| 455491 | 455491 | B005HG9ERW | A2NUBL2UYWPBWR | C | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1345507200 | Water-flavoured alkaline electrolyte beverage. | Essentia is water with electrolytes and a pH of 9.5. It is basically an alkaline unflavoured sports drink. Essentia tastes just like regular water; it's not soapy, nor metallic tasting like some would suspect looking at the 9.5 pH label.
The whole alkaline water discussion falls into 2 camps that is really beyond the scope of this review. To summarize, one camp believes it helps against cancer, and promotes longevity etc by following an alkaline diet, the other is calling BS on the psuedoscience of creating "pure" alkaline water through osmosis and ionizing water. There is also a large number of middle-of-the-road people that are just using it for convenience to help with GERD instead of popping a pepcid or carrying around a box of bicarb.
One important note is that this water is sourced from many sources (including municipal) and is treated water, which does rank lower than water sourced from a natural untreated and untampered spring. However, Essentia does taste good and whatever other people's stance is on the alkaline water/diet issue, it can't hurt to just drink more water.
I love water. It is my favourite drink and would not hesitate to buy this brand of water if given the choice alongside other altered/treated waters in the same price range. |
| 455492 | 455492 | B005HG9ERW | A2ZY49IDE6TY5I | Crabigail Cassidy "Crabby Abby" | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1345507200 | Water, Water Everywhere | 'A Difference You Can Taste' is the slogan for this water. It boasts that it has a ph factor of 9.5 and claims that it hydrates. Under normal circumstances I drink bottled water because the tap water here is not especially palatable since it is well water. My bottled water of choice is normally whatever is on sale and I usually am of the opinion that the brands don't vary much. If it doesn't have a taste all the better
The good news is that Essentia doesn't have a taste per se. It is fresh tasting and does not have a funky or mineral aftertaste. To me it is a pricey version of what I normally drink. Does it hydrate or contain electrolytes? I have absolutely no idea.
My son swears by Essentia however and buys large amounts of it at Whole Foods. He has terrible acid reflux and claims it is way better than Gatorade and far more satisfying and has even reduced his acid reflux issues.
Since I am not a runner and I don't like Gatorade, I'm sticking with plain old bottled water. |
| 455493 | 455493 | B005HG9ERW | AKJHHD5VEH7VG | Dominique W | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1345507200 | Wish-washy about this water | The product tastes great. It tastes like higher end bottled water. One reviewer called the taste "silky" and I can't think of a better description for it. It goes down smooth, that's for sure.
I'm unsure about certain aspects of this water. On the one hand, I wish I would have had some during the times my youngest suffered from acid reflux or when anyone in the household suffered from an upset stomach. On the other, I'm concerned that drinking too much of it will cause an imbalance with stomach acids, causing further digestion problems.
I do think this is an excellent product overall for those who need it. For me, I'm probably going to keep a bottle or two on hand for upset stomachs. I don't think I will be drinking it daily or replacing my current water-of-choice with it. |
| 455494 | 455494 | B005HG9ERW | A3I1BJIFFM4S21 | Atomicwasteland | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1345075200 | Tastes like water, so it's got THAT going for it | So I didn't know what to expect when trying this product... I suppose I thought I'd detect a slightly off or metallic taste, with all the electrolytes added, but I did not.
Though the product advertises itself as "silky smooth" I don't think I'd describe it that way. It tasted fine, but not "better" than water, and not any worse.
If you really are struggling to find water that has some of these characteristics, then I'd give it a try. Me, I'm going to stick with filtered water, because I really couldn't tell the difference. |
| 455495 | 455495 | B005HG9ERW | A2X3L31KCXBHCL | Working Mom "Working Mom" | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1344988800 | Thrist Quenching | I am in love with Essentia! This water tastes very smooth, and keeps me hydrated for a very long time. Living in a hot and humid environment, I need all the hydration I can get, and Essentia didn't let me down. I felt the effects within an hour-hydration anyway. I don't have any real health problems, and the idea that just water can cure health problems seems a bit much, and none of these claims have been proven. However, for a bottled water, I very much enjoyed this.
