing. Oh, my God. 9.5 is the holy grail of ph numbers suddenly, and it's not.

[A]

I think the worst tasting bottled water is arrowhead taste.

[B]

You cannot fight about taste.

[A]

Okay, so what's.

[B]

Why can't we argue Arrowhead, for example, I've been to the several spring sources Arrowhead has. It's incredible. It's a very good water. That's a very good water in there for a great price.

[A]

But I think it tastes horrible is what I'm saying.

[B]

That's totally fine.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

I would never judge you because that means you're actually on my. On my bandwagon because you believe that waters taste okay. True.

[A]

That's true.

[B]

A lot of people don't have that.

[A]

No.

[B]

People even thinking like, no water has no taste. He's saying, trust me, we will have waters here today. You will go nuts how crazy they are.

[A]

Which bottled water ranks top for being not only, in your opinion, best tasting, but also the most non toxic, maybe due to the packaging doesn't exist.

[B]

When a Sommel in general will tell you this is the best wine ever created, he's lying to you.

[A]

Okay?

[B]

When a doctor will tell you this is the best medicine ever created, he's lying to you. Because you need a different medicine than I need.

[A]

Because it depends on what I'm eating.

[B]

It depends what you need, what your daily lifestyle is all about, what everything is. Is. So there is no best. There is no best country, in my opinion. There is no best car manufacturer. There is no best. The best is like a myth again of Americans, because everything needs to be. What is the top five best? It doesn't exist. I just had to debunk the Bon Appetit magazine for this because they did a what is the best sparkling water in America? And the whole testing was so insane. Like, literally insane. So they described a very specific taste, what they wanted to see in their best sparkling water. And then they were wondering why not every water, what they thought would be the best tasting water tastes like that. So that means as a wine sommelier, you would say, I want a Riesling, but I will pair a Riesling now with a Bordeaux and wondering why the Bordeaux will not win the Riesling test.

[A]

Okay, I'm tracking with you. I'm tracking with you. What you're saying is there's no just overarching best bottled water because it depends on the circumstance, what you're eating, what you're doing that would determine your recommendation.

[B]

Maybe The Costco Kirkland, whatever cost prices, purified waters may be the best water. For the soccer mom who is saying to know what? I don't have enough money. I don't want to spend too much. I still want some bottled waters or your pure life example. Great example. Pure life, super cheap water. Totally fine with me. Because in that scenario, that's might be the best tasting water for her in her needs, for the money she wants.

[A]

To spend out of glass bottled water brands. If you are post workout, which one do you recommend?

[B]

I would recommend something with a high mineral content or a lot of electrolytes. Because when I'm sweating and I sweat already today because I'm in Phoenix and it was 104 degrees. So I had like, almost like I had a shock when I like arrived here today. It's like, holy sh. This is like warm over here. Obviously you're evaporating tons of water immediately. High mineral content waters will give you the minerals back what you're losing out by sweating. So I would never ever drink a purified water brand because purified water brand, they barely have any minerals dissolved because they're stripping everything out and bringing back some electrolytes. Then they're saying on the label, electrolytes added for taste. That's a legal term. They have to put it down. The consumer doesn't read that in that moment, just thinks they're adding electrodes and thinking, oh my God, this water has now tons of electrolytes. It doesn't because the spring water may be right next to it. What says low in minerals, but it's a natural mineral water has maybe 10 times more electrolytes. How does the consumer should know that? And that's the problem. What I have with the FDA actually, because their nutrition label is stupid by bottled water. It's literally stupid. Like why we cannot put down on each bottle of water how much tds again, total soft solids over a mineral composition. It's measured like that. And the key five or six measurements of minerals, what's actually in water that should be on every bottle. It's required by law in Europe. Why we're not doing this, why we're not like looking a little bit over our horizon here sometimes and think what works in other countries to, to. To be more aware of the problems we're facing here in America. And I just became a citizen. I'm very proud about that because I love this country. Yay.

[A]

Congrats.

[B]

And I really love this country. But there are certain things when it comes to the bottled water industry, which is crazy.

[A]

Yeah. Certain things in the food industry in general here.

[B]

Absolutely. And we can change it.

[A]

So to answer that question, which brand for working out post workout there?

[B]

From Germany. You can buy it here in the States. Geral Steiner, very cool brand. Has tons of minerals dissolved more than a Gatorade, naturally.

[A]

Is that a green bottle?

[B]

No, it's a. It's a white bottle with a. A blue letters. Geral Steiner. You find it at Trader Joe's. You find at Whole Foods.

[A]

Something good at Trader Joe's.

[B]

It's like 250 or something. But it's not even that expensive. It's not like crazy expensive.

[A]

You're on a road trip at a gas station, middle of nowhere. What brand?

[B]

That's tough because I've been to a. Just recently in a gas station, they just had purified water brands. And I was like devastated. I cannot believe this, how bad that is. And that is again brings me to the topic of we need more knowledge and awareness in this country. That people can then go to their stores and saying, hey, why are you just serving purified water brands? Why are you offering me just that?

