Bottled Water at Trader Joe's

[sms]

Bottled Water at Trader Joe's

24 16.9oz bottles are $7.16 or 22.4�/bottle and 2.80�/oz
32 8oz bottles are $3.99 or 16.6�/bottle and 0.98�/oz

[Pico Rico]

"sms" <scharf...@geemail.com> wrote in message
news:lk5puk$npp$1...@dont-email.me...

> Bottled Water at Trader Joe's
>
> 24 16.9oz bottles are $7.16 or 22.4�/bottle and 2.80�/oz
> 32 8oz bottles are $3.99 or 16.6�/bottle and 0.98�/oz

Do they sell calculators at Trader Joe's?

[Todd Michel McComb]

In article <lk656i$hms$1...@news.mixmin.net>,

Does it matter? What cost conscious person is buying bottled water
in the first place?

[sms]

I screwed that up.

24 16.9oz bottles are $3.99 or 16.6�/bottle and 0.98�/oz
32 8oz bottles are $7.16 or 22.4�/bottle and 2.80�/oz

[sms]

On 5/4/2014 12:45 PM, Todd Michel McComb wrote:
> In article <lk656i$hms$1...@news.mixmin.net>,
> Pico Rico <Pico...@nonospam.com> wrote:
>> "sms" <scharf...@geemail.com> wrote in message
>> news:lk5puk$npp$1...@dont-email.me...
>>> Bottled Water at Trader Joe's

>>> 24 16.9oz bottles are $7.16 or 22.4�ｿｽ/bottle and 2.80�ｿｽ/oz
>>> 32 8oz bottles are $3.99 or 16.6�ｿｽ/bottle and 0.98�ｿｽ/oz

>> Do they sell calculators at Trader Joe's?
>
> Does it matter? What cost conscious person is buying bottled water
> in the first place?

First of all I screwed it up I screwed that up, should be:

24 16.9oz bottles are $3.99 or 16.6�ｿｽ/bottle and 0.98�ｿｽ/oz
32 8oz bottles are $7.16 or 22.4�ｿｽ/bottle and 2.80�ｿｽ/oz

Second, there are occasions when you want to buy bottled water, not
because the water is any better than RO filtered water from home, but
because you're distributing it to a large group and carrying cups and
gallons of water is impractical and where those that need the water
can't carry a re-usable bottle. We run into this in marching band during
parades. It's hard to carry cups and a big container of water and
quickly distribute it to a hundred plus kids. What we also do is have
non-marchers carry squirt bottles and squirt water into people's mouths.

BTW, Fry's often has 24 bottles of 16.9 ounce Aquafina for $2, or 8.33�ｿｽ
each.

[Todd Michel McComb]

In article <lk682d$3v2$1...@dont-email.me>,

sms <scharf...@geemail.com> wrote:
>Second, there are occasions when you want to buy bottled water,
>not because the water is any better than RO filtered water from
>home, but because you're distributing it to a large group and
>carrying cups and gallons of water is impractical and where those
>that need the water can't carry a re-usable bottle.

I think that if the number of times I've encountered this situation
in my life increases dramatically, e.g from zero to one, I will
probably just risk spending an extra couple of dollars.

[Ciccio]

sms <scharf...@geemail.com> wrote in news:lk67k0$v66$2...@dont-email.me:

Are those low prices? I have never bought bottled water in America. Though
I have bought it in Mexico and other underprivileged countries.

Ciccio

--
"Italians are Jews with better food."
- Tony Soprano

[sf]

On Sun, 04 May 2014 09:30:06 -0700, sms <scharf...@geemail.com>
wrote:

> Bottled Water at Trader Joe's
>
> 24 16.9oz bottles are $7.16 or 22.4�/bottle and 2.80�/oz
> 32 8oz bottles are $3.99 or 16.6�/bottle and 0.98�/oz

1 - 20 oz Soft Squeeze Water Bottle with 1 filter $6.79
http://www.amazon.com/Brita-Squeeze-Water-Filter-Bottle/dp/B004GN8RDY

1 water filter can replace 300 standard 16.9 ounce water bottles

You do the math.


--

Good Food.
Good Friends.
Good Memories.