While I should say the texture is smooth, and not thick, there is no odd aftertaste that most bottled waters give you. It tastes as I imagine pure drinking water should. This leaves behind no odd coating of the tongue that annoys me in most bottled waters, and it goes down very well. My mouth even feels more refreshed after drinking it!
The price isn't too bad for what you get either. The bottles are insanely huge for a typical bottled water.
I plan on buying more of this water, as it was even better, to me, than Smart Water, and I used to swear by them! |
| 455496 | 455496 | B005HG9ERW | A174GR3NPUAPPN | Kelly | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1344988800 | wonderful - UPDATE | This water was bottled at 9.5 and although by the time it reaches us its probably closer to 8.5, that is still excellent. My body absorbs this water much better than any other, I drink just as much but urinate half as much as before. I use it in my soups, coffee, etc. This water and replacing standard refined table salt with pink himalayan salt in my diet has increased my energy 10-fold. This may not be the magic bean for everyone's body, but I love it. Tastes silky smooth too.
**UPDATE Sept 2012** - I ordered 3 types of bottled high-ph water: NeoWater, AlkaPure, and Essentia, then tested them with PH testing strips. The Essentia water tested at 9.0, the AlkaPure at 9.3, and the NeoWater at 7.1! Thanks, Essentia, for ensuring the quality of your water. I remain a happy customer :) I'll try to post the picture of the tests to the product page. |
| 455497 | 455497 | B005HG9ERW | A2RN2AO4BE6F4K | Scott Bright "scottypotty" | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1344988800 | Tastes Great, But Can't Tell Any Benefits | Taste great, clean with no aftertaste. Better than filtered water from my fridge, slightly. Worth the extra money, not really. With just one bottle, there isn't a way for us to tell if this water would make a differnce say after 1 week, month, year. At this point, we don't think it's worth the extra money to give it a try for that long. |
| 455498 | 455498 | B005HG9ERW | A3Q1EDCBV2KU8D | Craig Frooninckx | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1344902400 | Tasty Water | So I usually drink Arrowhead water, but thought I would try this since drink more ph balanced water is supposed to be good for your health. The taste was not too far off from my Arrowhead water...the difference I would say is the electrolytes which can have a minor taste. Overall, was happy with the taste and it did seem to "quench my thirst" better. I only had one bottle to try, so I can't attest to any health benefits, but I would definitely drink it again. |
| 455499 | 455499 | B005HG9ERW | A3GM64N13BILUP | Ron Cole | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1344902400 | Slight unpleasant chemical aftertaste | In the old days, water was water. Now days, consumers have their choice of bottled or tap, sparkling or flat, distilled or spring, and a hundred other options too complex for most to care about. In this case, Essentia is marketed as pH balanced at 9.5, meaning it is significantly alkaline (basic in the old parlance - the opposite of acidic) compared to traditional water, which falls roughly around 7 pH (give or take). Various websites will extol the virtues of this sort of waters, while others call it bunk. To me, however, all that matters is the flavor.
Essentia water lives up to its label - it does have a silky smooth taste (or lack thereof). The problem is, it also has a slight chemical aftertaste that is most likely due to the added sodium bicarbonate, dipotassium phosphate, magnesium sulfate, and calcium chloride. I also experienced a mild dry mouth after drinking it which I attribute to drinking an alkaline substance in a mouth that generally runs either very slightly acidic or very slightly basic. These aspects are enough for me not to drink it anymore, though I have had significantly worse-tasting water.