[A]

What is wrong with purified water?

[B]

Because when you're working out extremely, you want a high content, mineral content water. And then the people going right away to propel water or Gatorade and all this kind of stuff. What. In my opinion, they are all non coveted sodas. That's. I have no clue why they're even calling themselves water. Why is it even allowed to call themselves water? Like vitamin water has 160 calories or 140, 130, whatever. Like it's loaded with sugar. It says water on it. I went to the store, I had a vitamin bottle in my hand and I asked Kokoda, I text them evening saying, so Krakoda, when you think this is water, do you think that Coca Cola is a sparkling water?

[A]

Good question.

[B]

But that is what that is. That is nothing other than a non carbonated soda pop. That's what vitamin water is. And when the people coming then. But Martin, you can buy this as well with zero sugar added. Yeah. Then you have all the other crap in there, all the sweetener. It's still not water. Water should not have on the label, no sugar added.

[A]

Right.

[B]

That is crazy. Like propel. I just did a video about these guys. They have a commercial out right now where they're saying propel hydrates better than water. I have no clue how legal wise they even can say that. That's crazy to me that they can say that. Because there is no study. Because I looked at their homepage. I wanted to find out they don't talk anything about that. I have a whole video about and debunking them on my video right now. Why this is a huge market can lie. In my opinion it's crazy. But people eating that up these days. Yeah, they don't fact check anything anymore. It's so easy to fact check everything over Google. Nobody does it anymore. Seems to be like it's so crazy.

[A]

What should people know who are drinking water out of plastic bottles every day?

[B]

It really depends what you're going to do with that plastic bottle. Where has it been stored, for example? And I don't know. I've been once to a big grocery store and they had literally had like two pallets of plastic water chilling in the sunshine. And I was like, like, are you guys crazy? So I called them up and said like guys, you cannot put plastic bottles in the direct sunlight. Like it's so bad for the water inside. So you as a grocery store chain should know that. And we're talking about one of the biggest grocery store change in America. So you don't even know how to handle your bottled waters. So that's a problem. So even when the consumer buys maybe in the store a plastic bottle, that does not mean that plastic bottle never has been approached to sunlight. Because maybe was standing somewhere in a warehouse 105 degrees. That's a problem. So there is no the best scenario. So I would try to stay away a little bit of plastic. Like I drink sometimes plastic water as well. I have my favorite waters as well. Just comes actually in plastic. But I love them. Like Fiji water for example. I think it's a great water. I like that water. From a taste perspective, is there a.

[A]

Difference in our standards on bottled water in the US as opposed to Europe?

[B]

It's night and day.

[A]

What are we allowing in our bottled water in America that Europe isn't the.

[B]

Purified water brands doesn't exist in Europe. It just doesn't exist. That whole concept doesn't exist because every consumer would say, wait a minute, you're bottling tap and selling it to me what I have in my faucet. Like why the bottled water industry in Europe and that's like the big culture difference actually. Because in Europe we all knew the benefits of minerals as well. So it was not just about hydration in Europe. It was always about I drink water for hydration plus for the minerals. That's the reason we have all the bath and spa towns in Germany. Still and all over Europe actually. And we still have doctors and we're not talking about some holistic doctors on TikTok, we're talking about state approved, regular, normal doctors who telling you, yeah, you should go maybe for a week to the Spartan of Bad Ernhausen or Baden Baden and treat yourself on the healing powers of these waters. So bottled water is not just hydration, it's medicine as well. For us versus here in America, it was always about hydration. So pure, pure, pure, pure, pure. And I don't know why, but this country is addicted to pure. The word pure first of all is very unsettling to me as a German person. Pure. Like we had issues in their history with that. And I think this is not. That really didn't went well for Germany. And therefore like the word pure is very concerning to me. Let's say this in general, I don't like pure. So. And water should not. I'm always saying when water is 100 pure, don't drink it.

[A]

Why?

[B]

Because that means there's no more minerals dissolved and your body wants minerals.

[A]

Is that an exclusively American thing that everybody walks around with their Stanley water bottles constantly like other countries? They're not always drinking water. Why do we do that?

[B]

Because Americans love to, to overdo everything. Your freeways needs to be bigger, your cars needs to be bigger. Everything needs to be big, huh? And like the Stanley Cups or like this reusable water cups. What I think is great, I don't have any problems with this because it's great when you're, when you're trying to be sustainable on this planet and you're trying to just pour your tap water filter tap water in the morning into your refillable water bottle. Great. Do it. What? I think it's a little bit crazy, the trend of they're getting bigger and bigger and bigger. I think next year I will see somebody with a little trolley behind him who have a water bottle carrier on that because it's getting outrageous.

[A]

Yeah, it is.

[B]

Because people are always thinking, oh, I need to drink so much water. Actually you can drink too much water. That's not healthy anymore.

[A]

But why don't Europeans have that same mindset of constantly needing water like we do?

