In Geneva, water is tasted once a month instead of wine
Published: Tuesday, Dec 26th 2023, 12:20
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Instead of wine, ordinary tap water is tasted once a month in Geneva: The water testers from Geneva's industrial companies (SIG) look for taste or olfactory defects in drinking water samples.
Around thirty SIG employees from various professions take part in these monthly "sessions" to discover possible aromas and bad tastes. "Only the human palate is capable of doing this," explained Barbara Babel, who is responsible for training the water testers. The tests are intended to supplement the analyses of the chemical and bacteriological quality of the water.
A reporter from the Keystone-SDA news agency took part in a test day together with around 15 water tasters. Ten cups of Geneva water were available for tasting, which had been taken from various locations in Geneva the day before. "They are then all heated to 23 degrees in a water bath. At this temperature, you can perceive the flavors better," said Babel.
The tastings take place blind. Using evaluation sheets, the tasters assess the possible flavors of the water (sour, sweet, salty, bitter) or identify possible defects (musty taste, chlorine, earth, perfume, fish, pharmaceuticals, hydrocarbons, metal and others).
Spittoons are ready and waiting
Participants rinse their mouths with commercially available water between each taste test and, as with wine, there are bowls to spit out the liquid. "And pay attention to what you eat or drink before the test: some tastes like coffee, cigarettes or the smell of mandarin oranges on your hands can easily mislead you," said Babel.
The testers also taste samples based on complaints from consumers. "SIG receives around 50 such complaints per year. Our operations teams can then change certain settings, for example if there is too much chlorine," said Hervé Guinand, Director of Quality-Environment-Health-Safety at SIG.
As the water quality is often okay, modified water is also offered for the testers' further training. For example, chlorine, metal, hydrocarbons or bitter substances are added to the water," Babel continued. As an additional challenge, the liquid is dyed pink, yellow or blue, which can affect the senses.
Festive note at the end
In view of the sometimes not very tasty experience, a third, more playful test can end the meeting on a festive note. This involves discovering a flavor in an ice cream, puree or chocolate, for example. On this test day, artichoke puree and ginger ice cream were served.
The Brigade of Water Tasters was founded in 2000. At that time, over 300 employees responded to SIG's call. Only the twenty finest noses were finally selected for the water tastings. "Some of them are even able to recognize the area where the water was sampled," Babel continued. A total of around 3500 tests will be carried out over the course of the year.
©Keystone/SDA
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