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars. The mild chemical aftertaste is too much for me, but it still tastes better than Dasani. |
| 455500 | 455500 | B005HG9ERW | A2E7RX6AFUDQEX | Elizabeth Finlay | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1344902400 | tastefully different | I'm not quite sure how to explain this, because it is water...but there is a kind of a different "taste" to it, and also a different texture as well. I've not really known much about the pH of water, what should or shouldn't be desired, but somehow, this water was just....different, in the best sort of way. If they sold this everywhere, I'd definitely buy it. It is more than worth "investing" in, AND you get quite a bit of water. The one bottle I received to try it out lasted me quite a while, for it being a water bottle.
In addition to a difference in "taste" and texture - I know that sounds weird, but you'd have to drink it to get what I mean....and not just chug it, but to really enjoy the water as you slowly consume it - I honestly feel it better hydrates and keeps the body hydrated. I've not experimented yet, but I could tell that (as active as I was while consuming most of this water,) I felt hydrated faster and longer, longer both during the physical activity and afterwards, too. It seemed to replenish (during and after) what I was losing/what I had lost in the end. I felt satisfied. The water almost had the same kind of feel that drinking other kinds of vitamin waters with electrolytes have on my body. Granted, I wouldn't TOTALLY replace those electrolytes with this water, but it seemingly had the same/similar kind of feel/affect on me.
I enjoy(ed) it and would most definitely recommend someone looking into this and trying it out! |
| 455501 | 455501 | B005HG9ERW | #oc-R1OE1OPY34LOC8 | D | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1344902400 | Not the same | Been buying this water for a couple of years. They recently changed the packaging and for some reason or other, the water seems different. The same clean taste is just NOT there. Not buying it again. |
| 455502 | 455502 | B005HG9ERW | A2XNOB1T796Y6B | ChibiNeko "Sooo many books, so little time!" | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1344816000 | Tasted nice and seems to hydrate well | Now I know that you can't guarantee how much electrolytes are in a product for certain without taking it to a lab and testing it. Since this was one of my main reasons for sampling this, this was the main thing I tested for in my daily routine.
Taste-wise, this is good. It tastes like water and is better than the city water I get from my tap. However I do want to state that I can get similar tastes from other bottled waters on the market. This actually didn't impress me that overly much because for the most part you can get ultra-filtrated fancy water from many different sources. You need a little something extra to really stand out.
That's where the electrolytes come in. To really test this I drank portions of this at the gym while I was doing my cardio, as good hydration can often make for a better workout. The water was pretty refreshing and it felt like it made a difference from the water I usually get from the water fountain by the changing rooms. It just didn't seem to make such an overwhelming difference that I'd rush out the door to buy another bottle as soon as I emptied this one.
Would I buy this on my own? Under certain circumstances, yes. It's not a "must buy", but if I was sick and needed to rehydrate, I'd get this as an alternative to straight electrolytes. I'd also get it if I was in a store, was thirsty, and this was available. It's good enough that I'd buy it again for the most part. I just wouldn't write home about it. |
| 455503 | 455503 | B005HG9ERW | A1E50L7PCVXLN4 | Colinda "L.S.W." | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1344556800 | Pleasant tasting Water Free of BPA and Chlorine | I was attracted by the claims that water is highly purified, has no chlorine or fluoride, and contains electrolytes. I found the taste to be pleasant and comparable to distilled water, which I usually purchase in 3-gallon jugs. I have had water-borne parasites (contracted here in the USA, probably from tap water) so pure water is important to me.
I am downgrading this by one star because the claims seem a bit overblown. I mean, what does "Restructured through ionic separation" mean anyway? And "Hydrates better" than what?
I'm glad that Essentia water comes in "BPA and Phthalate free recyclable bottles" and does not need to be shipped in from overseas. I believe in conserving natural resources while protecting health.