[B]

We have everywhere fountains. First of all, you have in Paris and Berlin and Hamburg, you have fountains, you can drink there. You literally do your both hands doing like this, drink from your hands and you're good to go again. They're safe, great, amazing fountains in all our major cities.

[A]

I guess that's why Americans don't like that when we're traveling over there because we're so germ obsessed with yeah, you don't want to drink out of our hands.

[B]

It's totally fine. It's come on. When I do this, I have like 1 billion germs now in my, in my mouth. And again, lucky me that my body can fight this now from my very acidic stomach.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Because now it fights all the bacteria I just ingested and I'm good to go. So again, forget the ph idea of I can neutralize my body by drinking ph water. What a load of crap.

[A]

What is your go to favorite countertop water filter brand?

[B]

I made a lot of research and I currently have a Delta faucet that's like the company who provides that. They're a little bit more expensive but they are very good quality. I test it out a lot and I like them the most. And this is personally for me, I'm not an influencer. I don't want to influence people to buying shit like that's not what I'm standing for. I just want to give knowledge to people and then let them make the decisions.

[A]

So do you have any strong opinions on Aqua True or Berkey?

[B]

It depends. Really, like for your lifestyle, what works for you? Delta for a little bit more expensive. I had the money, I saved a little bit money. I thought like I want the best, I got the best in my opinion. Other will say I want a Brita filter for 20 bucks. The Brita filter obviously will not do the same trick that my Delta faucet reverses mo system does. It will literally just filter like the cheapest Brita filter literally just get rid of chlorine.

[A]

Can Brita water filters actually make your water worse?

[B]

Every filter can do that, not just Brita because you have to maintain your filter. What a lot of people don't do, they think they bought once a filter and they are good to go. No, no, no. Every three months or six months, it depends how much water you're using. They're a little bit more sophisticated filter systems. They know how much water has been poured through and then they will tell you on an app, okay, it's time to replace my filters. Because when you don't do that, it's like a sponge. You press all the water through your filter. The filter at one point is filled up with all this crap what you don't want to have in your water. But when you don't maintain your filter, this crap at one point will get released back into the water and then you actually have the worst water you could ever imagine. But still you have a filter system. So you have to obviously maintain a filter. It's like a cow.

[A]

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[B]

Yeah. And this happens actually all the time in this country because people are obsessed about everything needs to be big. And so I drink a lot of water. And when you're drinking suddenly two or three gallons in like in an hour, that might be very dangerous to you. And it happened in a radio show. Radio show in Sacramento in the mid-20s, in 2006, I think, was it they had this idea of how much water can you drink in one hour without going to the restroom? First of all, already that sounds completely insane and crazy to even do this kind of test. A registered nurse even called in and said, stop this. This is super dangerous what you guys are doing. They laughed her off. And three hours later, one of the ladies who was able to drink all this and passed away by water intoxication. So what happened? When you drink under a short time of period, tons of water, you're diluting your sodium level in your body. And sodium is extremely important. I know the heat of sodium in this country is very interesting as well.

[A]

This audience knows salt is good for you. Real salt.

[B]

Salt is important. Correct. Salt is so important for you. Obviously, you know what you just said. The real salt, not the highly processed shit. Sorry. That I'm cursing. I'm sorry. You're.

[A]

Oh, it's fine.

[B]

Okay, cool. You're lowering your sodium level. Your brain was not functional anymore. And she snapped. That's it. Game over for her. She passed.

[A]

Oh, my God.

[B]

They got chewed, obviously, and all this kind of stuff. But no, you can't drink too much water. So what I'm always saying is a good advice when you forgot to drink over the whole day and you're coming home and you're realizing, oh, my God, I didn't have any water. Be very careful and not drinking immediately tons of water. It's way healthier to drink a bottle of water and eat an apple or something like this because there's an apple or fruits. There's tons of water already. And there's tons of minerals dissolved as well. Was water in food? It's way more minerals dissolved than our water can ever be. And you need the minerals, you need the salts in that moment as well to not completely replenish your sodium level in your body. So it's very important. Eat and drink when you're very thirsty. Don't just drink.

[A]

I grew up in a house, we always had a water softener. What is your opinion between hard water and soft water? And do we all need to have a water softener?

[B]

It depends what you want to do Again. So water softness system means you're lowering the mineral composition. That's all what that means. Actually, soft water means a lack of calcium and magnesium versus hard water means there's tons of calcium magnesium in the water. So for the gym time, you want hot water because you want the minerals for your small appliances. Your coffee maker, for example. In the morning, they hate hard water because these minerals cannot evaporize. And when you're heating up water, you all know this. When you're cooking, you're boiling water, and suddenly you forget about to put the pasta maybe in there. And then you realize all the water is gone. But you see suddenly all the white stuff in the bottom, These are now the minerals, what has not been evaporized from your tap. So the same will happen into your small appliances, like a coffee maker. So it will stack up at one point, and then you have too much calcium into a coffee maker and the machine will maybe break. But again, you're not a small appliance. Your body likes hard water. Your machines like soft water.

