how to make water tasty ?

[poanoi]

i cant bring myself to drinking water now that i dont eat thai food,

the old trick of squeezing lime in the water also dont work,

with the result i keep drinking fruit drinks & cranberry juice all the time,

which adds a whole shitload of calories that i certainly dont need.

what now ?

[sirineou]

Whisky always makes water taste better , also makes the wife look better and sound reasonable.

[simoh1490]

There are lots of fruit flavoured drinking water products on the market currently, lemon and lime, strawberry, etc., inexpensive and really good, perhaps try one or two.

[poanoi]

3 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

There are lots of fruit flavoured drinking water products on the market currently, lemon and lime, strawberry, etc., inexpensive and really good, perhaps try one or two.

ok, can you specify what i should look for ,

like brand or how the bottles look ? i presume they are sold at 7/11 ?

[simoh1490]

6 minutes ago, poanoi said:

ok, can you specify what i should look for ,

like brand or how the bottles look ? i presume they are sold at 7/11 ?

I haven't seen them at 7/11 but there again I've been overseas for the past three months and haven't looked that closely since my return, but I do know they are here - look for volvic, large clear quart bottles in say Tesco or similar.

[simoh1490]

https://www.google.co.th/search?q=volvic+fruit+flavoured+water+thailand&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=Tc8-1ZQplRRzJM%3A%2CCTT3VoA_h8j4lM%2C_&usg=AI4_-kSd7bmpv_kKNRSxJjt13xmkAHgAtw&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiyoKegiv3dAhUCVysKHR8TBK0Q9QEwAHoECAYQBA#imgrc=Tc8-1ZQplRRzJM:

[poanoi]

47 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

I haven't seen them at 7/11 but there again I've been overseas for the past three months and haven't looked that closely since my return, but I do know they are here - look for volvic, large clear quart bottles in say Tesco or similar.

thanks man, it also got me thinking i can vastly increase the water vs fruits in the blender, making it pleasant taste but very little of calories. as it is now its so thick i can barely press it through a large straw

[Kerryd]

Personally I use either Crystal Light "On the Go" powdered drink mix (artificially sweetened - low calories) or Wyler's Light Drink Mix.

 

Villa Market had 2 flavours (that I know of) of Crystal Light awhile back. I used to order a bunch from Amazon but they decided they don't want to ship that to Thailand anymore.

Since then I've ordered some flavours of the Wyler's which, even though it's from Amazon as well, they will ship here.

I liked the Crystal Light as there was one retailer that sold "variety packs" that had 10 boxes (of 10 sticks) in 10 different flavours (so 100 servings). As I was using 3-4 per day, I usually ordered two variety packs every 3-4 months.
The Wyler's is 8 packets ("sticks") to a box but otherwise is pretty much the same.

 

I try to order enough to last 3 months to cut down on shipping costs but if you order too much (like a 6 months supply) someone at Customs may decide that you must be "selling it" and not allow you to import it (until you get a "friend" to help you out).

 

There are some Nestea mixes available locally as well (lemonade, a "fruit berry" flavour and green tea flavour that's not bad) but I think they have a lot of sugar in them. They are usually found in the coffee aisle (past the coffee, maybe before the teas or around hot chocolate/ovaltine type drink mixes usually).

 

Watch out (if you are ordering online) as some brands (like Hawaiian Punch) require that you add sugar to the mix. A lot of sugar. (They make the powder quite "tangy" so you end up adding more sugar to it than you should.)

I like these powdered mixes as I too hate plain water unless I am dying of thirst and it's icy cold. But with these powders, you can mix a bottle of lukewarm water and gulp the whole thing down in one shot. That was a lifesaver when I was working in Afghanistan and all our bottled water was stored in open sheds for months at a time. 

Convenient too as they are meant to be one "stick" to a 500ml (16.9 oz) bottle of water so you don't have to mix up 2 litres (or half a gallon) of the stuff at a time.
I've found that some flavours are fine when mixed one stick to a 1 litre bottle while others seem a bit weak but that is up to the individual to decide.

 

Crystal Light is available on eBay as well and I don't think shipping to Thailand is an issue there but every time I look it seems the vendors are only selling a particular flavour and it's a pain in the @** to try and order 10 boxes of 10 flavours from 10 different vendors so I usually just say "truck it" and look elsewhere.