Recently we moved to a home with well water. I thought this would be a blessing because I don't like the taste of chlorine. Unfortunately our well produces water that tastes bad and often stinks, even after going through a fancy conditioning system. So I only drink bottled water. I would purchase this water again if the price were comparable to the water I buy now. |
| 455504 | 455504 | B005HG9ERW | A1H6JP5UC5WVT7 | Edward Durney | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1348099200 | Seems to me it's just water | To me this seems to be little more than just water. Could it deliver special benefits that I am unaware of? That are tasteless, odorless and colorless? It certainly could. And the makers of the water claim that it does. But there is no way for me to tell. So I cannot recommend this product. |
| 455505 | 455505 | B005HG9ERW | A2SZLNSI5KOQJT | Carrie, "Formerly "Sister Carrie"" | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1347667200 | Seems to Provide Good Hydration After a Workout. Still A Little Skeptical, But Worth Trying if You are a Bottled Water Drinker. | Until I saw & read about 9.5 pH drinking water, I didn't know that I "needed" it. I've read the information provided by the manufacturer and tried a 1.5 liter bottle, and still am not convinced that 9.5 pH is a "must have". I can't say that the Essentia is better than my go-to filtered water, but I also can't say that my go-to filtered water is better either. However, if you are a bottled water drinker anyway, Essentia may be a product for you to try.
I drank 1/2 of the bottle after 2 separate workouts. After the first workout, I drank filtered water & still felt thirsty. I decided to try the Essentia & it did quench my thirst. After the second work-out, I just drank the last of the Essentia & it seemed to quench my thirst.
Taste-wise, I cannot tell any difference between Essentia and filtered water. I detected no metallic taste.
The Essentia seemed to "fill" my mouth a little more, but, with sampling only 1 bottle, I may have just been my imagination.
If you are a bottled water drinker, Essentia is a product to try to see if it works for you. If you are a filtered water drinker, your experience may be that your filtered water is just fine. |
| 455506 | 455506 | B005HG9ERW | A1L7R2764ED46Y | G. Hembrough | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1346889600 | Nothing Special Here | Nothing special here. It's just hyped up water. Tastes like water, feels like water. No special energy from this water. And the price??? Are you kidding me??? Total rip-off! Drink tap or cheap bottled water! |
| 455507 | 455507 | B005HG9ERW | A91TB0WX94MHP | Carina | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1346198400 | Tastes silky smooth as advertised. | I normal drink Costco Kirkland water, it is my favorite bottled water. Drinking the two waters back to back, the Kirkland water does taste a bit more bitter than the Essentia. Like the bottle says, Essentia has a silky smooth taste to it. The bottle also says it hydrates better and it is electrolyte infused. I normally drink Gatorade for electrolytes, but I was told by a friend not to drink too much because of the extra salt in gatorade for when you sweat. They use salt as an electrolytes. But regardless, this is a better alternative to gatorade and it tastes good too.
If you need your electrolytes this is probably way better than a sports drink. The nutrition facts states 0g of sodium, 0g of fat, 0 calories. But that is the same in all water isn't it?
The bottle also states: "doctor recommended to protect, improve and enhance the quality of your health" I don't know if that is this water or water in general that is doctor recommended.
In the end, I think I will stick to kirkland because it is way cheaper and the only thing it looks to be different is Essentia is electrolyte infused and kirkland is infused with minerals. |
| 455508 | 455508 | B005HG9ERW | ADY836HK6QSYR | ardnam "ardnam" | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1346112000 | Nothing special | This is a treated water product. I don't think it is worth the price so I will stick to my spring water. There are less expensive ways to replenish electrolytes when exercising. It does not have a chemical taste, which I really didn't expect it to have. It just tastes like ordinary water. I did not feel that there were any health benefits when drinking this water during strenuous activity. |
| 455509 | 455509 | B005HG9ERW | A2YW1MG1GKU8XD | A. Stein | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1346112000 | High PH water | It tastes just like water. I have no way of measuring the PH so I guess I have to trust what the bottle says. I didn't see any difference while drinking it. It is a bit pricey for just water. Unless you have a specific need for a high PH in your drinks, then you can give it a try, otherwise, don't bother. |
| 455510 | 455510 | B005HG9ERW | A1YVO5V1SO18DZ | fair_deal_guy "BB" | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1346112000 | As water goes, it's good. As a cure, it's hard to tell... | It's hard to review the efficacy of a product like Essentia's 9.5 pH Drinking Water after consuming just 1.5L (the sample size provided to Vine reviewers), so let's just say that as a water product goes, there's nothing either extraordinary or offensive about this H2O. The bottler went to a lot of work to fine tune the chemistry and flavor of this product (micro-filtration, UV lighting, reverse osmosis, mineral "enhancement" and something called ionic separation), but you're going to be disappointed if you pour a glass and expect it to taste like, umm, robust good health. Essentia's 9.5 pH Drinking Water tastes like...water, albeit with that trademark flat metallic taste that comes from altering the ingredient list a little.
