Market Grows for Costly ‘Fine Water’

Market Grows for Costly ‘Fine Water’

市场对昂贵的“优质水”需求增长

【原文听力】

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　　By Andrew Smith

　　28 November 2023

　　At a meeting in April in Athens, Greece, drink experts looked carefully at the liquid in their glasses. They held them up to the light. They tasted and, sometimes, spit them out into containers. And they discussed the mineral content and purity.

　　But these experts were not tasting wine. Instead, they were tasting "fine water."

　　The experts are members of the Fine Water Society. They had come together in Athens for the yearly tasting competition. Their activity reflects the growing market for luxury water—with some bottles costing over $100 per liter.

　　Companies collect the so-called "fine water" from sources such as volcanic rock in Hawaii, melting ice from glaciers in Norway, and drops of mist from forests in the Amazon or the island of Tasmania. The most costly water is sold in bottles made with special glass painted with artwork.

　　At their meeting, Fine Water Society members learned about the environments from which the water is collected. And they compare the total dissolved solids, or TDS.

　　Waters with a low TDS are like rain that has not yet touched the earth. Those with high TDS — such as Vichy mineral water from hot springs in France and Catalonia, in northeastern Spain — have high mineral content that may include calcium, magnesium, potassium or sodium, among others.

　　A few restaurants in countries such as Spain and the United States now have menus that match food with certain kinds of fine water. Water with high TDS, for example, might go with beef. Low TDS, more like rainwater, might go with fish.

　　Ganesh Iyer is an Indian businessman who has worked in the beverage, or drink, industry for years. After he saw increased interest in non-alcoholic drinks, he studied to become a drink expert, also known as a water sommelier.

　　He is now the managing partner of Veen Waters India. The company bottles natural mineral water in the Himalayan country of Bhutan and sends it by truck to India. Veen Waters is mostly served in costly hotels and restaurants. It costs $6 a bottle, about a day's pay for an Indian laborer.

　　Veen Waters is exporting about 240,000 bottles of water into India each month. Iyer thinks the company has reached only about 10 percent of the possible market so far.

　　Water-stressed India

　　The story of water, however, is very different for many people in India.

　　The World Bank reports that India is one of the most water-stressed countries in the world. To get more water, the country has built huge plants to remove salt from seawater. Other countries, including Singapore, are collecting and cleaning up storm and wastewater to try to solve their water problems.

　　But these kinds of solutions are only used in some places, and the increasing need for water could lead to more disagreements.

　　At the same time, those in the fine water industry see their activity as part of an effort to protect the environment and its clean water.

　　Michael Mascha is a co-founder of the Fine Water Society. He told The Associated Press, "I think what we do is we raise the awareness of water — and if you cherish something, you're more likely to protect it."

　　I'm Andrew Smith

　　Martha Irvine wrote this story for The Associated Press. Andrew Smith adapted it for VOA Learning English.

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　　作者：Andrew Smith

　　2023年11月28日

　　在今年四月份在希腊雅典举行的一次会议上，饮品专家们仔细地观察着他们杯子中的液体。他们将杯子举到光线下，品尝并有时将其吐出到容器中。他们讨论的是矿物质含量和纯度。

　　但这些专家品尝的并不是葡萄酒，而是"优质水"。

　　这些专家是优质水协会的成员。他们在雅典聚集，进行年度品鉴比赛。他们的活动反映了对奢侈水的市场需求正在增长，有些瓶装水的价格甚至超过每升100美元。

　　公司从诸如夏威夷的火山岩石、挪威冰川的融雪，以及亚马逊森林或塔斯马尼亚岛的雾滴等来源收集所谓的"优质水"。最昂贵的水是用特殊的玻璃瓶装的，瓶身上绘有艺术作品。

　　在他们的会议上，优质水协会的成员了解了收集水源的环境，并比较了总溶解固体，或称TDS。

　　TDS低的水就像还未接触地面的雨水。TDS高的水，如法国和西班牙东北部加泰罗尼亚的温泉中的维希矿泉水，含有高矿物质含量，可能包括钙、镁、钾或钠等。

　　在西班牙和美国等国的一些餐馆现在有将特定种类的优质水与食物搭配的菜单。例如，TDS高的水可能与牛肉搭配。TDS低的水，更像雨水，可能与鱼搭配。

　　Ganesh Iyer是一位在饮料行业工作多年的印度商人。在看到非酒精饮料的兴趣增加后，他学习成为一名饮品专家，也被称为水侍酒师。

　　他现在是Veen Waters India的管理合伙人。该公司在喜马拉雅国家不丹瓶装天然矿泉水，并通过卡车运送到印度。Veen Waters主要在昂贵的酒店和餐馆供应。一瓶水的价格是6美元，大约相当于印度劳工一天的工资。

　　Veen Waters每月向印度出口约240,000瓶水。Iyer认为，到目前为止，该公司只触及了可能市场的大约10%。

　　水资源紧张的印度

　　然而，对于印度的许多人来说，水的故事却大不相同。

　　世界银行报告称，印度是世界上水资源最紧张的国家之一。为了获取更多的水，该国已经建造了大型设施来从海水中去除盐分。包括新加坡在内的其他国家正在收集并清理暴雨和废水，试图解决他们的水问题。

　　但这些解决方案只在一些地方使用，对水的需求增加可能会导致更多的争议。

　　与此同时，那些从事优质水行业的人认为他们的活动是保护环境和清洁水资源努力的一部分。

　　Michael Mascha是优质水协会的联合创始人。他告诉美联社，“我认为我们所做的是提高人们对水的认识——如果你珍视某样东西，你就更有可能去保护它。”

　　我是Andrew Smith。

　　Martha Irvine为美联社撰写了这篇报道。Andrew Smith将其改编为VOA学英语。

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　　这个故事中的词汇：

　　purity -n. 清洁度，没有不需要的元素或方面。

　　luxury -n. 昂贵的非必需品，但能带来快乐。

　　mist -n. 空气中的微小水滴，类似于雾。

　　dissolved -adj. 溶解在液体中。

　　menu -n. 餐厅的食物和饮料列表。

　　manage -v. 指导或负责。

　　awareness -n. 对某事的知识和记忆。

　　cherish -v. 高度重视或欣赏。