[honu]

I'm into tea myself, oolongs and such, and those would work.  They're not expensive and probably healthy, within limits for drinking too much (definitely no more than 2 liters a day, and even that with plain water as well).

 

As far as herb teas (tisanes) go pandan leaf is really pleasant.  Any of them just depend on preference but to me there's something really catchy to that particular flavor, even brewed very light, as an extra bit of added flavor to water versus seeming much like a variation of tea.  It doesn't need any sugar.  The typical way to prepare both conventional tea and herbs / flowers (what "tea people" call tisanes) is to add them to hot water and infuse for 4 or 5 minutes, with the potential to do that 3 or 4 times, extending the time as needed to draw out more infusion strength. 

 

It would also work to just put the herb itself in room temperature water in the fridge to cold-brew for any length of time.  It seems to me it works best to do one round of hot brewed infusion to get the leaves started, herbs or real tea, then if the idea is to mostly use cold brewing to go with that from there. 

 

As far as where to buy it other types of herbs for infusions turn up in places like Tesco but not pandan leaf as much.  It would be in one of those natural goods stores in some complexes or better international grocery stores would carry it.  It's just a local herb but dried versions might not be around as much as fresh in very local markets, the old-style places.  But then drying it wouldn't be that challenging, probably chopped up a little to help it infuse the placed in a warm oven of some sort for 40 minutes or so.

[connda]

Scotch would make water tasty, although it would be a waste of Scotch to put it in water.

[ukrules]

I drink several liters of water every day, it tastes good if it's nice and cold and straight from the fridge.

[jak2002003]

OP... just use the fruit juices by adding a tiny amount of them to the glass of water.  It will still give the water a delicate fruit taste, but hardly any calories.

 

Some of the Thai herbal waters / teas are nice too and low in calories.  The Dork Anchan blue flower drink is nice, and the red rossella stuff.  If too sweet, just dilute it down.

 

 

[simoh1490]

8 hours ago, poanoi said:

thanks man, it also got me thinking i can vastly increase the water vs fruits in the blender, making it pleasant taste but very little of calories. as it is now its so thick i can barely press it through a large straw

I was drinking the volvic and M&S flavoured water all the time in the UK, the flavouring is only very slight but tastes excellent and doesn't alter the consistency of the alter whatsoever, figure on something like a 0.0001% addition.

[dabhand]

I agree with the comments on fruit flavoured water. Very tasty.

When I was based I Cairo I would return to the UK every month or so for work and I would get put up in a cheap and cheerful Premier Inn. Great room and excellent breakfast but no water supplied. Also, only had the expensive snack / drink dispensers.

So, my first port of call would be the local Budgens where I would stock up with little pork pies, sausage rolls, pasties, wagon wheels. penguins etc. Also bottles of Highland spring water. It was only later that I tried the fruit flavoured water bottles (not sure if they had been available earlier) and, wow, they were just great. Highly recommended.

In a similar vein, my last chore before heading back to Cairo was to stock up with packs of bacon, sausages, gammon steak, etc. and wrap them up well and stuff them into my suitcase. Ahh, those were the days!!

 

[hobobo]

9 hours ago, poanoi said:

ok, can you specify what i should look for ,

like brand or how the bottles look ? i presume they are sold at 7/11 ?

You are joking, aren't you? Either that or seriously dumb.

[hanssna]

As a long time diver, I always used Electrolyte in my water, makes it much more tasty, and much more healthy than mixing it with sweet fruit juices or soft drinks. 

[VBF]

10 hours ago, simoh1490 said:

There are lots of fruit flavoured drinking water products on the market currently, lemon and lime, strawberry, etc., inexpensive and really good, perhaps try one or two.

The problem with some of those is that they are fruit-flavoured not fruit-based. As such, some of them have a high sugar content (or worse, aspartame) not at all healthy!

I do emphasise some because I'm sure there are some good ones.

 

To the OP:

I would set aside a couple of hours and trawl as many of your local supermarkets as possible - look for these drinks, and carefully examine the contents. If they're made in the West, they should have accurate lists; I don't know if that would apply to those made in Asia.