[sms]

Not possible because Brita filters are nearly worthless. You need to
calculate the cost of processing water through a reverse osmosis filter
including the initial cost plus replacement filter elements. I'm sure it
would still be cheaper than bottled water, but not very portable.

You're preaching to the choir though. I rarely will buy bottled water
except to have some for emergencies or for the rare occasion when
filling re-usable bottles or using cups is impractical.

We also run into a cultural issue sometimes. In most countries you can't
drink tap water and some people are conditioned to avoid tap water as a
result. Also, unfiltered tap water in Silicon Valley is nasty stuff with
a strong chlorine smell, NDMA, and Chromium. An R-O filter removes all
of this. You don't want to be drinking too much tap water in the south
bay. It's very different than water from Hetch-Hetchy.

[Peter Lawrence]

On 5/4/14, 4:49 PM, sms wrote:
> On 5/4/2014 4:04 PM, sf wrote:
>> On Sun, 04 May 2014 09:30:06 -0700, sms <scharf...@geemail.com>
>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Bottled Water at Trader Joe's
>>>
>>> 24 16.9oz bottles are $7.16 or 22.4�/bottle and 2.80�/oz
>>> 32 8oz bottles are $3.99 or 16.6�/bottle and 0.98�/oz
>>
>>
>> 1 - 20 oz Soft Squeeze Water Bottle with 1 filter $6.79
>> http://www.amazon.com/Brita-Squeeze-Water-Filter-Bottle/dp/B004GN8RDY
>>
>> 1 water filter can replace 300 standard 16.9 ounce water bottles
>>
>> You do the math.
>
> Not possible because Brita filters are nearly worthless. You need to
> calculate the cost of processing water through a reverse osmosis filter
> including the initial cost plus replacement filter elements. I'm sure it
> would still be cheaper than bottled water, but not very portable.

I use a ZeroWater filter (http://www.zerowater.com/). It works well and
improves the taste too.


- Peter

[sms]

I'm sure that it improves the taste since the chlorine is probably
removed, but it does very little in terms of filtering out the types of
contaminants that a reverse osmosis filter gets rid of.

[Travis James]

(Typo later reported by sms noted.) The direction of this thread was all
too predictable.

The little bottles are a deal at Costco. They are double packs of 35 for
about $8 IIRC. They're handy for many reasons I won't bother pointing out.

[Peter Lawrence]

It removes 100% of the dissolved solids. It uses a multistage filter that
includes a carbon filter, an ion exchange filter and a membrane filter. So
it does quite a bit in removing other type of contaminants. Far more than
what Brita does. It's perfectly fine for any municipal tap water found in
the Bay Area.

Its main drawback is that it's slow. It takes about 15 to 25 minutes to
fill up its 1/2 gallon carafe.



- Peter

[Tim May]

I'm on well water, where the tests we have done indicate excellent
quality (supposed the water is about "35 years old," however this is
defined by the testers).

But I also fill my own water barrels (50-gal) and several dozen
gallon-sized water jugs), all with a bit of bleach to inhibit growth of
algae, etc..

And I have a couple of flats of bottled waters, mainly to hand out to
visitors (who are now accustomed to such offerings, it seems) and for
misc. emergencies.

One of the best water filters I have is called a "Steripen." About $60
at REI and similar places. It uses UV light to kill-off biologicals,
allowing essentially mud puddle water to be safely consumed. Much
easier to use than the Katadyn ceramic filters.

Not being able to drink "found water" for fear of biological
contamination is a much bigger concern for me than worrying about
hexavalent chromium in my water because I'm too close to that PG&E
plant that Julia Roberts/Erin Brockovitch was fighting about.


--
Tim May

[sms]

On 5/4/2014 9:51 PM, Peter Lawrence wrote:

<snip>

> Its main drawback is that it's slow. It takes about 15 to 25 minutes to
> fill up its 1/2 gallon carafe.

I read the FAQ at <http://www.zerowater.com/faqs.aspx>. There's a lot of
stuff that an RO system filters out that the Zero Water doesn't. It may
be better than a Brita, which isn't difficult, but it doesn't filter out
a lot of the nasty stuff.

[Peter Lawrence]

It filters out all the nasty stuff that I'm concerned about from my
municipal tap water. That (and the improved taste) is all what I really
care about.

