The Popular Bottled Water Brand You Shouldn't Bother Buying

This month, Chowhound writer Ksenia Prints decided to get a definitive answer to the most modern of questions: Which of the most common bottled water brands is best based on taste, source, and quality? Many argue about which water is the best of the best (top contenders LIFEWTR and FIJI should come as no surprise to avid water-drinkers). But one of them had to place last. And Prints didn't mince words about which water took that 15th spot: H2O Acqua Azzurra.

Along with two fellow testers, Prints worked to choose the best while also considering each drink's alkalinity and price. Competitors included almost all the biggest-name brands available at a range of stores in North America. Notably absent was Costco's house brand. But that's because the company behind Costco's Kirkland brand water also makes Dasani, which is included on the list. Somehow, H2O Acqua Azzurra was even beaten out by Aquafina, which consumers commonly complain about. In fact, a surprising number of waters on the list got less-than-stellar reviews, but H2O Acqua Azzurra wasn't just less good than the rest. It was actively bad.

Acqua Azzurra water hails from Italy, and while the country offers some of the most fantastic and sought-after wines in the world, the same cannot be said about its water.

Prints refers to the taste of Acqua Azzurra as "only slightly better than stale swamp water," which seems to be the biggest factor in its extremely low rating. The Fonte Margherita brand actually flaunts the recyclable cardboard container as one of the biggest reasons to choose their water over its competitors. In fact, it's the most prominent statement on that page of the website. The description of the water also touts its good quantity of minerals and low sodium and its suitability for people on certain diets. 

But sustainable packaging and low sodium aren't usually the first things consumers look for in a water. And the website never once claims the water tastes good — and that's probably for the best because according to Prints, this water just tastes murky.