 

Try looking out for those styled as "cordial" - still check the sugar content though.

 

Some years ago, and slightly  I did something similar in the UK with breakfast cereals. To my surprise, I found that even the supposed healthy ones contain lots of sugar or salt!

Best I found was Weetabix - good job I like it!

Edited October 11, 2018 by VBF

[Nanaplaza666]

9 hours ago, poanoi said:

thanks man, it also got me thinking i can vastly increase the water vs fruits in the blender, making it pleasant taste but very little of calories. as it is now its so thick i can barely press it through a large straw

You can also try to drink more fruit shakes like watermelon shake ,or banana shake ,or pineapple shake,or mango shake made with FROZEN WATER ????

[CharlieH]

6 minutes ago, Nanaplaza666 said:

You can also try to drink more fruit shakes like watermelon shake ,or banana shake ,or pineapple shake,or mango shake made with FROZEN WATER ????

A good one is use half cup of water and frozen fruit. Mixed frozen berries (Makro) as an example cheap at 85b a kilo and tasty! 

[Lacessit]

Have a Thai dish with lots of chili. Any water will taste good after that.

[VBF]

5 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Have a Thai dish with lots of chili. Any water will taste good after that.

But beer will taste better! ????

[Golden Triangle]

I'm off the booze at the moment, I got the Mrs to buy some Lime cordial, I have ice in the freezer and large bottles of water (19 ltr) a large insulated mug so lime,ice & water makes for a refreshing drink.

[steve73]

I use a little of the bottled lemon juice mixed 50:50 with the local runny honey...  I keep a small bottle of the mix in the fridge, and just add it to the top 1/4" of so in the neck of a bottle of water, (so probably about half a tablespoon full) to take away the plain taste of the water.  Sometimes I'll add a little English tea (Tetleys, etc) if there's some left over in the pot, to give it a bit more flavour.  A bottle of lemon/honey/tea mix keeps and lasts for weeks in the fridge.   

Edited October 11, 2018 by steve73

[unblocktheplanet]

Dude, stay off the sugary drinks. Even 100% fruit juice is way too sweet. And artificially-sweetened crap?!? Sheesh!

 

I've never been a water drinker. (You know what fish do in it!) Could count on two hands how many glasses of water I drink in a year!

 

I buy dried lemongrass, roselle, and blueberry pea from the King's project or Lemon Farm. Put one whole dried package in a liter pot and bring to the boil. Let cool on stove. Strain in a colander. When cool put in fridge. Use one scoop per glass, fill with cold water, ice if you like. Tastes awesome.

 

You might also consider making fermented kombucha. Taste is not for everyone! One tablespoon of Bragg's Natural Apple Cider Vinegar in a glass of soda water with ice is also nice & quenchy.

 

Make some sun tea in the back garden or on your balcony using regular tea or herbal tea bags. Make concentrated. Keeop in fridge & add cold water.

[observer90210]

Agree with the suggestion above, I also find chilled water to be much more tasty as the cold numbs the taste buds of the tongue.

[poanoi]

2 hours ago, Nanaplaza666 said:

You can also try to drink more fruit shakes like watermelon shake ,or banana shake ,or pineapple shake,or mango shake made with FROZEN WATER ????

yes, that is what i do roughly, frozen rasberry/peach/strawberry/kiwi/others and ice only, but i will start to add water to reduce calories per glass

[poanoi]

1 hour ago, Lacessit said:

Have a Thai dish with lots of chili. Any water will taste good after that.

yes, water is the only thing that goes with most thai dishes,

but i got bored of rice so i cant eat it any longer,

and thusly my willingness to drink water dropped to zero

[Lokie]

Low Sugar VIMTO - Next!

[Foexie]

i don't like plain water that much eather that's why i drink much more soda when i am in thailand.

 

In fact when i come back home after a long vacation i don't even like the taste anymore of the soda i can buy and drink here.

[whaleboneman]

8 hours ago, Nanaplaza666 said:

You can also try to drink more fruit shakes like watermelon shake ,or banana shake ,or pineapple shake,or mango shake made with FROZEN WATER ????

Can you get this "FROZEN WATER" at 7?