Yarra Valley Spring Water

More Information:

The flavour of water

All water begins as two hydrogen molecules and one oxygen molecule. This is as far as the similarities go. Water is a universal solvent and dissolves just about anything that it comes in contact with. As water that originates under the earth, spring water is in contact with minerals and trace elements in the geological strata, gathering its own unique flavour along the way to the surface.

Yarra Valley Spring Water Characteristics

In its still form, Yarra Valley Spring Water has an exceptionally pure taste characterised by a clean, crisp palate with a soft mouth feel. However it is the sparkling that has some very unique traits.

Upon opening a bottle of Yarra Valley Sparkling Spring Water, the first point to notice is that it does not have a typical release of CO2 associated with most carbonated waters. In fact it looks rather still.

This is because of its purity. During carbonation, the CO2 molecules attach to the dissolved solids. The less solids, the less CO2 that can be absorbed into the water. In fact to get the level of carbonation we have selected, the water is carbonated as soon as it comes from the spring, while it’s still cold. Upon opening the bottle, the gas relies on forming a bubble around the particles of dissolved solids. Being so pure means that the particles of dissolved solids are few and far between and also, they are so small, that the bubbles take longer to form.

When served in a glass the gas will use tiny scratches on the side of the glass, to attach to in order to form a bubble. But if consumed from the bottle, the gas is not released until it is in your mouth, where the gas gives a burst of refreshing bubbles. This also means that carbonic acid is not released into the water so it retains its fresh clean taste until consumed. Carbonic Acid is responsible for the bitter, grippy aftertaste associated with many sparkling waters. It also maintains its bubbles for much longer than other waters.

Best served in a Champagne Flute or highball glass.

Taste + Smell + Mouth feel = Flavour

 We would like to use the term Flavour to describe the complex integration of taste, smell and the tactile sensation food scientists call “mouth feel”. This integration of sensation happens in the brain as a result of information relayed by sensors reporting taste, smell and tactile information. This integration is a very complex system and we are just at the beginning of understanding how it works. Let’s look at the main components that that we integrate into flavour.

Taste
The oft-cited but misleading "tongue map" showing large regional differences in sensitivity across the human tongue is wrong. Taste cells lie within taste buds, which are located in various tongue papillae, hard and soft palate, and root of the tongue. A mistranslation of an early-1900s German thesis that was disproved in 1974 led to the confusion.  Unfortunately, it continues to be cited by glass manufacturers as fundamental in their glass design. Taste buds are "skin-like" cells fairly evenly distributed on the tongue, with a life span of approximately seven days.

Smell
There are thousands of odours humans can perceive. An odour categorization scheme similar to the basic taste qualities has not been established yet. Odours are usually named according to the object they are associated with. (Smells like …) Olfactory receptors are true nerve cells that live approximately 30 days. The perception of odours can occur via the nose and the oral cavity while chewing.

Mouth feel & Texture
The crispiness of a potato chip; the crunchiness of a pickle; the freshness of breads, cookies and crackers; the resiliency of a gum drop; the firmness of jams and preserves; the spreadability of butter, margarine and cheese; and the creaminess of puddings -- these are just a few examples of texture and mouth feel characteristics that make food appealing and satisfying to consumers. Although it may be one of the most important properties, a food's mouth feel is probably the least understood and most neglected by food writers. Carbonation or its absence together with the size amount and distribution of the bubbles are a significant contribution in the mouth feel of water.

So when we talk about how something "tastes," we are really referring to its flavour - as an integrated sensation.

Home and the Flavour of Water

 Many of us have grown up drinking chlorinated and fluoridated water from local municipalities. We have acquired a sense of what good water should taste like.  What we consider good water is an acquired taste and different waters sometimes taste strange.

For example the mineral content of waters produced in Europe and America has a much higher content of minerals (Total Dissolved Solids - TDS) than most waters consumed in Australia. This of course sets expectation on how water should taste and what “good water” is. Most “taste” is local. With this in mind lets explore the flavour (taste + smell + mouth feel) of water.

Taste

The taste differences in water are very subtle - especially when compared to wine – but are discernable. The subtle taste of water reflects its origin and terroir. Geological strata allow water to absorb different minerals which contributes to the unique characteristics of single source waters. Water without minerals is tasteless. Distilled water is tasteless and makes no significant contribution to your diet’s daily mineral needs. The addition of minerals in the water changes its characteristic and taste. In Australia; bottled water containing less than 500 parts per million Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) is labelled as spring water. If the total dissolved solids (TDS) content of the water is above 500 parts per million (ppm), it is generally labelled as mineral water. Just out of interest, sea water has a TDS of around 34,000.

High levels of minerals in water can sometimes produce the sense of a metallic flavour especially if the consumer is not used to high mineral content waters. Presence and amount of minerals and trace elements determine the taste of water.

Salty:

The hardness of water can have a significant influence on its taste. The hardness of water is measured in milligrams per litre (parts per million) and is mainly determined by its calcium and magnesium content. More magnesium and calcium make hard water.

Sodium (sodium chloride or “salt”) is added to hard tap water to make it softer in order to not interfere with washing machines, dishwashers or bathing.

Bitter:
Sulphates are a combination of sulphur and oxygen and are a part of naturally occurring minerals in some soil and rock formations that contain groundwater. The mineral dissolves over time and is released into groundwater.

Sour:
The pH scale ranges between 0 and 14. Water with a pH of between 6.5 and 7.5 is neutral. Less than 6.5 is acidic; a pH greater than 7.5 is alkaline. If the water has a pH of less than 4 the water may have a sour taste. Water with a pH greater than 8.5 generally has an unpleasant taste.

Plastic:
Inexpensive non PET plastic bottle especially if exposed to sunlight can cause an unpleasant “plastic” taste in water.

Rusty:
High level of iron can cause a rusty taste in water and give it a discoloration.

Smell

Water should not smell. If water for example contains hydrogen sulphide it can smell like “rotten eggs”.

Mouth feel

This is probably the most overlooked aspect describing the flavour of water. When tasting water the most important factor in its overall integrated sensation we call flavour is the mouth feel generated by the size, amount and distribution of the bubbles or the absence of it.