There’s a lot of water out there. 70% of the earth is covered with it, we’re made up of between 50% to 70% of it and at Belu, we are immersed in bottling it, filtering it, drinking it, serving it, talking about it and bringing it to people who don’t have it, every day. Amazing stuff, H2O is the reason why the earth supports life.
Our story
The Belu story began with our natural mineral water. It’s pretty special for lots of reasons (including its sustainability credentials) but you may be wondering “what makes a natural mineral water different from other kinds of water?” No fear, we’re here to fill you in on all the details, some of which we learnt at an excellent water sommelier session hosted by water experts Aqua Amore. They shared their expert ‘aquaminerology*’ knowledge with us so now we’re fountains of knowledge too.
Only 2.5% of the water on earth is freshwater (not salty), and the majority of that freshwater is frozen within glacial ice. The free flowing freshwater we rely on sits in rivers, lakes and reservoirs.
There is also a significant amount of water flowing beneath the earth’s surface. This groundwater sits in fractures within rock and permeable materials such as gravel, sand or silt. These underground water sources are known as aquifers and can exist close to the surface or thousands of metres underground.
Pressure within the earth moves water through cracks and tunnels, which can cause it to emerge naturally at the surface as a spring. Our freshwater reserves, including aquifers, are replenished by rainfall as part of the natural water cycle.
What is tap water?
Tap water, as the name suggests, is water which comes out of the tap. Most of it comes from reservoirs, rivers and lakes and it is treated with various processes to make it safe to drink, including screening out debris, removing contaminants with filtration through sand filter beds and adding chlorine to kill any bacteria. Some tap water does come from groundwater but that tends to be only shallow depth, unstable water rather than from deep seated aquifers.
In the UK, Hong Kong or Singapore, we’re very lucky in that our tap water is safe to drink and usually always easily accessible. The taste of tap water can vary depending on where you live however. Factors like the ‘hardness’ (amount of limestone or chalk dissolved in the water) can affect the taste and some people find the taste of tap water where they live to be ‘metallic’ or ‘flat’. This may be down to the treatment process – or even just the plumbing!
What is mineral water?
In contrast to tap water, natural mineral water (like Belu mineral water) comes from a mineral water spring and does not undergo any chemical processing. Remember the ‘groundwater’ we mentioned? Naturally filtered through rocks and trapped underground, away from contaminants, mineral water is microbiologically clean and safe to drink at its source. The Belu source is tucked away deep in the Welsh hillside and the water is carefully bottled on site, without exposure to the air.
Mineral water sources like Belu’s must be tested for up to 2 years for purity and mineral balance before they can be named ‘natural mineral water’ and it’s the only food product needing government approval to be labelled as such. The minerals levels have to remain stable and listed on the bottle label. These natural minerals are absorbed into the water as it passes through the rocks so the composition varies depending on the geographical location of the source. In Montgomeryshire where the Belu source is located, the geo-structure is largely volcanic and the rocks are hard so the mineral levels found in Belu are relatively low.
That’s why Belu has a clear crisp taste and is perfect as a dining accompaniment as well as great at quenching thirst. The minerals found in natural mineral water may include magnesium, silica, sodium, iron and potassium which can be beneficial to health and wellbeing and can aid digestion.
What is spring water?
Like natural mineral water, spring water does come from an underground source and is protected to avoid pollution and contamination. However, in 60% of cases, spring water is extracted from the same layer in the ground as the water that becomes our tap water. Spring water typically does contain minerals like calcium and magnesium, but unlike mineral water, a stable mineral balance is not a requirement for spring waters and mineral content need not be detailed on the label so they’re less reliable as a source of nutrition. There is no formal approval process for spring water like there is for mineral water and the spring water does not need to be be bottled at source. A single spring water brand may have water from various different sources too.
So those are the key differences between the three main types of water you are likely to come across whilst dining out. Remember ‘Natural Mineral Water’ and ‘Spring Water’ are regulated terms which must be displayed on the bottle label to differentiate what’s inside. Check out our mineral water page to find out more about the Belu mineral water source and our industry leading sustainable packaging. If you’re interested in finding out more about what makes great water and the fascinating world of *Aquaminerology from the expert Water Sommeliers at Aqua Amore… head over HERE.
