Drink More Water.
Catchy slogan – because generally this is true. Water does a body good.
I know this, we all know this, but it’s hard to get the daily water intake for many of us. For decades, I was fanatic about getting in 64 oz. of water daily (Note: there is controversy out in the world about how much water a person should have and many ways to determine it. I grew up during the “eight 8 oz glasses a day” era so that’s generally the number I’m using. Yours may be different.)
But after many years consuming that much water, I struggled swallowing plain tap water. It sometimes triggers a gag reflex with me.
I grew to resent the drink/bathroom/drink/bathroom/drink/bathroom cycle.
I also discovered that I wasn’t drinking water correctly (blog post).
During the pandemic, I started tracking how much water I was consuming on a daily basis and discovered that it vacillated during the work week. Working remotely didn’t help. When we were still working in an office, I would remember to drink water because nearly all of us carried water bottles around with us from meeting to meeting.
I used Crystal Light then Mio water drops (diluted) to impart a hint of flavor my water. The flavorings helped me drink the water but introduced chemical sweeteners I was trying to avoid.
When social media offered up Waterdrop I was intrigued.
In the interest of a complete review, I ordered the following:
- Starter set with glass bottle
- A hot drink option (mellow mint) which included complimentary coasters and porcelain cups
- A glass carafe with glasses (I wasn’t sure if having a carafe would work better than a bottle in my home office) and finally
- a bottle brush
Product Breakdown
The Waterdrop Flavor Sampler is a great way to try out some of the different flavors without making a commitment to a big purchase. Each packet includes three tabs so you can test the out. The folder each flavor comes in includes a blurb about the flavor, its intended purpose, how to drink it, and a small cheat sheet on what each flavor includes.
The list of current flavors is (the ones I tried are bolded and italicized).
- Flair (Elderflower, lime blossom, raspberry)
- Sky (Pineberry, passion fruit, cactus fruit)
- Boost (Blackcurrant, elderflower, Açai)
- Glow (Mango, cactus fruit, artichoke)
- Youth (Peach, ginger, ginseng, aloe vera)
- Love (Pomegranate, goji berry, acerola)
- Zen (Starfruit, white tea, lemongrass)
- Focus (Lime, baobab, green coffee)
There are also three microenergy drinks which include natural caffeine. I did not try any of them but just to be a thorough as possible, here they are.
- Shiro (Cherry blossom, lime blossom, ginseng)
- Oros (Mango, guayusa, guava)
- Nero (Kola nut, guarana, blackberry)
The microtea is currently available in two flavors. I tried Mellow Mint
- Mellow Mint (Mint, lemon verbena, apple)
- Fruit Fusion (Raspberry, blueberry, rose hip)
The form factor for all of the microdrinks are the same. Small, individually packaged flavors that fizz and bubble when added to water. They are roughly the size of my thumbnail.
The containers are all high quality. The water bottle has a bamboo lid to it and there are many design options to choose from. I don’t generally like patterns but if you do, there are a bunch of cute options with matching sleeve. Waterdrop also has tumblers and steel bottles but I already own a bunch that I like so I was most interested in checking out the glass bottle.
The glass carafe and glasses are sturdy. They aren’t robust but they aren’t scarily thin either. It’s worth noting that the carafe lid merely sits on the top, it does not seal.
I really like the shape and feel of the porcelain cups. They fit my very small hands well and the complimentary coasters. I believe these were part of a special promotion when I purchased them so keep that in mind.
Pros and Cons
For style points, I give the containers high marks. The glass water bottle elicited a “nice!” from George. I was surprised that he had any reaction but he thought it was a very simple, functional design. The lines on the carafe, glasses, and mugs are simple and sleek. I get a lot of use out of them.
I was so engrossed in testing out the flavors of each waterdrop flavor that I failed to take a photo of the individual pods. Each microdrink is sweetened with stevia leaf extract. I found they DID impart a light flavor (think spa water) with a hint of sweetness without being overwhelming. The flavors were all so mild that I honestly couldn’t taste the difference between then. Love was my least favorite because I’m not a huge pomegranate fan and the flavor came through ever so slightly.
I had high hopes for the microtea because I adore mint tea. Unfortunately of all the ones I tried, this is my least favorite. The flavor of the tea doesn’t hit my palate well. Since this is personal preference, I don’t think it’s a bad product, just not for me. Thankfully I love the cups!
The microdrinks are nice and compact, easy to travel with, and a nice way to break up boring water monotony. However, I’m also trying to reduce my carbon footprint so individually packaged plastic tabs that have to be shipped to me feels like I’m going in the wrong direction.
Each tab comes in at a little under/over $1 per serving (per tab).
I’m still acclimating to the taste of stevia leaf so that distinctive flavor has me a little on the fence as well.
The bottle brush doesn’t actually fit the glass bottle. Weird, right? I had to dig through a number of bottle brushes to find one the right shape to clean the bottle. The water bottle sleeve ended up creating a nice, dark environment to grow mold. Yuck! I got the bottle cleaned (by hand) and sterilized by running it through the dishwasher on hot. I threw the neoprene sleeve into the laundry (I think I spilled coffee on it) and thankfully that cleaned up without issue.
It is a little challenging to get the bottle INTO and OUT OF the sleeve. I opted to NOT use the neoprene sleeve at all so I was more able to monitor bottle cleanliness.
Final Thoughts
I love the idea of waterdrop. I truly believe encouraging more water consumption is one of the multi-pronged factors that keep us healthy and youthful. I’m not even upset about the slightly gimmicky purpose names of each flavor. I simply don’t find the flavors move me to repurchase them.
At $1 a drink, I will create a homemade simple syrup (with stevia) to add to my water and it will be much more affordable and tailored to my personal taste. I would be open to giving other flavors a try down the road, but I’m disappointed in the amount of packaging. The sampler package has more packaging by the nature of what it is, but I am committed to streamlining my consumption to avoid single use plastics and these fall squarely in that category.
If waterdrop finds a different delivery system (small scoop and a glass container?) I might just try them again. For now, I think I’ll just enjoy the use of my new carafe, glasses, mugs, and water bottle!