To purify water when I'm traveling abroad I use a SteriPEN
(http://www.steripen.com/).


- Peter

[Peter Lawrence]

On 5/5/14, 1:10 AM, Tim May wrote:
>
> Not being able to drink "found water" for fear of biological contamination
> is a much bigger concern for me than worrying about hexavalent chromium in
> my water because I'm too close to that PG&E plant that Julia Roberts/Erin
> Brockovitch was fighting about.

You don't live close to Hinkley, or did you move?


- Peter

[sf]

On Sun, 04 May 2014 21:36:20 -0700, Travis James
<travis...@gmail.com> wrote:

> The little bottles are a deal at Costco. They are double packs of 35 for
> about $8 IIRC. They're handy for many reasons I won't bother pointing out.

If I had little kids I was packing lunches for, I'd include on in
their lunch bag.

[sms]

The hexavalent chromium is not limited to Hinkley.

In Santa Clara county, the level detected in groundwater varies from 1.7
to 23 ppb. The proposed standard is 10 ppb. So while most of the
county's supply is below the 10ppb level, not all of it is.

[Travis James]

On 5/5/2014 11:32 AM, sf wrote:
> On Sun, 04 May 2014 21:36:20 -0700, Travis James
> <travis...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> The little bottles are a deal at Costco. They are double packs of 35 for
>> about $8 IIRC. They're handy for many reasons I won't bother pointing out.
>
> If I had little kids I was packing lunches for, I'd include on in
> their lunch bag.
>
>

Exactly. That's one use for me. It's part of a rotation that includes
the evil juice box or gatorade. Also good for the same kind of mix for
soccer games. Some parents are good at keeping their kids away from
sugar stuff. (I'm not one of them. My own bad habits don't help.)

Another is for the occasional gathering of friends where beer, wine and
bourbon are enjoyed with dinner on the patio. It's irksome to have a
bunch of 1/3 consumed 16.9 oz bottles all over the place.

[Todd Michel McComb]

In article <a8mfm9l52ampjg1ot...@4ax.com>,

sf <sf.u...@gmail.com> wrote:
>If I had little kids I was packing lunches for, I'd include on in
>their lunch bag.

We never used the disposable bottles. I'm sure the kids don't use
disposable now themselves. It's too easy to fill a bottle when you
want to bring some water, barring some kind of unusual circumstance.

[sf]

That's true on both points. I didn't pack them because they didn't
exist. My kids put refillable water bottle in their own children's
lunches... but we'll see how long that lasts when their kids are in
elementary and nobody is making sure those refillable bottle make it
home.

[Julian Macassey]

On Sun, 4 May 2014 21:03:35 +0000 (UTC), Ciccio <franc...@comcast.net> wrote:
>
>
> Are those low prices? I have never bought bottled water in America. Though
> I have bought it in Mexico and other underprivileged countries.

Would that include Italy which has over 300 bottled water
companies?


--
Hitler, no doubt, will soon disappear, but only at the expense of
strengthening (a) Stalin, (b) the Anglo-American millionaires and (c) all
sorts of petty fuhrers° of the type of de Gaulle. - George Orwell, 1944

[Tim May]

On 2014-05-07 03:43:11 +0000, Julian Macassey said:

> On Sun, 4 May 2014 21:03:35 +0000 (UTC), Ciccio <franc...@comcast.net> wrote:
>>
>>
>> Are those low prices? I have never bought bottled water in America. Though
>> I have bought it in Mexico and other underprivileged countries.
>
> Would that include Italy which has over 300 bottled water
> companies?

When I lived in that region in 1964, we were strongly advised that the
only beverages safe to drink at many places were beer, wine, Coke,
Fanta, or various bottled mineral waters (often carbonated). (At
home, we drank from the tap and never had any problems that I can
recall.)

Personally, I think I've bought no more than two (2) mineral waters
ever. My vague recollection is that one of them tasted pretty bad.

--
Tim May

[pfraser]

Tim May wrote:

> Personally, I think I've bought no more than two (2) mineral waters
> ever. My vague recollection is that one of them tasted pretty bad.

My brother loves Tesco's Perthshire mineral water.
It tastes terrible.
No idea what chemical (or combination) makes it taste so bad.

