Water, it’s the essential ingredient for life on Earth. Everything that grows breathes, and eats in some form needs it to survive. Yet, all water is not the same, and some are downright fancy. We’re not talking about flavored water, sparkling water, ultrapure water that’s not safe to drink or even pet water. There exists a breed apart, so to speak, where water is concerned. The elite, designer, and most exotic, not to mention expensive waters you can buy to drink. If you haven’t heard about ultra posh drinking water yet, then please sit down because what we found may be a bit of a shock to the system.
Eighty Thousand Bottles Per Day
If you’ve seen a story about the bottled air being sold in China, then you may not be terribly surprised that such a thing as deluxe water exists. To be fair, China’s air pollution problems can be so bad that a hit of pure, clean, air you don’t feel like you need to chew can be a real boon. However, even in polluted areas, you can purify water easily enough.
Wherever there’s a market for something, it seems there simply must be a classier, more refined and all around pricier option for those who can afford it. There are plenty of companies that cater to that need for sophistication. Every industry has their own version, from lovely Caran d’Ache pens to the wildly ridiculous Abu Moo app which will charge you $2400 to place very detailed gemstones (pictures) on your phones’ wallpaper.
Kona Nigari water might seem like something made up by a tabloid, but the $402 per bottle water not only exists, it’s very popular. Some eighty thousand bottles a day are shipped to Japan alone. Of course, you don’t have to be Japanese to get your own. It just happens to be especially popular there. You’ll have to contact the manufacturer directly if you want it, however, since they don’t just list the precious $2144 per gallon liquid online. You can pick up the bargain basement version for only $32 per bottle at Kona Deep.
What Makes Kona So Valuable
If you are planning to purchase your own bottle, or case, of Kona Nigari, then you may be wondering why this water is so exquisite. Certainly, you can get it in a crystal decanter from Neiman Marcus, or a bedazzled bottle? Perhaps it comes inside a golden flask and is collected from space by monks from royal bloodlines who never even touch it with their hands? Sadly no. The dark green bottles with their black caps are nothing to write home about. They’re nice, but hardly gem encrusted wonders like some of the expensive waters you can pick up.
Sustainable Resources
There are some benefits to the source. The Kona company prides themselves n the sustainability of the source. All the water in these bottles comes from the ocean. Not surface water, where the trash floats, but deep ocean water off the coast of Hawaii where a natural feature of the undersea floor drops off dramatically. This may mean the water has never been mixed with the ordinary stuff up near the surface. What we can say for sure is that sea water is unquestionably a renewable resource. As far as ecologically sound business practices go, using water, air or sunlight are about as abundant and Earth-friendly as you can get. On the plus side, Kona is deeply committed to preserving the oceans they get their unique water from, which means you can feel good about spending the money. They’ve put effort into reducing the carbon footprint of their product by using it to cool their facilities since it comes in naturally cold through the pipes. Moreover, they embarked on a sustainability study in 2017 to make certain they’re not causing undue harm to the ocean life or environment.
Health Benefits?
Kona’s website claims that the University of Arizona did a hydration study on their mineral and electrolyte charged water. According to that study, it hydrates you more quickly and thoroughly than other water. With promising results like that, it may very well be true. The sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium blend in Kona water appears to be ideal for hydration.
Unfortunately, a single study which didn’t mention how many participants were involved (anywhere we saw, but feel free to leave a comment if you have further information) is not what you’d call conclusive. The one thing that does lead us to think twice is the fact that the study and creator received the Independent Scientist Award (K02 HL105799) from the NIH awarded to J.P. Konhilas. A second study shows that gerbils may benefit from the water as well. They apparently do better on treadmills when provided with Kona Nigari. While it disturbs us to think that a rodent can get a better quality of water than many humans in the world, the evidence is there to show that it’s worth looking into. We’d like to see further testing before we accept the claims.
*Fun Fact: Kona Nigari basically translates to mean Lady of Magnesium Chloride in Water
Final Thoughts
We’re finding ourselves torn on the subject of this astounding water. On the one hand, better hydration and purity are commendable and incredibly desirable, but on the other, there’s that cringe-worthy pricetag. We don’t know who’s buying all this water, but they might be the best-hydrated people, or gerbils, on the planet. Whoever came up with the idea was a genius, but the jury is still out on whether the prefix ‘evil’ should be added to that title. At least they’re sustainably sourced. How do you feel about spending four hundred dollars on 750 ml of water?
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