Aquafina is an allegedly deeply hated water brand. Along with Dasani, the Pepsi-owned bottled water product is often blasted for what some call an unpleasant flavor, which is purportedly due to the reverse osmosis purification process it undergoes. This has left several folks claiming that the brand has a “bad taste and smell to it,” which could be the result of the water’s “slightly acidic” pH level.
A number of folks are sensitive to the taste of this acidity, which could be a reason why many want to do a spit take when they take a lil’ sippy sip of Aquafina.
So, it doesn’t come as a surprise that throngs of TikTokers were flooding the comments section of a viral video about a huge 7-Eleven Aquafina water liquidation. A TikTok user named Clay (@claytonandersoncomedy) shows in the clip that the convenience store was offloading entire crates of the stuff for $3 per crate.
@claytonandersoncomedy ♬ original sound – ClayVC
“Well this is new,” a text overlay in the video reads, while another continues, “07:11 is selling whole crate of Aquafina for 3 bucks.”
Several commenters, including Clay himself, said that the only way they would’ve purchased the water was if the crate came with it.
“Was it expiring? and the crate is what I want most,” one person wrote, while another said, “No thanks , with the crate , maybe.”
Clay also remarked, “I was going to get a crate until I saw it was Aquafina.”
“$3 is still too much for all that aquafina,” another TikToker quipped.
One person went so far as to say that they wouldn’t give a single penny for the stuff, writing, “I wouldn’t even pay $0.01 for it.”
Aquafina’s negative perception probably isn’t helped by the fact that it’s owned by a soda company, which aren’t necessarily the most affably-viewed corporation—folks contend that they’re downright evil. A Reddit post uploaded to the site’s r/unpopularopinion subreddit sharing a user’s hatred for Aquafina prompted a commenter’s response that invoked the name PepsiCo.
“Most forms of bottled water around me taste fine, but that is because it is just filtered water coming out of our high-quality water treatment facility. It is not significantly different from using a Britta filter on tap water except you are paying Coca Cola or PepsiCo for the pleasure of drinking from a plastic bottle,” they wrote.
And although the Coca-Cola-owned Dasani gets a lot of hate, there are some bloggers who actually give the product high marks for its flavor. Wichita State University-run paper The Sunflower compiled a list of taste rankings for its favorite bottled waters and gave Dasani a 10/10 ranking—Aquafina was not even mentioned on the list.
This is a stark contrast to The Fulcrum’s opinions on different water brands—the publication claims that both Dasani and Aquafina pack “disgusting” flavor profiles and even worse, the water is “non-hydrating.”
According to the American Physiological Society, “All beverages count in terms of hydrating throughout the day,” and Healthline states that in terms of ensuring you’re properly hydrated, there’s really no significant difference between the types of waters one drinks in order to attain said hydration.
When it comes to pH levels in water, the Mayo Clinic states that for most folks this is also a negligible sticking point. So, if you’re splurging a few extra bucks on alkaline water, then you may just want to save yourself some money and drink the regular old purified or filtered kind.
However, if there’s a particular brand whose taste you prefer, then go nuts and chug it down. Just maybe don’t tell any water snobs that you like Aquafina. And if you do, we know a place that’s selling it by the crate-load for pretty cheap.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Pepsi and 7-Eleven via email and Clay via TikTok comment.
