Bubbly bitterness
“I heard that this drink was healthy and tasty. So when I was in the supermarket, I decided to pick one up. I drank a sip and -- well, it was not tasty at all. The water tasted very bitter!”
Being born and raised in Xiamen, in the south of China, he was accustomed to drinking tea on a regular basis. During our conversation, he quickly expressed his love for tea. One of the most treasured objects in his house is his teapot, which also happens to be the other object of choice for this interview. Tea is one of the most consumed drinks in China. The history goes back for many centuries, and continues today. Tea culture in China is widespread, and the drink is consumed throughout the day for a multitude of reasons. When asking him if there were any objects he had bought in the Netherlands, he said that he had not bought anything permanent yet. However, the most remarkable thing for him was a drink that he did not like as much as his beloved tea. He wanted to know why we like to drink... sparkling water.
In the Netherlands, the beverage of choice is generally tap water. Tap water is promoted by the government as being totally drinkable, and it works together with local companies that filter and process the water for local households.
Then again, many people in the Netherlands love to drink other beverages such as beer, wine, bottled water, as well as many soft drinks. Soft drinks are especially popular, but everyone knows that they are not great for health.
Interestingly enough, Germans seem to be most fond of sparkling water. In the Chinese-Indonesian restaurant that my parents own, sprudelwasser is the go-to drink for almost every German. Their connection with the drink is even stronger.
When this PhD student heard of the famous Spa Rood -- sparkling water -- there was also mention of the health benefits of sparkling water. What are those benefits? Well, for many Dutch sparkling water enthusiasts, that does not necessarily lie in the fact that the drink is good for your health; instead, it is more of a case of not being harmful. When drinking sparkling water,you do not consume excessive amounts of sugar and other potential harmful additives.
Sparkling water is simply a drink for those who do not want to consume too many sugary drinks, while still enjoying the sparkling effect of many soft drinks. However, not everyone is fond of the drink, and this PhD student said that he will not buy this again.