Pepsi’s “pure” Aquafina water VS. Coke’s Dasani “enhanced” water
September 11th, 2006
VS 
I know most sophisticated bottled water drinkers would laugh at a taste test between two mass market bottled water brands—owned and distributed by Pepsi and Coke. This demographic has moved beyond Evian to Fiji water and even more exotic bottled waters. After all, both Aquafina and Dasani water are bottled purified water—not natural water from springs. But I have to admit that after drinking many exotic brands of bottled water, I believe that Coca Cola’s Dasani brand is the best tasting mass market bottled water—much better than more exotic brands priced at 3-4 times its price.
Pepsi’s Aquafina brand advertises its water as “Pure Water—Perfect Taste”. Aquafina strips out all minerals and other substances to create its “pure” water. It’s pure “purified“ water and easy on the palate. Coke’s Dasani is “enhanced with mineral for a pure, fresh taste”. Note how “pure” appears in both brands taglines—stripped of minerals (Aquafina) and enhanced with minerals (Dasani).After numerous blind tastings, I found Dasani to be bright, bracing and great tasting bottled water. I don’t know what mix of minerals is re-introduced to the purified water, but maybe the secret blend is locked in the same vault containing the magic ingredients of Coca Cola. Try it!!!!
- Peter
Entry Filed under: Videopinions
47 Comments Add your own
1. beautiful me | September 26th, 2006 at 11:33 am
i luv wataaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!
2. Naomi | November 13th, 2006 at 9:48 am
I have to agree Dasani is better. I drink the flavored water and one time I bought Aquafina and it gave me chest pains. Apparently there is a chemical in it called sodium hexametaphosphate that I am allergic to. I looked it up and it listed it as being a water softener in addition to other things it is also an eye and breathing irritant. Dasani does not have that in it. So I am a Dasani water drinker from now on.
3. Terica | December 5th, 2006 at 12:52 pm
I love Dasani water. My mother has to keep cases and cases of it at home. Aquafina is like the nastiest water i have ever drank
4. John R | January 1st, 2007 at 6:52 pm
I think Dasani tastes better. For some reason Aquafina seems to dry my mouth. Dasani is smooth and I prefer it over the Evian and other brands of water.
5. jack | January 9th, 2007 at 12:33 am
Nice site actually. Gone to my favourites. Thanks for creation.
6. Craig | January 15th, 2007 at 1:52 pm
Straight Aquafina does not contain the chemical sodium hexametaphosphate. That chemical is in the flavored Aquafina products only. The ingredients are posted at the Pepsi web site.
7. Craig | January 15th, 2007 at 3:06 pm
Unflavored or straight Dasani has minerals and salt added. Unflavored or straight Aquafina contains only purified water.
8. James | March 12th, 2007 at 7:03 pm
I prefer Aquafina flavored over Dasanis flavored water. Aquafinas flavored water tastes pure. Unlike Dasanis tastes like cough syrup. As for regular water i prefer either. Water is water to me.
9. James | April 10th, 2007 at 4:54 pm
Get a grip people, its all just filtered TAP water!!!
10. Debbie | April 20th, 2007 at 10:39 am
I JUST HAVE TO SAY THAT THE SPARKLING CARBONATED CITRUS TWIST IS THE BEST THING YOU COULD HAVE MADE!!! I’M NOT ONE FOR WATER BUT THIS I WILL DRINK ALL THE TIME!! THANK YOU FOR A GREAT BEVERAGE
11. William | April 25th, 2007 at 2:51 am
I’m not sure about you, but I prefer not to drink salt water (Dasani). Water should not have a flavor. ITS WATER! You can’t purify water by ADDING minerals. That’s why I’ll stick with drinking AQUAFINA.
12. John | May 1st, 2007 at 5:55 am
Dasani is hands down the worst water on the market…as mentioned previously it ADDS SALT, they purposefully put this in to keep you just a little bit thirsty (great business plan) and you never fully have your thirst quenched. Hands down Aquafina is the best water available (even as compared to Evian, Fiji, and the more exotic brands.)
13. Josie | May 3rd, 2007 at 10:24 am
Dasani water may taste better. But, have you looked at the ingredients they put into it and what it does to your body. I stick to Aquafina, because they use a reverse osmosis system to purify the water. They strip it from it’s minerals and all impurities. They don’t add any synthetic minerals. I read the comment about drinking flavored water and then drinking aquafina water and the person had chest pains. It’s probably because you’re body is so used to the chemicals in flavored water that it was shocked to find something pure entering it.
14. Greg | May 3rd, 2007 at 12:29 pm
Sodium hexametaphosphate in the flavoured waters, I’m allergic to it too, I’ve been trying to figure out what the ingredient was that causes my reaction. Thanks!
Now to figure out what else it’s in..
15. Denise | May 7th, 2007 at 7:07 pm
The reason why Dasani tastes better than Aquafina IS the minerals they add. Pepsi adds nothing and it takes on the taste of the plastic.
