Why Does My Carbonated Water Taste Salty?

Carbonated water is a drink that has received a surprisingly varied response. Many people around the world drink sparkling water as a much healthier alternative to soda to get that same carbonated feeling without all of the sugar and chemicals, but many others are not interested in carbonated water because it never seems to taste right to them.

The precise flavor of carbonated water is difficult to define since there are several variants. Carbonated water is just water that has been infused with carbon dioxide, and the chemical interaction between water and carbon dioxide produces carbonic acid, which provides the carbonation that you taste when you drink it.

However, not everyone who consumes carbonated water has the same experience. Some individuals detect carbonic acid, while others detect a far saltier flavor.

How can the flavor of carbonated water be so variable if it is as easy as adding carbon dioxide to the water? The reality is that carbonated water is not as easy as many people believe.

There are various distinct types of carbonated water, each with its own reasons for taste the way it does, and each fixed differently from the others.

To comprehend what is going on with the flavor of your carbonated water, you must first grasp what goes into carbonated water and the many varieties.

The Types of Carbonated Water and Their Salt Content

True, carbonated water does not include any salt in its most basic form. This is particularly noticeable in seltzer, which is regarded one of the purest kinds of carbonated water available since it contains just water and carbon dioxide, but it may also be fairly bitter as a result.

Following that comes effervescent mineral water, which will typically include some sodium, but the precise quantity may vary depending on the source of the water. This is due to the fact that mineral waters are derived from natural sources, and since those sources are natural, there are frequently healthful minerals derived from the original rock in the water, and sodium is one such mineral, which gives it its salty taste.

Club soda is similar to seltzer but has a few different compounds added to it to attempt to alleviate the flavor and make it more acceptable for being a mixer.

These molecules are often a mixture of sodium bicarbonate, sodium chloride, and potassium sulfate, resulting in a high sodium concentration when compared to other carbonated waters; however, since club soda is a mixer, this salty feature is generally overlooked.

Tonic water, on the other hand, is flavored with quinine (a bitter, naturally occurring chemical), sodium benzoate (a preservation agent), flavoring additives, and, in some cases, corn syrup.

While tonic water contains sodium, the flavoring agents, citric acid, and quinine, as well as the gin that is often added to tonic water, will conceal its overall taste, making it unlikely that this carbonated water will present your salty issue.

This implies that, in most cases, the only salty carbonated water you’ll come across is bubbling mineral water. The issue then arises, why is there salt in your carbonated water, and what should you do about it.

The Reason Why Salt Is in Your Carbonated Water

People sense salt in drinking carbonated water for two reasons. The first explanation is that the salt was one of the naturally occurring minerals from a mineral spring, and the sodium level occurs to be high enough to alter the flavor of the sparkling water, and the second reason is that the salt was added during processing for the purpose of taste.

The first explanation is a totally normal and natural phenomena, which means there isn’t much you can do to modify or avoid it other from not buying the mineral water in the first place or shopping specifically for low-sodium sparkling water.

The second reason is because carbonic acid is known to have a bitter, sour taste, and the additional salt is there to help minimize how strong that flavor may be when it strikes the tongue.

For those who dislike the taste of salt or are especially sensitive to the flavor of salt, this may result in a drink that is not only somewhat bitter, but also uncomfortably salty.

When done correctly, the salt taste should be largely invisible beneath the feeling of a carbonated drink, and the harshness of the carbonic acid should not leave you with such a strong impression when you sample it.

As with many things in the world of food and tastes, you need do some research to locate a carbonated water that suits your preferences. If you are really sensitive to the salt concentration in your water, you may always drink seltzer, which has no salt at all.

There are, however, some solutions to this difficulty, but they may not always be the simplest.

Removing the Salt Taste From Carbonated Water

The easiest approach to get rid of the salty flavor of carbonated water is to attempt to counteract its taste, just as salt is designed to counteract the taste of carbonic acid. After all, this is what people do with tonic water and club soda: they choose a drink that compliments the characteristics of the base water and combine them to create an entertaining drink for the evening.

There are a few things you can do to improve the flavor of your carbonated water. Your ultimate objective will be to dominate the flavor of both the salt and the carbonic acid to the point where it either feels and tastes correct, or it tastes radically different than it did before.

You may follow in the footsteps of club soda and tonic water by adding an alcoholic drink to the carbonated water, but this isn’t always a viable option. Consider lemonade as a non-alcoholic alternative, since it tends to balance out the acidic quality of carbonic acid and the salty taste that your carbonated water is fighting with.

A typical approach for improving the flavor of carbonated water is to add fresh fruit or merely fruit juice to the water. Fruits include natural sugars that may easily balance out both the bitter and salty flavor of carbonated water, and if you prefer the taste of fruit, this merely makes it even better for everyone.

If you drink sparkling water instead of soda, be wary of the quantity of sugar you add to your carbonated water, or you may wind up right back where you began in terms of sugar level.

Even if your carbonated water does not taste the way you want it to, there are many techniques to adjust its flavor so that you may still enjoy your drink.