[A]

What water do you keep on your bedside table?

[B]

I have 400 different waters at my house. What? I know it sounds completely insane and crazy, but I told all my neighbors, he's saying when we have the big earthquake in LA one day come to me, I have enough water for at least five months for I don't know how many people. And I choose all the time a different water. I going through all the time different waters. This I don't have a favorite. It doesn't exist in my world.

[A]

Do you have like top three favorite brands?

[B]

No. It would be terrible and boring to drink all the time the same waters. For me, that would be. That would actually me a water. So many nightmares to just drink one brand of water the whole time.

[A]

Do you like room temp or cold?

[B]

Room temp is way healthier for you.

[A]

Wait, why is room temperature water healthier?

[B]

Because your body has a core temperature needs to maintain the core temperature. And when you're putting something super cold into your body, it needs to bring that water actually to your body temperature to process it and puts a lot of energy to it. I like to put my energy somewhere else.

[A]

Oh my gosh. I already. I gravitate towards room temperature water. So I'm good on that.

[B]

And I think like we all know brain freeze. We all heard that Term, we all know when you suddenly drink super cold water sometimes and it's extremely hurt. Suddenly when it comes down, it literally what your body is telling you, don't do this again with me, please. Can you drink like room temp?

[A]

Do you talk about something called raw water?

[B]

Raw water is nothing other than actually spring water untreated. And there's nothing wrong about it. And it's so funny again, this obsession about, no, it needs to be sanitized. This was for like five or six years ago. There were like the raw water movement. Sure. When you're going somewhere into the mountains in San Francisco as a hippie and you think this is the best water you can drink is directly raw water from a spring source, you should not do that because you have no clue where this water has been through. This might be a dead animal right above that little like spring source. But you think it's amazing. This might be eguli bacteria in that water and you might be very, very sick tomorrow. I would never do that. But when it comes to bottled water, and there are bottled waters out there, for example, all European brands, when it says natural mineral water, they're not to treat that. This is all raw water.

[A]

Okay? So I had no idea there was a raw water movement.

[B]

That's really insane.

[A]

I'm always talking about raw milk. So raw water. I didn't even know that was going to happen.

[B]

No, there was a huge movement, but obviously these people didn't understood that there can be microbacteria in water and you cannot see that. So even when the water tastes good to you in the beginning, you might be very sick after five hours. So I would never drink something. You see this, all this influence on TikTok. Oh, look at this spring sauce. I'm drinking it from a spring sauce. How cool I am. You might be sick in five hours. I wouldn't do that. You need to test that water first.

[A]

Okay. So we talked about how water is like wine where you want to have different types of water with different types of foods. If you are drinking wine, though, what water should you have with your wine?

[B]

Depends on your wine. Okay, so Sauvignon Blanc or Rieslings, acidic driven light white wines, you want something what matches the acidic notes, what is very light in minerality. Because when you would have now a very acidic water, and carbonated waters are always acidic, it would be too much acidic in your mouth. And you would say, like, what's wrong with my Riesling? Why it's super acidic today? It might be the water right Next to it. What now infiltrates this taste profile of super acidic. So you want to balance the acidic notes with the water with especially high silica content. Silica is a mineral what you can find in some water brands like Fiji has it. Antipodes from New Zealand has it very high amounts. Soko Sani from Peru has it as well. Lots of silica dissolved naturally, what makes the water very smooth. Now you balance out the acidic notes of the Samuel Blossom Rieslings and more fruit complexity comes from the wine by drinking these very high silica wines by red wine, the same sweet wines, for example, were super concentrated, sweet and fruitous. Acidic water is not pretty cool. A sparkling one, it will refresh your palate. It will balance out. It's like the Xian Yang sweet and sour idea with the Japanese kitchen as well, or the Asian cuisine. And it will balance. Now this very extremely concentrated fruit when you have a sweet wine. So sparkling wines are then really, really cool with even a little bit more minerality would be really fun and cool.

[A]

Have you ever had a water bottle brand pressure you to stay quiet about their water?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Who?

[B]

I'm not selling it. They sent me some interesting system desist letters. I'm getting lawyer letters. Sometimes that happens as a water Somalia, because when you're going on the Internet and you have a pretty good following, like I have a half a million people on TikTok following me, and I think around 60,000 on Instagram. Not every water company likes me, let's say it like that, because they don't like that I debunk their marketing gimmicks.

[A]

But that's allowed.

[B]

You sure it's allowed? And I'm laughing about them. They're trying to scare you. You know, CIS and sisters always scare tactics. Yeah, it's a scare tactic to just push something out to try to. Hopefully it will shut up. Yeah, but I'm German. Sorry. I, like, read my mind. Like, I'm just saying what it is.

[A]

What do you say when somebody says, oh, my gosh, all water is the same.