16. Alex | May 8th, 2007 at 8:53 am
it is better
17. Jo Ann | May 16th, 2007 at 8:14 am
I don’t like either of the two mentioned. I only drink spring water. My choice is Ozarka. I used to drink Dasani, but spring water is much better.
18. Kaushik Trivedi | May 31st, 2007 at 6:21 am
Do you know the truth about Dasani? its nothing but ‘purified ‘tap’ water treated with minerals. The cost of manufacturing a one liter bottle is just 0.03p and they sell it at 95p, this means a mark up of over 3000%. Lets not be foolish..they got nicely whacked and kicked out from the UK market. I sometimes wonder how big MNCs like coke have such low ethical values. They are just squeezing out our pockets by showing flashy ads.
19. Kaushik Trivedi | May 31st, 2007 at 6:23 am
Lets Boycott Coke, I would never drink coke again after knowing so much about them
20. Rachel | July 5th, 2007 at 2:12 pm
amen, i HATE aquafina, bleck. this is simply ingenious….
21. kathleen | July 27th, 2007 at 11:04 pm
Aquafina water is reg. tap water,,LOL Drink your city water or bottle it yourself and youll save a ton of money on the same thing
22. kathleen | July 27th, 2007 at 11:07 pm
I have pure mountain spring water,,You can use my water for half the profit,
23. Don | July 28th, 2007 at 6:58 am
Whats all the fuss about? i’ve used Aquafina and it certainly did not taste like cough syrup or anything close. They are BOTH good.
24. vending guy | July 28th, 2007 at 10:58 am
Aquafina has never claimed to be spring water or from natural sources. So anyone with half a brain can figure out that the water in Aquafina is the exact same water as in your bottle of Pepsi or Mountain Dew. But, you never hear anyone question the purity of the water in their cola drinks. Come to think of it, any time you buy fountain soda that is mixed on-site where you buy it you are getting the local municipal water of that particular location. Yet nobody complains about the water in fountain sodas, either.
I don’t understand why there is such a problem with Aquafina or Desani. Like I said, it is water that is cleaned and purified by the exact same process used to make other Pepsi or Coke brand products. The same local soda bottlers that make your soda also bottle the water. So what?
25. Patricia | July 28th, 2007 at 12:25 pm
I think Dasani tastes HORRIBLE. I was really upset to learn that Coca cola bought Glaceau because I’m afraid they will wreck the whole line of enhanced waters. I think Aquafina is much better tasting than Dasani which has a nasty metalic aftertaste that reminds me of Sacramento’s unpotable tap water (containing toxic heavy metals and waste water–as listed in the water bill)!
26. daniel | August 12th, 2007 at 1:52 pm
ummmm dasani is owned by Coke
aquafina is owned by Pepsi
Ice Mountain is owned by Nestle
i say ice mountain is best
then dasani
than aquafina
away from the water topic…..i luv dr pepper!
27. Joe | August 19th, 2007 at 9:26 pm
Dasani Casues Cancer, Aquafina tastes great,
Dasani is just lefover water fromt their soda, has Brominate that is cancer causing,
Long live aquafina
28. Sandy | August 21st, 2007 at 11:53 am
I like Aquafina, I’ve always thought it was very tasty. But I really am not a water snob and enjoy it as long as it’s cold and clean. I am more surprised by the bottled water backlash that is happening by Aquafina announcing their label change than I was by the fact that it comes from a public water source. I mean how can this be surprising to people? Of course that is where it comes from and that does not bother me. And even though Aquafina comes from a public water source it goes through a 7 step purification process including reverse osmosis. So it can’t be called tap water.
29. llewelyn | August 24th, 2007 at 5:56 am
Never know there would be so many opinions about water. Aquafina has a Ph of 7 so that makes it neutral (alkaline/acidic).
So who cares if it comes from the tap, it gets my vote!
30. Matt | August 30th, 2007 at 7:42 pm
How come no one has even mentioned the fact that water isn’t supposed to “taste” good. It’s not supposed to have a TASTE at all. Water is a colorless, odorless, and TASTELESS liquid. This means that “Pure Water” should not taste like anything. Neither of these drinks is “pure”.
31. Nathalya | September 21st, 2007 at 1:17 pm
PLEEEEASEEEE, people please, buy aquafina, dasani, Fiji and Evian, take a sip then we can star to talk about good water.
Fiji and Evian are the best on the market, have you ever taken a look at the minerals?!?! well do so.
Fiji and Evian dont have any TASTE, the water is just more wet, when you drink it you’ll know excacly what I mean.
And detox with Evian!!!!!
I dont buy Fiji anymore because Evian has more to it and its price is better, for those in South Florida, Bj’s has a case of 12 of 1Liter, for me it goes buy fast i try to drink at least 4 liters a day.
32. Barbara | October 4th, 2007 at 1:31 pm
I’ll take Aquafina of Dasani in a heart beat. I can definitely taste the UGH minerals in Dasani. Does not taste natural to me.