From the Highland Spring website:

PRODUCT INFORMATION
Average analysis at source mg/L;

Bicarbonate 150
Calcium 40.5
Chloride 6.1
Magnesium 10.1
Nitrate (as NO3) 3.1
Potassium 0.7
Sodium 5.6
Sulphate 5.3
Dry residue 180�C 170

[sf]

On Wed, 7 May 2014 03:43:11 +0000 (UTC), Julian Macassey
<jul...@tele.com> wrote:

> On Sun, 4 May 2014 21:03:35 +0000 (UTC), Ciccio <franc...@comcast.net> wrote:
> >
> >
> > Are those low prices? I have never bought bottled water in America. Though
> > I have bought it in Mexico and other underprivileged countries.
>
> Would that include Italy which has over 300 bottled water companies?

Europe has a different mind set. When you say you want water, they
ask if you want fizzy or flat. As Americans, we continually
surprised them by saying "tap" and sending the bottle they expected us
to pay for back when it came to the table unasked for.

[Ciccio]

Julian Macassey <jul...@tele.com> wrote in
news:slrnlmjauf...@adeed.tele.com:

> Would that include Italy which has over 300 bottled water
> companies?

Not at all. Like when in America, when in Italy I have no reason to shy
away from tap water. It's not like when in unsanitary countries such as
Mexico where non-potable tap water is the rule.

Sure, bottled water is big in Italy. After all, Italy is as replete with
loony lefty yuppies as is America. Loony Lefty yuppie types are big on that
bourgeois bottled designer water nonsense when drinkable tap water is
readily available.

Meanwhile, the real proletariat, say in Mexico, to subsist must consume
bottled water. You can bet illegal aliens in America from Mexico don't
spend their money on bottled water with American water being readily
available from the tap.

Hmmm. They say there's a water shortage in California. 3 million illegal
aliens in California each using up 100 gallons of water per day. . .do the
arithmetic.

[Peter Lawrence]

On 5/7/14, 9:39 AM, Ciccio wrote:
>
> Meanwhile, the real proletariat, say in Mexico, to subsist must consume
> bottled water. You can bet illegal aliens in America from Mexico don't
> spend their money on bottled water with American water being readily
> available from the tap.

I guess old habits die hard then.

When I visit a grocery store in a neighborhood that has a lot of immigrants
from Mexico (and other Latin American countries), I almost always spot a
purified water vending machine like this one,
http://www.watervendorsbyus.com/, where the customer supplies their own
water jugs to fill up at the vending machine located outside of the grocery
store.


- Peter

[Mike D.]

On Wednesday, May 7, 2014 4:54:56 AM UTC-7, sf wrote:

>
> Europe has a different mind set. When you say you want water, they
> ask if you want fizzy or flat. As Americans, we continually
> surprised them by saying "tap" and sending the bottle they expected us
> to pay for back when it came to the table unasked for.
>
>

Americans -- the biggest consumers of soda pop on the planet -- hate fizzy mineral water for reasons I do not understand.

[Todd Michel McComb]

In article <e02180ec-ae48-47a0...@googlegroups.com>,

Mike D. <spamtr...@gmail.com> wrote:
>Americans -- the biggest consumers of soda pop on the planet --
>hate fizzy mineral water for reasons I do not understand.

Maybe because it doesn't come from a factory.

[Ciccio]

Peter Lawrence <humm...@aol.com> wrote in
news:lkdsq9$v31$1...@dont-email.me:

> On 5/7/14, 9:39 AM, Ciccio wrote:
>>
>> Meanwhile, the real proletariat, say in Mexico, to subsist must
>> consume bottled water. You can bet illegal aliens in America from
>> Mexico don't spend their money on bottled water with American water
>> being readily available from the tap.
>
> I guess old habits die hard then.

Yep, especially good and sensible ones.

>

> When I visit a grocery store in a neighborhood that has a lot of
> immigrants from Mexico (and other Latin American countries), I almost
> always spot a purified water vending machine like this one,

Yeah, I've seen them too used by some of those people, but not that many.
However,for some, like you said, old habits die hard, even those that make
no sense.