[B]

They're dehydrated, they hadn't drink enough water yet. What I'm always saying. And then I'm saying, like, you know what? Can I. Can I give you two different waters? And I have a feeling you will taste the difference. When they say, no, I can't, he think, let's do it. And so far, everybody who I did a water tasting with, everybody after that said, like, oh, my God, I cannot believe that water tasted so differently. Like Anna Kendrick, for example. We've been on the show on Netflix down to Earth with Zac Efren. And Anna Kendrick was sitting right next to me. And I did a water tasting with Zach and Anna and I was like, I cannot believe that this is real. And then I gave her one water from Roy from Slovenia, and she's like, what is happening? Like, she completely, like, she could not believe what's happening in her brain. That water can be so intense.

[A]

Did you bring me that brand?

[B]

No, but I brought very. Something very similar.

[A]

I'm excited.

[B]

It's so intense. You will be like, oh, my God, what is this?

[A]

What is one change that everybody could make today to improve the water that they drink?

[B]

I go a little bit further than that. I think we need to, first of all, we need to find ways to be sure that our tap water is still sustainable and will be sustainable for the next generations. Because what I see right now, that water rights been bought off by big corporations, what I'm not really a big fan of, I see trying to privatize even the tap water in this country, what should not be privatized. I think it's extremely important to save our natural rivers and floats and oceans. And because everything is related to water, when we have bad tap water, I'm gonna be sick. It doesn't matter how beautiful I'm trying to put my makeup on or whatever I'm driving or whatever it is. The basic right is water for everybody. Water is a human right. Not everybody likes that, that I'm saying this. It's even controversial to say water is a human right. What I think is completely insane that you can fight that. I strongly believe water is a human right. I even think water is an animal right. And when we are dumping crazy, terrible poisonings in our oceans, our beautiful animals might be not surviving. So I think it's not okay.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So we need to start before we think about or how can I improve my tap water? We have to start in the beginning to save our water in general in this country. That's very important. We have to invest in infrastructure. We have to rebuild all the pipes because there's still lead pipes everywhere in this country. What cannot be. And it was nice to see that the government, prior to this government, put a 10 year plan in motion to say in 10 years there cannot be any lead pipes anymore in this country. But I think it's very, very important and we need to support these kind of ideas. We need to invest in infrastructure to bring water to every single person in this country. Because guess what? 2.2 million people in this country don't have running tap water. 2.2 million people. We're not even talking about safe running tap water. They don't have tap water at all. 2.2 million people.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

That cannot be. That cannot be. So we need to start with that.

[A]

I booked this Airbnb be in Malibu because I wanted to relax. That's what I told people. In reality, I needed to hide from several creditors and a publicist for one of those small town dog mayors who won't stop texting me. Anyway, I show up and this place is gorgeous, but apparently has no insulation. None. I'm lying in bed at night sweating like a Florida mayor under federal investigation. And that's when I realized I didn't bring my Cozy Earth sheets. Rookie mistake. These sheets are made with viscose from bamboo, which is a fancy way of saying they don't trap heat, they actually wick away heat and moisture. I sleep cooler. I wake up dry. I don't feel like I've been waterboarded by my own sweat. Cozy Earth gives you a 100 night trial, so if you hate it, you can send it back, but you won't because your body will physically fight you if you try to sleep on anything else. Plus, they have the studio pant and all day tea that feel like you bribed God. For custom clothes, go to cozyearth.com use code Alex for 40% off. That's cozyearth.com code Alex for 40% off. That's almost half off for just admitting that you've made poor bedding choices. Sleep cooler. Lounge lighter. Stay cozy. A couple weeks ago, I'm in the emergency room. I'm fine. Just some light organ failure after a weekend in Vegas. They hand me a snack tray. What's on it? Diet ginger ale, applesauce, and a bag of government issued soybean death crisps. I say to the nurse, is this a hospital or Guantanamo Bay? She says, it's heart healthy. No, Cheryl, it's poison in a foil pouch. That's why I only snack on masa chips. These tortilla chips are made with beef tallow. You know, the stuff that actually built the American middle class. Not canola, not sunflower. Cow fat. And they taste like heaven. Crunchy, crunchy, savory, sturdy. You could use them as weapons if the grid goes down. Best part, no crash, no guilt. You feel energized, satisfied, and maybe even smarter, which is rare these days. Beef tallow. It's good for your brain. Try it. Go to masachips.com use code real Alex Clark for 25 off your first order. That's masachips.com code real Alex Clark for 25 off YOUR first order. Okay, so we're gonna do a water taste test and hopefully you're watching on the RealXClark YouTube, but if you're not, let's just be super descriptive. They're only listening on what we're doing, what we're trying, and so people can recreate. I want you to tell us what they should buy to do a water taste test with their friends at home, because I think this is fun.