33. Michael | October 8th, 2007 at 7:55 am
I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but bottled water is probably the largest financial scam of the century. Bottled water is simply taking tap water and running in through a filter which you can do yourself MUCH cheaper if you need to. There is no magic spring from which it is obtained. If minerals are added, they do you no more good than eating properly or taking a cheap vitamin. In fact, tap water is healthier, cleaner and far more regulated than bottled water. Tap water is regulated under the DRUG protion of the Food and Drug administration, whereas bottled water is only considered a food. So you are often stepping DOWN in quality by buying bottled water, depending on what faucet it comes from . Don’t forget pure water has NO flavor. So to say that a bottled water taste better than another is impossible, and you are tasting the effects of the plastic bottle on the water, due to its age. Any and all perceptions of betterment you think you are getting from a bottle of water are that - false perceptions. It is easy to think something is great when everyone else says it is. It is disheartening to see someone with a pack of bottled water in their shopping cart! Do yourself a favor - don’t delude yourself - and save tons of money. If you have fallen in to the water trap, get out of it and drink from the tap!
34. Pj | November 10th, 2007 at 9:49 am
Bottled water was simply a means of convience- different tastes for different people- can’t believe so much is being made over bottled water- everyone has their preference - advertising is simply just that- all are going to have more enticing labels and such- can’t believe anyone takes such seriously-
35. LIndsay | November 25th, 2007 at 9:08 pm
John Wrote
“as mentioned previously it ADDS SALT, they purposefully put this in to keep you just a little bit thirsty (great business plan) and you never fully have your thirst quenched. Hands down Aquafina is the best water available (even as compared to Evian, Fiji, and the more exotic brands.)”
A small amount of salt added to drinking water will actually KEEP you hydrated. Salt forces your body to HOLD IN water. The reason it can dehydrate you is that when there are no “extra” fluids in the body, the salt draws upon fluids that are being used or that are needed - if you are drinking water that is infused with salt, you are holding in more water and won’t just pee it out, therefore hydrating you more.
Read the lables on ANY sports drink like gatorade or powerade.. LOTS OF SODIUM
36. cilli | November 29th, 2007 at 6:20 pm
i love water1
37. Billy Bob | February 2nd, 2008 at 8:46 pm
After tasting Dasanis “salt water” i didn’t know wether i was going to dry up or not.
38. Billy Bob | February 2nd, 2008 at 8:48 pm
Dasani sucks period amen.
39. Tre'ston Teague | February 12th, 2008 at 8:46 am
Aquafina to me is clearly better and it taste so clean and none adds up to aquafina
40. Kyle | February 25th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
hey i love spring water better and aquafina is nasty water
41. mike | February 29th, 2008 at 11:43 pm
i was drinking dasani.for the good taste awhile detoxing. i never pissed,and when i did it was dark yellow..i thought my kidneys were shot from the drugs i was detoxing from.but it was from the dasani my doctor said. it’s weird about this forum its dasani vs aqua.but i did switch to aquafina.and i began pissing lots more and it was clear.you just should not pee dark yellow after drinking 4 dasani;s. ..also i would like to add .i had severe chest pains.when i gulped alot of dasani down. if you have a choice and you need alot of pure water dont do dasani. either get it out the tap.or get pure water
42. Michael | June 3rd, 2008 at 11:23 pm
All judgement of the two brands simply depends on the label. Since the Dasani label looks nicer, more people like the water. The label reflects one’s opinion on similar products.
43. 55IsABigLie | June 8th, 2008 at 9:22 pm
I remember when I was really thirsty and tried Aquafina for the first time in Grand Central, NYC since that seemed to be the only thing around. I figured, its water- whatever.
Well, it turned out to be the most hideous water I’ve ever drank. I have such a negative impression of it I cringe when I see it in all the display cases. Its just *nasty*- Poland Spring and most anything else is better tasting, period.
The idea that Dasani puts frikkin SALT in the water just turns my stomach. I noticed this the first time I saw Dasani on the shelf- and noticed the added in salt in the ingredients and laughed my butt off….Now theres a good marketing strategy hehehe.
I did try Fiji once and had not been aware of the major press it’s been getting..and was very pleasantly surprised. It was more refreshing than any water I had ever had. Extra smooth tasting- no plastic aftertaste (maybe that pretty strange bottle does serve a purpose).
Fiji is something special as far as I can taste.
44. Mona | June 23rd, 2008 at 12:54 am
Dasani tastes the best.
45. erik | July 2nd, 2008 at 6:55 pm
Aquafina does “taste” pretty good. if things exist inside IE sodium, silica other minerals then maybe we can call it taste. Or water can have a sense instead.. like soft, or hard because of the mineral content levels / mixtures..
we did a water tasting test one time…and well..the results came like this.
I liked aquifina and volvic the best. Following fiji and poland springs.
Filtered water came in last(brita or somewthing) I could tell it was filtered tap for some reason.. hm
If aquifina does come from a tap it no longer taste anything like it after the purifying state. nothing wrong here,
bye,
46. Didier | July 15th, 2008 at 7:53 pm
evian is the best spring water and fiji the best artesian water
thats it
47. Lisa | July 17th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
I don’t really care.
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