Diving into the world of ‘fine water’

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Workers inside a small plant ferry sleek glass bottles along a conveyor as they fill with the spring’s water. They place the finished product in cases and load them on trucks headed for neighboring India’s upscale hotels and restaurants and richest families.

Ganesh Iyer, the managing partner of Veen Waters, which operates the plant, watches like a nervous parent. This natural mineral water—sold as a premium brand—is his “baby,” he says, newly born from beneath the pristine South Asian kingdom of Bhutan.

Like its many counterparts worldwide—captured from volcanic rock in Hawaii, from icebergs that have fallen from melting glaciers in Norway, or from droplets of morning mist in Tasmania—this water is bound for the privileged to uncap and savor as some do a fine wine.

There are tasting competitions and “water sommeliers,” who swill and judge this water. The flavors of each brand give hints about each water’s origins.

As water becomes a bigger commodity worldwide, the “luxury” category is growing. At the same time—and even though the United Nations deemed water a basic human right more than a decade ago—climate change and population growth are leaving the world’s most vulnerable people thirstier than ever. India is one of the most water-stressed countries in the world, according to the World Bank.

Some might find these two worlds difficult to reconcile, but leaders in the fine water world claim they can help.

Michael Mascha, a founder of the Fine Water Society, a consortium of small bottlers and distributors worldwide, says their movement is helping draw attention to the value of water.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

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[Veen Waters bottling plant]

[River next to Veen Waters bottling plant]

[Water being bottled at Veen Waters bottling plant]

[Scenery in southern Bhutan]

[Worker checks bottles for cracks at Veen Waters bottling plant]

[Ganesh Iyer, Veen Waters managing partner, watching workers packing bottled natural mineral water inside Veen Waters plant]

Ganesh Iyer (interview): “You’re in this place called Samtse. It’s very unknown — More than unknown, I think it’s a very remote location. Even lot of a main city Bhutanese people they wouldn’t have come here.”

[Motion graphic map showing Bhutan’s location]

Ganesh Iyer (interview): “The original promoter of this particular source came here for the purpose of mining, and he accidentally ended up discovering this water source. And since then, the locals, back in the days they started calling this ‘amrit.’ Amrit in Hindi technically means nectar.”

[Veen workers packing bottles and putting them into a truck]

[Motion graphic map illustrating Veen Water’s distribution from Bhutan to India]

[Athens scenes]

[Fine Water Society tasting competition]

[Michael Mascha, the Society’s co-founder and also a judge at the competition]

Michael Mascha (interview): “I started Fine Water 20 years ago, and for the next 10 years, no journalist talked to me because it was just a crazy idea. ‘Water’s just water — what are you talking about?'”

[Fine Water Society tasting competition]

Michael Mascha (interview): “And over the last 10 years, we see a significant change. And over the last years, especially after (the) pandemic, when people suddenly paid a little bit more attention, it’s exploding.”

[Mumbai’s BKC district skyline]

[Veen natural mineral water being served at the Sofitel Hotel]

[Veen water being served at a Japanese restaurant]

[Water spigot drips in Mumbai’s Dharavi neighborhood, one of the largest slums in Asia]

[Dharavi neighborhood from atop a building]

[Dharavi resident Aarti Sandeep Kawade collects water in pans]

Aarti Sandeep Kawade (interview): “People need a lot of water. Nothing can be done without water.”

[People collecting water from a village well]

[Rural women collecting water with buckets and pouring it into containers that they balance on their heads to take home]

[Fine Water Society conference]

Michael Mascha (interview): “Can we solve the global drinking water problem? No. We want to be part of the solution, and our part of the solution is the awareness.”

[Water at Fine Water Society conference]

Michael Mascha (interview): “And if you cherish something, you’re more likely to protect it.”

[River next to Veen Waters bottling plant]

[Last of villagers collecting water from outside well]

This script was provided by The Associated Press.

The related lesson for this video will be published next Tuesday.