[B]

And that brings me to a very cool point because I told you in the beginning, it's a little bit tough to see the mineral composition of each water because you can barely find that. And I thought, how can we make it for the American people and easier and bring more transparency to water again? So I created an app. We're going to launch in two months. We have beta version right now out, and we're testing it to several people so you can go into the store with your app. It's going to be free for all Americans. It's very important to me. I don't want to make money on that. For me, it's. I want that Americans giving the power of knowledge. So it should be free. You should not pay for. For that. So you can go into the store, you take your cell phone, you take a picture in the app of the barcode of each water brand, and then I will pop up and it will tell you everything about the brand. Cool. From carrying notes, from sustainability notes, what the companies are doing, who owns it, actually that, you know, if you like to promote this company or not, it will tell you the overall tds, the minerality, all this stuff, what you want to know. And I think it's very, very important. So it's called sourced-water.com and go there. You can already go into the link, you can already be on the waiting list, and it's going to be great. So the app will be called Sourced because every water is sourced. So. But when you want to do it by yourself at home as well, you can do it by buying four or five different waters and then just taste them side by side in room temperature. Again, very important because when you're chilling a beverage down, you're naming up your taste abilities and then you barely can taste it anymore. So the first one we're going to do today, we're starting with Saratoga Great American brand.

[A]

Now, speaking of marketing, that genius, the guy, the black guy, that Was like waking up in the morning doing this crazy morning routine. I mean, that was like the best. And that company, I mean, I think it was just authentic. Like, he was just doing that. Yeah.

[B]

And the thing actually, it does it. It just does it.

[A]

I know, but I'm saying I don't think the company thought, like, that wasn't a planned market. But now I never heard of this brand in my life, and now I know who they are, so that was smart.

[B]

No, it's a. It's a. It's a great brand. I've been to the Spring Source. They're bottling the glass bottles at Saratoga Springs, upstate New York. It's a beautiful area up there. And this is like, one of the most traditional water brands in America. It's 100 spring water. It's very low in TDS. So this water, what we're tasting is 40. So that's very long. You will see the numbers.

[A]

And what's TDS again?

[B]

Total dissolved solids. So overall mineral composition by bottled water.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

So the more minerals dissolved, the higher we'll get this number. Okay, and this is 40. So it's low.

[A]

When it's a low TDS, how does that affect taste?

[B]

You tell me. Let's see.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

What do you think about.

[A]

Am I supposed to wash it around like wine?

[B]

Just drink it. It. Okay. Like, Conan asked me the same, like, what are you gonna do? Nice and drink it. Conan. It's water. Drink it. I mean, tastes like water.

[A]

Hopefully tastes like water, but really smooth. And here we go.

[B]

Look at this.

[A]

No strong taste. Yeah.

[B]

And you're absolutely right. Why is it very smooth? Because it doesn't have too much minerals dissolved. Because when you're adding too much salt to your pasta or to your water in general, that's getting then a little bit salty in the aftertaste.

[A]

I like.

[B]

This is super smooth. I think so, too. So this is, again, a great water for wine.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Because it's nice.

[A]

Saratoga for wine.

[B]

It's very nicely done. And I like the blue bottle as well. I think it's very iconic. So the next one, we're going to Australia. Three bays. Very interesting story. This water, because it's super high end. TDS 1300 40. 1300. This was one of the brands as well, with Ennis had like. Like, what is happening? I think you even. It has a different texture than water. It feels different in your mouth. 2,000 years in the making. It takes 2,000 years. The last time it was rainwater to pass through all the different stone layers. And that's the reason it's so riched with minerals. There are 27 key minerals in this water. And what I really love about them, look on the back label. They're actually showcasing every mineral.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

That is the way it should be.

[A]

Yeah. That's totally different than America.

[B]

Be transparent.

[A]

Okay?

[B]

Be transparent. So I tell this every water company, showcase the consumer what actually you're selling. And don't create a marketing BS story. Chill me, please. Really? This is like your, your, your, your, your advice on your bottles. No, you should put your mineral composition on that. The consumer know what's actually in the water.

[A]

Okay, so we're trying three bays. Water is completely different.

[B]

It is, huh?

[A]

Something about this reminds me of accidentally drinking pool water. But it doesn't taste bad. It's the texture.

[B]

The texture is very heavy. It's almost like olive oil. It's heavier. It's like non fat milk. Saratoga versus real milk.

[A]

And this does have. It's a little bit salty.

[B]

Oh, 100%. By a TDS of 1300. Yes. You have this salty minerality aftertaste.

[A]

But like, this sounds crazy. Before you start drinking and doing his little taste test. And then as I'm sitting here doing this, I'm like, oh, there is totally a difference.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

That is so fun.

[B]

No, it's fun and it's cool. You can do this with your kids, huh? You can do this with your parents. You can do it for everybody. Nobody's allergic to water. How beautiful is that? We're talking about something. It's the most healthiest beverage on the planet. The most sustainable beverage, even in a bottle. A lot of people are always saying bottled water is so bad, Martin. For the environment. Yeah. Guess what? Are you drinking wine as well? Are you drinking liquor? Are you drinking orange juice? Are you drinking milk?

[A]

There's virtue signaling.

[B]

Yeah. So, so all this stuff, because bottled water doesn't need to be produced that comes from a spring source. They don't do anything to these waters. So the indirect water use is so much lower on bottled water versus on all other beverages. So it's the healthiest beverage with the smallest impact from all bottled beverages on this planet. I said this in one of my videos for a pairing note. And I said like, this is a great water for cheese.

