I used a SodaStream for years, but nothing could’ve prepared me for the Kül Spark, a countertop water system that boasts a commercial filter that apparently removes more than 80 contaminants and delivers hot and cold, still and sparkling water at the push of a button. The system is currently on sale for just under $1,495, which may seem steep, but which probably eventually evens out for the people who tend to stock their fridges with a slew of canned and bottled waters with various levels of added flavoring, minerality and carbonation.
Those people are more common than you may think (and you might even be one of them). Packaged water is on the rise, with seltzers and flavored waters making a splash on the H2O scene. For those who prefer to cut down on packaging, brands like Kül and Luqel are creating home filtration systems that are a marked step up from the standard Brita pitcher you haven’t changed the filter on in a year and a half.
These days, water looks a lot fancier than it once did. I grew up drinking straight from the tap, with the occasional bottle of Deer Park included in my lunchbox or served out of an ice cold cooler on field day at school. Walk down the beverage aisle at your local grocery store today, though, and you’ll find seemingly limitless flavors, with still and sparkling options and everything in between. These options don’t even account for many of the luxury brands, like Vichy Catalan and Acqua Filette, water sommeliers (yes, you read that right) are drinking.
So, what’s with the rise of fancy water? It may reflect a growing interest in sober, sober-curious and “damp” lifestyles, particularly among younger generations. It’s now recognized that drinking alcohol is pretty much universally bad for human health, with the World Health Organization going so far as to claim that “no level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health.” Sugar-spiked juices and soft drinks aren’t exactly health tonics either, so it makes sense that we’d see a rising interest in healthier beverages that are more interesting than a standard glass of H2O from the tap.
Perhaps the rise of fancy water is also related to the rising costs of seemingly everything. As luxuries become more and more out of reach for some consumers, “little treat” culture has boomed. You may not be able to afford to go out to a nice dinner with your friends, but buying a can of the latest flavor of your favorite sparkling water is a pick-me-up that still feels somewhat accessible to many consumers.
But our growing obsession with water may reflect darker realities. As climate change threatens drought across much of the planet and as growing international conflicts rage, water security is under threat. In fact, even today, the World Economic Forum says that one in 10 people in the world struggle to access clean water. If we continue on the path we’re currently on, that number is likely to rise. Water starts looking a lot more like a luxury product when its supply seems to be dwindling.
Of course, we can’t talk about water security without mentioning growing global economic inequality. Who gets to drink the finest of bottled waters, to go so far as to call themselves a water sommelier, when a significant portion of the world’s population is struggling to hydrate themselves with clean water every day? Who has the right to use plastic bottle after plastic bottle of flavored water when they’re lucky enough to be able to access clean water from their tap at any time of day or night? The AP draws a comparison between rising levels of thirst and the growing interest in the luxury water category.
Admittedly, the Kül is a useful addition to my kitchen, as it’s kept me from buying two plus cases of sparkling water a week, a wasteful habit I fell into mid-pandemic once Zoom sessions with cocktails had begun to lose their appeal. Maybe some ways of getting our fancy water fix make more sense than others. Regardless of what we’re sipping, though, it’s incumbent upon all of us—especially those of us privileged enough to have access to so many different types of water—to think (and drink) more critically.
Samantha Maxwell is a food writer and editor based in Boston. Follow her on Twitter at @samseating.