[Al Eisner]

I've encountered the question in quite a few restaurants in this area.
But by "flat" they do not mean bottled water.
--
Al Eisner
San Mateo Co., CA

[Steve Pope]

On Wed, 7 May 2014, sf wrote:

> Europe has a different mind set. When you say you want water, they
> ask if you want fizzy or flat. As Americans, we continually
> surprised them by saying "tap" and sending the bottle they expected us
> to pay for back when it came to the table unasked for.

If you say "tap" in a non-English speaking country they probably
have no idea what you mean.

Not all restauraunts in Europe (or other countries, possibly
including parts of USA) have potable tap water.


Steve

[Ciccio]

spo...@speedymail.org (Steve Pope) wrote in news:lke99g$fcj$1@blue-
new.rahul.net:

> On Wed, 7 May 2014, sf wrote:
>
>> Europe has a different mind set. When you say you want water, they
>> ask if you want fizzy or flat. As Americans, we continually
>> surprised them by saying "tap" and sending the bottle they expected us
>> to pay for back when it came to the table unasked for.
>
> If you say "tap" in a non-English speaking country they probably
> have no idea what you mean.

Of course not, because "tap" is an English word. In Italian "rubinetto"
means "tap." Hence, "aqua rububetto" means "tap water" or "aqua del
rubinetto." Of course, various locales have various idioms.

> Not all restauraunts in Europe (or other countries, possibly
> including parts of USA) have potable tap water.

Potable water is, at least, as common in Italy as in America.

[Steve Pope]

Ciccio <franc...@comcast.net> wrote:

>spo...@speedymail.org (Steve Pope) wrote in news:lke99g$fcj$1@blue-

>> If you say "tap" in a non-English speaking country they probably
>> have no idea what you mean.

>Of course not, because "tap" is an English word. In Italian "rubinetto"

>means "tap." Hence, "aqua rubinetto" means "tap water" or "aqua del
>rubinetto."

Thanks. I agree with that. Although, I don't think it's in
tourist phrase-books.

>> Not all restauraunts in Europe (or other countries, possibly
>> including parts of USA) have potable tap water.

>Potable water is, at least, as common in Italy as in America.

It's quite common. In fact, the Romans succeeded partly because
their engineers arranged for drinkable water taps in each city/village
square. (And, knew how to cut them off.) Even today, tour
guides will with a bit of pride point out how it is reasonable to
refill your water bottles from such taps, that have been there for
decades or millenia in some cases.

The problem however is in the old, dense city centers, where a combination
of not-so-great basic plumbing practices (such as T-traps), hilly
terrain, and various appliances like washing machines and dishwashers
lacking adequate air-gaps and backflow preventers makes it difficult
to ensure that waste water is not on occasion flowing back into the clean
water supply. As it happens a lot of restaurants (particularly
tourist restaurants) are in such areas. The unfiltered water from a tap
in such a restaurant cannot be trusted.

The same is true in some U.S. city centers. However, filtered
water (which is what they are bringing to your tables) should
usually be fine, since the filters remove any bacteria, viruses,
protozooa, and whatnot. (Note, filtering is better than boiling,
which does not remove the dead oganisms, which may still be
toxic even if dead.)


Steve

[sf]

On Wed, 7 May 2014 13:12:48 -0700, Al Eisner
<eis...@slac.stanford.edu> wrote:

> I've encountered the question in quite a few restaurants in this area.
> But by "flat" they do not mean bottled water.

Not in my experience. Flat is not fizzy bottled water, like
Arrowhead. Maybe you misheard.

--
I take life with a grain of salt, a slice of lemon and a shot of tequila

[sf]

On Wed, 7 May 2014 23:10:54 +0000 (UTC), spo...@speedymail.org (Steve
Pope) wrote:

> Thanks. I agree with that. Although, I don't think it's in
> tourist phrase-books.

If they are in tourist areas and speak English, they know what tap
water is.

[Steve Pope]

sf <sf.u...@geemail.com> wrote:

>On Wed, 7 May 2014 13:12:48 -0700, Al Eisner

><eis...@slac.stanford.edu> wrote:

>> I've encountered the question in quite a few restaurants in this area.
>> But by "flat" they do not mean bottled water.

>Not in my experience. Flat is not fizzy bottled water, like
>Arrowhead. Maybe you misheard.