[A]

Oh, yes. Oh, you are right.

[B]

Because it has like this milkiness somehow, but it's not milk. But it has like this creaminess somehow. So your brain thinks like, what is this liquid? But it's like milky. So it has to be a dairy product. Or you've Just not been exposed to this water.

[A]

It absolutely reminds me of skim milk.

[B]

Yeah. So I think it's great for like dairy product dishes.

[A]

Okay, so that was that one.

[B]

And then what's next from America, Mountain Valley Springs. Very classic as well. Has been been in the White House, the official water, for many, many, many years.

[A]

Mountain Valley is the official water of the White House.

[B]

Used to be.

[A]

I didn't know that.

[B]

Oh, yeah. 14, 14 presidents had that in the White House. The current one doesn't. But we, we had this. Oh, look, getting wet here with the water so much here. It's very carbonated. We have to be careful.

[A]

That's okay.

[B]

I don't want to be like completely.

[A]

Like it's calmed down.

[B]

So this means. So it says still spring sauce from a Kansas. The TD is 220. So there is a good amount of minerality in there. And by the way, by regulations here in America, when a TDS is higher than 250, it's a natural mineral water. When it's lower, it's a spring water. So you can see already on the label sometimes if a water has certain minerals dissolved. So when you see a water at Costco and it says mineral water, that means it's actually a very good source of a lot of electricity lights.

[A]

Okay, so when it comes to sparkling water, what should we be looking for? Like, what are the differences?

[B]

So there's artificially carbonated waters and natural carbonated waters.

[A]

What's this one?

[B]

This is artificially carbonated. What? I don't have any problems with that. Because a gas, your body does not know the difference if this is artificially or natural carbonated. That's just a fact from a spring source. But I think it's interesting I explain it on the next one how that even works. Natural carbonated waters. Carbonation has for some people, a bad rap. They think it doesn't hydrate you. Obviously, it's a myth. Every water will hydrate you. Carbonated waters will hydrate you as well. And your body has a beautiful buffer to get rid of the overall CO2. What I'm now digesting, I'm just going to burp and that's it. Like, there is no danger to drink carbonate waters. We do this in Germany since 400 years.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

And we are all alive. So there's nothing wrong. There's even some studies out there that they're thinking it's very healthy to drink carbonate waters for two reasons. First, your stomach will build up a little more with the carbonation and you won't be that hungry anymore. By the way, a lot of people are thinking they are hungry. They're actually thirsty. You should drink more water. Suddenly you will not be that hungry anymore. Because your body thing in lies. You. You barely drink water. So then I need my water through food. Because in food is water dissolved.

[A]

Right.

[B]

So you can lose weight by just drinking bottled water. You will eat less.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

You won't be that hungry anymore when you drink good water.

[A]

Okay, so this is the Mountain Valley.

[B]

Mountain Valley for my Canvas 220. The carbonation is actually pretty nice. It's a medium carbonation.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

It's not too aggressive.

[A]

Not aggressive.

[B]

Because when I open it, you thought like, holy, that thing is sparkly.

[A]

I think Pellegrino is more.

[B]

Yeah. Way more this. Way more subtle. I love Mountain Valley for me, Saratoga Mountain Valley. We don't need to ship from Italy. The waters in Saratoga, Mountain Valley. We have amazing, beautiful American brands. And we can drink American waters in America. That's totally fine. And they're great. They're amazing. Be brave.

[A]

What does that mean?

[B]

I'm gonna open BO from Georgia. So not the state, the country. Georgia right next to Russia. So East Europe. So this water because I told you the TDS factor. So recap. Saratoga 40. Then we went to 1300 with three base. And you already said, like, whoa, this is like, intenser. 225,000.

[A]

Oh, my gosh. So this is gonna blow my brains out.

[B]

Yep. But this water is amazing to fight the hangover.

[A]

Why?

[B]

It works all the time. A lot of people always think, like, oh, if the water. So many just drinks water. Well, no, I like my wine and I like my beers. Beer is for me. The flavored water.

[A]

Well, yeah. That's what you grew up on.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Like German.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You were just a baby having beer in the bottle. Probably.

[B]

It's normal.

[A]

That's good.

[B]

My parents gave me when I was like, 4 years old. My first class.

[A]

Okay. So now we're about to blow our heads off with Borgia from Georgia 5000. The country Georgia.

[B]

Yeah. Already has a smell. That water.

[A]

I hate this.

[B]

I love it.

[A]

People drink this?

[B]

Oh, yeah. It's very. Used to be one of the most famous mineral water brands on this planet.

[A]

It is salty.

[B]

Yeah, it's very. It's metallic as well. It has, like, this very strange metallic aftertaste. But it's fun. I love that.

[A]

This is a weird water.

