Melissa Blease dives into the world of ‘new water’ offering alternative hydration, from tapping birch trees
for refreshing pick-me-ups to new-school soft drinks and tea-based cocktails…
The vital role that water plays in every aspect of our lives, health and wellbeing cannot be emphasised enough. It delivers oxygen and nutrients to every single cell, protects our vital organs, lubricates our joints, regulates our temperature and more – all that, in one glass.
Well, not quite one glass; in an ideal world, adults need to drink 2-2.5l (6-8 standard glasses) of water every day. While tea, coffee and food (especially fruit and vegetables) go a long way to keeping our fluid intake up, few of us reach optimum recommended levels of hydration – and if we’re entirely honest about it, most of us find water boring; as a result, our thirst for alternatives to plain old tap has created a very lucrative market indeed.
Functional Teas
Remember the days when the big tea debate revolved solely around whether or not to put the milk in first? Those days are long gone. Today’s teas are all about wellness rituals, customised infusions and bioactivity, resulting in brews with an ancient apothecary vibe.
If the thought of giving up your PG Tips stresses you out, you need Ashwagandha (aka Ginseng) Tea: a powerful adaptogen for stress relief, while Rhodiola Tea is said to modulate anxiety while aiding energy and focus too. Or what about Maca Tea, made from the dried root of the Peruvian Maca plant and reputed to help lift dark moods, relieve menstrual cramps… and enhance sexual performance in both men and women?
Less, erm, impactful perhaps are the more familiar blends and concoctions that claim to offer a gentle pathway from dawn to dusk. Wake-up calls such as Oolong, Lemon Verbena and unadulterated black teas to Valerian, Lemonbalm and Lavender teas for bedtime are there for you around the clock, with all manner of energising and/or digestion-aiding brews in between and ‘clean caffeine’ and natural euphorics kicking the double espresso into the shallows.
Soak up the Spritz
The concept of meeting up for a couple of drinks has undergone a (tee)total transformation in recent years; as a nation, our thirst for alcohol is drastically decreasing, with roughly 20% of the UK population now totally temperate.
This statistic hasn’t, however, impacted on the popularity of the Spritz: traditionally a bubbly blend of aperitif liqueur (Aperol; Campari; Chambord; etc) and Prosecco, topped up with a splash of soda water – chic, cheerful, easy to chug… and very successfully adaptable to the alcohol-free menu.
While both low- and non-alcohol aperitif liqueurs and fizz are readily available, natural fruit-based Spritzes using sophisticated, natural fruit cordials (elderflower, rhubarb, raspberry, ginger, mango, etc) and sparkling water creates a stylish, summertime uplift like no other, completely in keeping with our thirst for alcohol- and additive-free rehydration.
Elsewhere, alcohol-free, tea-based cocktails (yup, tea again) are trending behind bars: fancy a Kombucha Spritz, a Green Tea Mai Tai or a Jasmine and Cardamom Gimlet? The hippest mixologists are On To It.
H20+
Coconut, Cactus and Birch: clustered together, they sound like they could be the three latest shades to dominate the Little Greene colour charts. But the triumvirate that is Coconut, Cactus and Birch Waters exist in a unique super-trend category of their very own.
Nutty, slightly sour and (sadly) tasting nothing like a liquidised Bounty bar, Coconut Water could be described as an acquired taste. But get with the programme! It’s laden with potassium, the essential mineral that helps maintain fluid balance, and plays a key role in kidney function amongst other benefits.
Sweeter, slightly fruitier Cactus Water, meanwhile, brings magnesium, antioxidants, anti-inflammatory compounds and even fibre to the pool party.
Considering such claims, it comes as no surprise that sales of both Coconut and Cactus Waters have soared over the past couple of years. But Birch Water is the dive-in disrupter set to dominate the Smart Water charts. Subtler in flavour-profile than its counterparts (of the three, Birch is the most similar in taste to good old plain water), this nutrient-rich tree sap contains vitamins A, D, E and several Bs alongside proteins, minerals and antioxidants. It’s also a natural diuretic, potentially aiding in detoxification and hydration. Phew!
“Waters combining super-hydration with enriched functionality are the liquids on everyone’s lips this year,” says a spokesperson from British-based multinational health food chain Holland and Barrett, who recently reported a sharp incline in innovative H20+ tipples including Collagen Water (which claims to smooth wrinkles, enhance the skin’s elasticity and relieve joint pain), Alkanised Ionised Water, Enhanced Hydrogen Water, Chlorophyll Water and even Protein Water all making a splash right now.
Fast Fixes
Originally designed to help elderly folk who struggle to stay hydrated, sugar-free, vegan jelly drops – 95% water, with added electrolytes and vitamins B6, B9 and B12 – are a convenient replacement for heavy water bottles for people on the move, with electrolyte powders in sachet, gel or soluble tablet form (also laden with added vitamins, of course) dominating water cooler conversations in offices everywhere.
Classic Revivals
Fizzy drinks laden with sugar, additives and caffeine have no place either in our fridges or in this feature. But a new wave of old faves are taking over where sales of cola et al are drying up. Caffeine-free Karma Cola, for example, uses 100% organic ingredients (okay, there’s sugar in there, but it’s the organic, fairtrade, raw cane variety) to recreate the taste of the, erm, real thing to suit contemporary kids, while additive-free fruit sodas containing nothing more than fruit juices and sparkling water have taken over where the old-fashioned pop bubble has burst. If you’re not ready to grow up yet, you don’t have to. Meanwhile, on the home front…
The ‘commercial carbonation machine’ invented in 1903 by Guy Hugh Gilbey of London gin distillers W & A Gilbey Ltd was fashioned for the domestic market in 1955 and gained massive popularity during the 1970s/80s, when millions of households did as the slogan instructed and “got busy with the fizzy”. But competition from supermarket own-brand sodas along with a heightened awareness of the negative impact of sugar- and additive-laden fizzy drinks and ‘fruit-flavoured concentrates’ led to a serious decline in popularity. But the SodaStream is back, today available in a range of sleek designs (the Art, the E-Terra one-touch, the Duo) that easily vie with the latest NutriBullet for attention on our kitchen worktops.
Creating your own pop ticks sustainability boxes (no plastic bottles required!) and brings sparkling water on tap into our kitchens, waiting for you to supplement it with as many natural supplements as your imagination allows.
What’s next for water?
Now the floodgates on the future of water have officially opened, the dedicated Water Bars, Water Source Awareness Courses and Water Sommelier Courses that are already proving to be so popular stateside are all sure to wash up on our shores very soon – you heard it here first.