Is it worth the price? For somebody enduring the daily torment of GERD, I'd say it's definitely worth a try. Does it work? You'll have to rely on other reviewers to make that call. |
| 455511 | 455511 | B005HG9ERW | A19EKT8H85AKO5 | EnergyWork | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1346112000 | Alkaline Water with Minerals | This water is alkalinized which is good since our bodies tend to be acidic from the foods we consume. It is also infused with electrolytes which is helpful for those who drink it after a heavy workout(better than those commercial "energy" drinks with all the sweetners, many of which have HFCS).
The water is purified and the taste is nice(noticeably different from the water I consume at home). There's no artificial anything, no added sweetners, and zero calories. |
| 455512 | 455512 | B005HG9ERW | AQM0K7MBBT4AY | Bailey Z. Rose | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1346025600 | I have to admit -- this is good bottled water. | So, I don't normally drink bottled water. I'm not convinced the benefits of 'vapor distilled' or 'enhanced with minerals' offsets the obvious drawbacks of the chemicals & waste of using plastic bottles.
HOWEVER -- I sampled this product through the Vine program, and was pleasantly surprised.
+ : This water tastes good. Period. Compared to many other brands I've had, this actually does taste nice. Very, very slightly 'sweet' taste, with no hint of the iodiney/plasticky taste you normally get from bottled water. They did a good job here.
+ : the 1.5 liter size means it's good to bring along on a sports trip or other adventure. I took mine with me when I went surfing and it provided plenty of hydration to counter the effects of hours of intense physical activity.
- : these run about $2 / bottle -- perhaps not bad, really, given how much you get per bottle... but, it's also quite a bit of waste and a lot of bulk to be shipping from Amazon.
BOTTOM LINE: I'm not sure about the pH thing -- there are a lot of health gimmicks out there. However, this water seems to be a fair value and does indeed have a nice 'neutral' flavor. Tastes a lot like it came straight out of the R-O filter vs. being cooped up inside a plastic bottle. If I saw this at the convenience store and I was thirsty, I'd consider buying it over some other popular brands. |
| 455513 | 455513 | B005HG9ERW | A15T9G38F589KM | Kay Hayes "knitting ninja" | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1345939200 | Has an aftertaste for me | This water tastes like distilled water with a pinch of baking soda. I found it to have a slight aftertaste - mainly on the sides of my tongue. I drank it before and during my work out and I did not notice any particular difference in hydration or thirst. At a little over two bucks for a 1.5 liter bottle - delivered with prime - the price is not bad (if you are OK with the taste). But I am a bit skeptical of the sweeping health claims. |
| 455514 | 455514 | B005HG9ERW | A2CISZ4JLKQRJA | C. Richard | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1344556800 | Tastes Like Water ... | I tried this water at room temperature and cold out of the fridge. Tasted to me like water is supposed to taste. No better or worse than water from my Brita pitcher.
I'm not sure how I could fairly evaluate the health claims made. In the meantime, I guess I'll stick to my Brita pitcher water. |
| 455515 | 455515 | B005HG9ERW | #oc-R3SRKE3YQ2BNES | Carol Daley "Marinesgirl" | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1344470400 | great | I'm one of the few ones that actually like drinking water and do it not just for the health benefits but it's actually my drink of choice. I buy all different waters and this one is perfect. It's clean tasting and smooth. It has no metallic taste or aftertase.
