Soft drinks comes in bottles and cans.
Juices comes in bottles and cans- and boxes even.
Beer comes in bottles and cans.
Why then is it that “bottled water” for lack of a better term, only comes in bottles?
vpspdxn - Montreal
I’ve seen canned Dasani brand water–it’s dispensed in the Coke machine at my work, in the same cans that Coke and other sodas are in.
Welcome to the SMDB, vpspdxn!
My WAG is that a metal (presumably aluminum) container may impart an unpleasant metallic aftertaste to water.
However, I have used an empty soft drink can to store water briefly. I’d finish the soda, fill the empty can with water from a nearby water fountain, empty the can out to remove traces of soda flavor, refill can with water, then enjoy. Whenever I’ve done that, I noticed no off-taste.
But that’s only storing water in a can for an hour or two. I’m not sure what would happen if water were stored in an aluminum can for months at a time.
Doesn’t canteen water begin to taste funny after a while?
I know on Southwest Airlines flights the water they serve you is from a can. I used to work there and the canned water did taste a little funny, but you don’t mind on a hot day on the ramp.
After the Loma Prieta quake in 1989, the Coors company took the brewing beer part of their machinery out of the loop and began canning water in Coors cans, then shipping that to San Francisco so people could have clean water to drink. My guess is that it’s possible, but probably not profitable enough.
Aren’t aluminum soft drink cans usually lined these days? I wonder what with? Maybe this makes it feasible nowadays to try storing water in cans for retail sale.
Same here.
And milk comes in boxes, bottles, AND soft plastic bags! (But not in the US)
Club soda, which IS water, does come in cans. And, there used to be (honest to god) survival water from the Military that was “vaccuum packed” in cans.
But yes, water being a good solvent, and having hardly any taste on its own, will pick up flavour from whatever it is stored in. Note that the very same water when packed in the “cloudy/milk jug” larger plastic containers does not taste as good as the same H20 in the clear “soda” plastic containers. Actually, both impart a slight taste, just that the clear plastic imparts a slightly sweet & “good” taste, whereas the cloudy plastic imparts “plastic” taste. Or so Consumer Reports said.
Another thing to cosider is how many folks consume their bottled water. They carry them in backpacks and open the bottle to take a drink now and then. Folks I know can make a bottle of water last 2 or 3 hours. Cans are difficult to reseal, while the cap just screws back on the bottle.
Yes.
While cleaning out my car the other day, I dug out a 12-oz. can of Dasani. Didn’t even realize it had been rolling around underneath the passenger seat. Cleaned off the outside, popped the tab, and drank it.
And beer – I’ve seen beer sold in plastic bags, where a street vendor would just pump it out from a keg. That was while visiting Qingdao, China (home of Tsingtao Beer, natch) and I’m sorry I never took a picture of it.
Back during the 1950s, Civil Defense shelters stored water in cans. I suspect the main reason for using bottles is that it’s easier and cheaper, and you can see the water.
Sounds like you and Knead to Know (and maybe Earthling) are in a test marketing area for this product. Has anyone else seen Dasani water in cans?
Actually I find that the clear plastic water sometimes tastes “soapy”, probably due to high pH. I never have that problem with cloudy plastic. In fact, I like the cloudy plastic “plastic” taste. I wonder if this is due to the plastic or the water itself.
However, overall, I prefer water from “clear” plastic. Why? Usually “cloudy” plastic water has been sitting in a refrigerator for awhile and not only has the “good” taste of cloudy plastic, but also the vaguely dairy “refrigerator” taste. :insert puke smiley here:
Back in the late-1980s I saw canned water in surplus stores. In the Civil Air Patrol these were recommended for our emergency kits. I haven’t seen them recently (I haven’t looked), but I have noticed “survival water” in aluminized pouches.
The biggest problem I could see was the cost. It’s cheaper to get water in plastic bottles.
This reminds me of an old Steven Wright joke: “I bought some powdered water. Now I’m not sure what to add to it to make it water again.”
What? Wisconsin is not part of the US anymore?!
[sub]…and there was much rejoicing…[/sub]
My father-in-law buys both milk and orange juice in plastic bags. He’s even got the special pitcher that holds the bags (no need to pour into your own container) and a refrigerator magnet that contains a special cutter (no need to look for scissors to cut the corner off the bag.)
What other countries (or states) have milk in plastic bags?
The dining hall when I was in college got milk in big bags with long tubes attached. The tube went through a spigot on the front of the refrigerated case the bag went in, got cut off, and became the spout.
This was in South Carolina, and jokes about that being a separate country are somewhat out-of-date. 
I remember from my high school days (about 10+ years ago) they introduced single serving platic pouches of milk in the school cafeteria. The first day was interesting because some folks weren’t bright enough to realize that stabbing a straw into a pouch of fluid
Oops, must’ve hit an errant key. Anyway, to finish my previous post, Poking a straw into the pouch while you’re squeezing said pouch produced some interesting effects for those who didn’t think to plug the open end of the straw (the end not in the milk pouch). What all this has to do with water in cans is quite beyond me, but I felt compelled to share. BTW, I have seen water in cans, but not frequently. I suspect it’s far more economical to use plastic.
Since we’re sort of on the subject, I also remember a science experiment from my childhood. The guy used a sharp tool to scribe a line around the inside of a soda can, exposing the metal under the plastic lining. Then he poured some soda (of the cola variety) back in and rolled it around a bit to get the metal exposed. After just a few minutes he was able to tear the can in half right along the line where the soda had touched bare metal. Cool, huh?