Hello all,
Can somebody please tell me what is the difference between soda water and (sparkling) mineral water? They both seem to look and taste exactly the same, yet one of our local soft drink manufacturers sell both as separate product lines.
Thanks in advance.
I don’t know what the American rules are, but in certain European countries, soda water is just plain carbonated water, and mineral water is carbonated water which by composition must contain a certain amount of various minerals and come from a natural spring.
Assuming you’re in Australia mate, what pulykamell said about Europe applies here too.
Mineral water is sourced from natural springs etc, and contains… well… minerals. You’ll usually see a detailed composition of it on the side of the bottle. It does taste different to soda water (you don’t often see people asking for a “Scotch and mineral”), and some people think it has health benefits.
Soda water, as sold in Australia, is just carbonated water. It’s probably Sydney or Melbourne town water with carbon dioxide from a dirty great cylinder forced into it by some bloke called Wozza. Expect to pay less for soda water. The two are not the same.
Soda water is for mixing with spirits. Mineral water is for quaffing as you load your $10 000 mountain bikes back onto the rack on your BMW four wheel drive.