Usually there says "flat" means filtered tap water, "fizzy" means
filtered tap water put through a fizzer.

But, I've been caught by surprise sometimes, and they bring a
bottle of "Kirkland" flat bottled water. This is a red flag
in my opinion.


Steve

[sf]

The bottom line is "I don't pay for water". If they want to put it in
a carafe or some sort of fancy bottle and put it on the table so they
don't have to keep watching the table to refill, I'm fine with that...
but don't even think about charging me.

[Steve Pope]

I'm happy to pay for water. Although, one time I was hiking between
Italian hill towns in hot weather, came into some very small village
where everything resembling a store was closed for the afternoon.
Did I say it was hot? We were hella thirsty, and the only possibility
was a closing-down ristorante. So we walked in, approached the
bar, and when they asked "prego?" we said, "solo acqua, per favore".
They did not charge us for the water .... a first. (Maybe they
had shut down the cash register, but I think they were just being
cordial.)

Steve

[Al Eisner]

On Wed, 7 May 2014, sf wrote:

> On Wed, 7 May 2014 13:12:48 -0700, Al Eisner
> <eis...@slac.stanford.edu> wrote:
>
>> I've encountered the question in quite a few restaurants in this area.
>> But by "flat" they do not mean bottled water.
>
> Not in my experience. Flat is not fizzy bottled water, like
> Arrowhead. Maybe you misheard.
>

Nope -- and they always bring what I expect (which is flat, non-bottled).
(I haven't experienced the exception Steve Pope notes in another follow-up).

[sf]

On Thu, 8 May 2014 10:30:57 -0700, Al Eisner

<eis...@slac.stanford.edu> wrote:

> On Wed, 7 May 2014, sf wrote:
>
> > On Wed, 7 May 2014 13:12:48 -0700, Al Eisner
> > <eis...@slac.stanford.edu> wrote:
> >
> >> I've encountered the question in quite a few restaurants in this area.
> >> But by "flat" they do not mean bottled water.
> >
> > Not in my experience. Flat is not fizzy bottled water, like
> > Arrowhead. Maybe you misheard.
> >
> Nope -- and they always bring what I expect (which is flat, non-bottled).
> (I haven't experienced the exception Steve Pope notes in another follow-up).

I'm talking about when sitting down in a restaurant and ordering a
meal in a place that is used to dealing with tourists. Not some out
of the way spot you happened upon during a hike in the hills
somewhere.

[sf]

I hate the mineral flavor. In fact, bottled water that is bottled by
location varies enough in flavor (I hate the flavor of water bottled
in Southern California) that I'd rater buy distilled.

[Al Eisner]

I really have no idea what you are referring to. Perhaps you are
responding to some post other than mine. (Although I do tend to
avoid tourist spots like Fisherman's Wharf.)

[sf]

On Fri, 9 May 2014 13:47:37 -0700, Al Eisner

Europe. Servers in the USA don't try to push bottled water.

[Julian Macassey]

Yes, they do. In fact once in a restaurant in LA, they got
quite sniffy when I turned down their pimping of bottled water.

Then there is this bit of pretension:

http://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-20-dollar-bottles-of-water-sommelier-water-menu-making-a-splash-in-la-20130711-story.html

"Reise is the water sommelier -- yes, there is such a thing -- for
the Patina Group of Retaurants. He's launching a water menu Monday at
Ray's and Stark, the restaurant at the Los Angeles County Museum of
Art, where he is also the general manager. Some of the bottles will
be priced as high as $20.

If you’re rolling your eyes right now at the thought of water
sommeliers, water menus, and pricey bottles of water, know this:
Glasses of curated cold water are one of the hottest things showing
up on menus.

The concept of water menus has been attempted in Europe, with perhaps
the most famous being from Le Water Bar Colette in Paris. It has even
been tried in L.A. The Bazaar at the SLS offered a water menu a
couple years back, but the concept never really took off."


--
"She needs to stop doing drugs and get a grip. Then maybe we'll talk." -
Stevie Nicks about Lindsay Lohan, NY Times 2009

[Al Eisner]

That explains it. Note that you were responding to a post of mine
which said "in this area".

--
Al Eisner
San Mateo Co., CA

"So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it
enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind
to do." >>> Benjamin Franklin (Autobiography)