[B]

Oh, yeah. It is really weird. So this is like a healing water. And I know the FDA hates when I'm saying this because it's forbidden here in, in this country to say anything relates to health besides hydration. When it comes to bottled water versus in Europe, totally different mindset. Because what I told you already, from a cultural standpoint, we know the benefits of minerals. That's the reason these waters are very famous in Europe. Because we know this is kind of like an aspirin.

[A]

I mean, and I could take it.

[B]

If I. Yeah, that's what that is.

[A]

If I needed to, if I was sick or whatever, then like that's good to know. But this is so weak.

[B]

I wouldn't drink this on a daily basis.

[A]

Yeah, this, I mean, it's salty. Correct.

[B]

It's too much.

[A]

Weird.

[B]

But that is like the medicine. And this brings me to this bottle. I cannot open this because it's the only bottle I have in my collection. So Zango comes from the house of Geralt Steiner. What I told you earlier about the brand, what you find at Trader Joe's right there, okay, so it's 100% spring source water, this water. So there's nothing been added or something. It's just a regular water. The thing here in Germany is because it says here Heilwasser and that's the German word for healing water. This bottled water is actually medicine. There's a medication number printed on and the back label is a medication back label. We have over 60 water brands who are falling under the medication law in Germany, who are nothing else than bottled waters. But there is a healing perspective on these waters due to the very high concentration of minerals. What will have an impact by approved doctors. Not again. We're not talking about some holistic tiktokers about state approved medicine in a bottle of water because they have an impact on your overall health.

[A]

Well, this is so interesting.

[B]

And this one is 160 old water bottle. This is what water bottles used to look like in Europe. Wow. And you know the word salsa? Salsa, water, hard seltzer. That name actually came from the town of Zeltas in Germany where they bottled these waters. And when you look at the label it says Seltzers.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So your name Zelters came actually from a very small town in Germany.

[A]

I think this takes the cake. Or water, I guess I should say for the most unique episode I've ever done. Thank you so much. This was so interesting, so fun. I had no idea that there was this much to know about bottled water. So I think this is really interesting. And now I'm definitely going to be keeping in mind what am I cooking? What water should I have on hand. Like that's just mind blowing.

[B]

New York. We all heard the infamous story of the tap on New York is so amazing for the bagels and pizzas. We all heard this. Is it actually true or is it a marketing gimmick from the city of New York? And I looked into it because for me it was an interesting story and looked into it. So they have soft water, comes from the Cat mountains. The cool thing is it comes to the city by gravity. That's the reason a building higher than five stores in New York has to have a water tower on top. But every building beneath five stores does need to have that because there's enough pressure coming from the mountains. What is unbelievable, it hasn't been pumped. It comes naturally to the city of New York. What is pretty cool. The second why the bagels and pizzas are so good? Because the gluten in bread or in doughs reacts differently to soft water than to hard water. That's the reason your gluten is corrected better in the city of New York because they're using soft tap water.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

That's the actual fact behind that. So yes, the pizza and the bagels are great in New York due to the water.

[A]

Before you go give me for working out, just rattle off some of the names of the brands that you like that were high in electrolytes.

[B]

Vichy, Carolan from Spain. You can buy it in several stores here in the States. From Texas, Crazy Waters, very cool water brand who has like over 2000. They're different numbers and one of the numbers I think number four and there's like over 2,000 TDS. So very cool workout water. Very, very good for that. And when you want to make it a little bit or like Gerald's under what I already said, but when you want to make it a little bit more on the cheaper side, literally, like get your tap water, add a little good salt and you're good to go.

[A]

Perfect.

[B]

That's all what that is.

[A]

Real salt.

[B]

Real salt. Obviously real salt. Get yourself a good quality salt. You don't need to buy the hydration packages. It's waste of money, in my opinion. It's waste of money. It's again, you're spending money on stuff, then they're putting some sweetener in there, they're adding some weird flavors to doesn't feel good. Just literally add some good salt world and you're good to go.

[A]

If you could give one remedy to heal a sick culture, it could be physically, emotionally or spiritually. What would that remedy be?

[B]

Believe in yourself. That's the most important thing. It doesn't matter what everybody says about you. You are a special person. You're an individual on this planet. There's just one of you. And be proud that you're on this planet and give love to others who maybe sometimes needs a little bit more love and understanding.

[A]

Where can people follow you on TikTok and Instagram?

[B]

So TikTok, it's Martin Reese official and then all other socials is just Martin Reesa.

[A]

Amazing. Thank you so much Martin for coming on Culture Apothecary.

[B]

Thank you. Thank you.

[A]

The plot twist of all plot twists. Saratoga might just have become my number one favorite bottled water. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a five star review. Tell others why they should listen to Culture Apothecary. New episodes drop Mondays and Thursdays at 6pm Pacific, 9pm Eastern. You're going to hear from different expert guests bringing their own unique remedy to heal a sick culture. Subscribe to Real Alex Clark on YouTube and follow me on Instagram at Real Alex Clark. You can also find the show on Instagram at Culture Apothecary. I'm Alex Clark and this is Culture Apothecary.