The regional aspect of food, beverages and other everyday products is becoming increasingly important for the majority of consumers. According to representative surveys, the regional origin of products is very important for 22.6% of Germans and important for 44% (
Source: www.statista.com
). When it comes to mineral water, it is also worth taking a look at the location of the individual springs within Germany.

Germany is the front runner

The occurrence of mineral water springs in this country is unique. There is no other country in the world that can boast as many different natural mineral waters as Germany. More than 200 mineral springs supply over 530 different natural mineral waters. It can sometimes be difficult to decide which water is right for you. In most cases, the availability in stores, the price, the type of packaging and the mineral and carbon dioxide content determine the purchase of the product. The taste of the water and the location of the spring are usually only examined more closely after the initial purchase. If you are looking for mineral springs in a particular region, you can get an overview using the spring finder of the Informationszentrale Deutsches Mineralwasser.

Advantages of the regionality of water

By regionalizing products, long transport routes, unnecessary intermediate storage, considerable environmental pollution and additional energy consumption can be saved. This reduces costs on the one hand and protects the ecological habitat of humans, animals and vegetation on the other. Regional mineral water has a natural side effect. Each mineral water tastes characteristic of its region. This is due to the layers of rock through which the water naturally flows. These enrich the water with various minerals. Roughly speaking, there are three basic forms of mineral water in Germany: hydrogen carbonate water, chloride water and sulphate water. Depending on the region, these also occur in mixed forms.

No region is comparable to another

Water with a high hydrogen carbonate content is often accompanied by higher levels of magnesium and calcium    Chemisches Element Ca mit der Ordnungszahl 20, Mineralstoff, der zu den Mengenelementen zählt. Unter den Mineralstoffen ha.... Hydrogen carbonate deposits are characteristic of regions where volcanism is on the wane, such as the Black Forest, the Eifel or the Swabian Alb. Magnesium-rich mineral water can taste slightly metallic. A mineral water with a lot of calcium, on the other hand, tends to have an earthy, dry note. The mineral is deposited when the water flows through limestone. In northern Germany and some low mountain ranges there are deposits of gypsum and anhydrite. The latter mineral is chemically known as calcium sulphate. Sulphate waters are formed in these regions. They can taste anything from slightly bitter to sweet, depending on the mineral concentration. Leaching of rock salt deposits in the ground produces chloride water. In most cases, deposits from the primordial oceans form the basis for this. A slightly salty water taste is created by chloride in combination with sodium. Most waters in the regions around Munich, in the Allgäu or in the North German Plain contain only a few minerals. Gravel and sand deposits in the soil layers are responsible for this.

A tip for choosing water with little taste: mineral waters with the label “very low mineral content” have a slightly acidic to neutral taste at most. For people who have to do without some minerals for health reasons, these mineral waters are a good choice.