My love for bubbly water runs deep. On a few occasions, I’ve even considered starting a “bubbly water of the month” delivery service for other connoisseurs. If you’re like me, you often daydream about the next time you will get to enjoy the sweet taste of ice-cold bubbly water. Your friends, like mine, might even say that you’re obsessed with bubbly water and that you know a concerning amount of information about it. 

Personally, I love watermelon Waterloo, but I’ve had my fair share of La Croix. For me, the most important evaluation criterion is the size of the bubbles — the smaller the bubble, the better! As a new member of the Stanford community, I appreciate the fact that I have easy access to bubbly water in almost every dining hall. The first time I walked into the Arrillaga Dining Commons and saw that they had bubbly water ON TAP, I truly felt at home. I hoped that, with time, I would find more bubbly water–obsessed peers. 

Because I am so obsessed with bubbly water and want to share its amazing qualities with you, I ranked various brands, from best to worst. Below, I created a few key criteria to judge the bubbly water on: flavor intensity, size of bubbles, aesthetics of the can and ease of purchase. Trying new flavors has slowly become one of my favorite pastimes.  Let me know what your favorite bubbly water is — I’m always on the lookout for new brands to try!

1. Waterloo
   1. Flavor: 10/10
   2. Favorite Flavor: Watermelon
   3. Size of Bubbles: Small
   4. Bubbles: 10/10
   5. Aesthetics of the can: 10/10
   6. Ease of Purchase: 8/10
2. Bubbly
   1. Flavor: 9/10
   2. Favorite Flavor: Peach
   3. Size of Bubbles: Small
   4. Bubbles: 9/10
   5. Aesthetics of the  can: 10/10
   6. Ease of Purchase: 10/10
3. La Croix
   1. Flavor: 8/10
   2. Favorite Flavor: Pamplemousse (Grapefruit)
   3. Size of Bubbles: Large
   4. Bubbles: 8/10
   5. Aesthetics of the can: 8/10
   6. Ease of Purchase: 10/10
4. Dasani
   1. Flavor: 6/10
   2. Favorite Flavor: Strawberry Lemonade
   3. Size of Bubbles: Small
   4. Bubbles: 7/10
   5. Aesthetics of the can: 8/10
   6. Ease of Purchase: 9/10
5. Spindrift
   1. Flavor: 6/10
   2. Favorite Flavor: Lemon
   3. Size of Bubbles: Medium
   4. Bubbles: 7/10
   5. Aesthetics of the can: 10/10
   6. Ease of Purchase: 7/10
6. Smart Water
   1. Flavor: 8/10
   2. Favorite Flavor: Strawberry Blood Orange
   3. Size of Bubbles: Large
   4. Bubbles: 8/10
   5. Aesthetics of the can: 7/10
   6. Ease of Purchase: 9/10
7.  Perrier
   1. Flavor: 10/10
   2. Favorite Flavor: Pink Grapefruit
   3. Size of Bubbles: Small
   4. Bubbles: 8/10
   5. Aesthetics of the can: 6/10
   6. Ease of Purchase: 10/10
8. San Pelligrino
   1. Flavor: 7/10
   2. Favorite Flavor: Original
   3. Size of Bubbles: Medium
   4. Bubbles: 8/10
   5. Aesthetics of the bottle: 10/10
   6. Ease of Purchase: 8/10
9. Refreshe
   1. Flavor: 6/10
   2. Favorite Flavor: Mango Pineapple
   3. Size of Bubbles: Large
   4. Bubbles: 7/10
   5. Aesthetics of the can: 4/10
   6. Ease of Purchase: 8/10
10. Polar
    1. Flavor: 6/10
    2. Favorite Flavor: Raspberry Lime
    3. Size of Bubbles: Large
    4. Bubbles: 7/10
    5. Aesthetics of the can: 6/10
    6. Ease of Purchase: 7/10 

For more bubbly water insight, contact Harper Orr at harpero ‘at’ stanford.edu.