Just a great water... |
| 455516 | 455516 | B005HG9ERW | A3DRSOGQJRX10 | J. Brandt | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1344384000 | It tastes good...but...... | Okay, I received the bottle of Essentia in the mail. I put it in the fridge to get it nice and cold and tried it out today.
Is it good water? Sure. It had a good clean taste, but the question that bothered me was "How much is this water per bottle?"
and "Is this something I would seek out at the store?"
I"m not sure about either answer. Yes, it was good water, but was it that much better than any bottled water I buy at the store?
I don't know if it was any better and to have a 9.5 pH sounds great, but does it really mean that much to my health if I drink
this water versus other waters on the market?
I will give it four stars. It was fresh tasting water and maybe it has other health benefits beyond just being water (as they
claim in their advertising), but how do I really know this to be true? I'll let you decide. |
| 455517 | 455517 | B005HG9ERW | A2GPJR489OIH42 | sb-lynn | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1344384000 | Tastes great, comparable to Aquafina, but is it better for you? | I have medical issues and I need to drink a lot of water every day. I know that many people can't tell that much of a difference between the various bottled waters, but I can. My favorite water by far has been Aquafina and it just tastes fresher and sweeter to me.
When I first started doing research on the difference between alkaline foods and acidic, and the differences between water that's been ionized and brands that haven't such as Aquafina, I found myself pretty confused. It seems that alkaline foods are just better for you and for my medical concerns (autoimmune problems and GERD and ischemic issues), but there appears to be a lot of disagreement as to what foods fit into what category. It can make you a little crazy trying to deal with all the disagreement from reputable sites.
So I thought I'd give this water a try, since it's advertised as being better for you and not as acidic with a high PH level. Well I'm here to tell you that the water tastes very good (which is so important to me), but that I am just not sure I believe the claims that it's better for you. A very close friend was a dean of chemistry at our nearby state university and he told me not to believe the claims about these so-called "healthy waters" and that It just doesn't make a difference. He told me the same thing about claims that water is oxygenated - it doesn't pass scientific muster.
I'm not going to tell you it makes a difference or doesn't because I just don't know. But if you want a good tasting water I would recommend this. |
| 455518 | 455518 | B005HG9ERW | #oc-R2K9AJ2LWO7ZUJ | Danny Yu | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1344297600 | Smooth, refreshing water. Does it live up to what it says? Yes. Is it going to improve your health? Yet to find out | Essentia delivers refreshing water with the ideal ph level of 9.5, along with electrolytes and minerals.
I immediately felt a difference with this water. It was thin, pure, and tasted very clean. It did not have the bland, over-filtered taste of Aquafina nor Dasani. We need to have minerals and the natural tastes in our water.
If you are looking for high quality water (who would've thought of such a thing existed), Essentia is it. It is a bit pricey for water though. However, for twelve 1.5 liter bottles in the $25 - $30 range, it seems priced as if you were buying soda or juice. If you want an alternative to sugary beverages, Essentia may give you a good case for a premium water that is enjoyable to drink. |
| 455519 | 455519 | B005HG9ERW | #oc-R162D7S0A880MV | Jish M. | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1344211200 | Neutral taste, low pH | For those looking for a non-flavoured water beverage and one with a neutral taste that doesn't have plastic-y aftertaste, this one's for you.
Also, traditional tap water is slightly more acidic (I believe pH 7-8). Essentia's is supposed at 9.5 pH, so if you're very sensitive to acidic products, this might help you out. |
| 455520 | 455520 | B005HG9ERW | A219J1R4Z4BF7R | LisaC | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1344211200 | Tastes smooth | It has a smooth clean taste to it. I can drink a lot more of this water with out that bloated feeling I normally get from other water. I've read about the benefits but I can't honestly say I feel any of them. I only tried one case. |