What's in our bottles?

There is an ongoing debate between believers of tap water and bottled water. The video above shows that in the US the two names sometimes refer to exactly the same thing. Many bottled water companies sell filtered tap water while trying to create a brand image that suggests that the source of the water is a glacier or a remote stream in a pine forest (like two of the favorite brands in the US Dasani and Aquafina).
This is not the case in Hungary. For Hungarians bottled water means a totally different product. Due to the country's geological features, it has a whopping number of underground water reserves. For Hungary, mineral water is a national treasure. This product is treated with such respect that there is strict regulation which controls what product can be called mineral water.

Natural mineral water is the water of any well or engaged spring, issuing from a natural or protected underground water-containing stratum, which, because of its source, is clean and microbiologically impeccable, the composition and temperature of which is at the source nearly constant or within the limits of natural fluctuation, which has favorable properties to health, so can be clearly distinguished from ordinary drinking water. (Source: asvanyvizek.hu)

This regulation ensures that if you buy a bottle of mineral water, you will get a strictly authenticated product that is safe and was filtered by nature, underground, for hundreds of thousands to millions of years. Now that we can be sure that Hungarians don't get the same water from the tap and from the bottle, let us look at which is better.

Tap or Bottled?

If you have ever been to Budapest you know that the water here is not nice. It smells horrible, I personally cannot even smell it when I am washing my hands, it is so dreadful. The reason for this is that the water supply of Budapest is the river Danube. Its water is collected from the places where it seeps into the ground as ground water. It is filtered by the sandy surroundings of the river, but apparently not filtered enough. The cleaning process involves mixing chlorine into the water for disinfection. This is the cause of the horrible smell.

The chemical element chlorine is a corrosive, poisonous, greenish-yellow gas that has a suffocating odor and is 2 1/2 times heavier than air. Chlorine belongs to the group of elements called halogens. The halogens combine with metals to form compounds called halides. Chlorine is manufactured commercially by running an electric current through salt water. This process produces free chlorine, hydrogen, and sodium hydroxide. Chlorine is changed to its liquid form by compressing the gas, the resulting liquid is then shipped. Liquid chlorine is mixed into drinking water and swimming pools to destroy bacteria. (Source: http://www.pure-earth.com/chlorine.html)

If you are not repulsed by the smell of chlorine, and drink the tap water anyway, then at this point all sounds good. Horrible smell - lots of chlorine - lesser chance of bacteria being present, right?

The not so bright thing is that there is a debate whether chlorine is safe or not. Some claim that it is a carcinogen and can cause cancer.

If there is doubt, then we should leave tap water for things other than drinking, as we have a healthier and not so smelly choice. Bottled water, or if we want to be totally correct: mineral water. As the legal definition says, Hungarian mineral water is no ordinary water.

Tips on choosing water in Hungary

In Hungarian supermarkets you will find lots of shelves that are exclusively for mineral waters. One general feature is that the caps are color-coded. Pink cap means still, blue cap means carbonated, green means mildly carbonated. (This trend seems to be changing so keep an eye out.)

You can buy quality waters from just under 100 Forints for 1,5 liters (Nestlé Aquarel, NaturAqua) and you can usually find the high-end products as well (Evian and the Rolls Royce of waters: Perrier).

If you decide on a cheaper product (usually under 60 Forints for 1,5 liters) you should watch out for the label as some of these products are not really mineral but bottled water, only the phrasing on the package is different. But you already know the difference right?


Mineral water seems to be the best choice if you are thirsty, so be sure to drink enough throughout the day! You shouldn't wait for thirst to come, drink frequently all day long! Also a good tip that if you have a headache, a few big glasses of water may be the painkiller you are looking for, as you may only be dehydrated.

IF YOU DECIDE ON MINERAL WATER, PLEASE RECYCLE TO PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT!