An ALDI PurAqua Belle Vie Sparkling Water Review

Next up in our irregular series of ALDI product reviews: PurAqua Belle Vie Sparkling Water! This one, thankfully, is a regular buy everyday item; I pick some up on just about every trip. At just $.55 per one liter bottle, it’s an affordable treat for myself (when the teenage boys don’t find it first…).

And, I’m happy that this water contains no additives, calories, or sweeteners. ALDI lets me feed my desire for the occasional bubbly beverage, without any of the guilt.

Belle Vie Sparkling Water: A review

PurAqua Belle Vie sparkling flavored water comes in six flavors:

• Original
• Lemon-Lime (in 1 liter bottles, or lime in 12 packs)
• Tangerine
• Grapefruit
• Passionfruit (only in 12 packs)
• Berry

Myself, I’m partial to the grapefruit — and happy that it’s generally quite well-stocked. You can sometimes also find seasonal flavors such as peach & strawberry; these, though, tend to show up only during the summer.

You might also find cans of Belle Vie “bold” at your store, in flavors including cherry lime, strawberry pineapple, and blackberry cucumber. This product tends to appear and disappear at mine.

Don’t mix up Belle Vie with PurAqua Sparkling Water

Confusingly, however, ALDI stocks both my delicious PurAqua Belle Vie sparkling flavored water, and a very different PurAqua sparkling flavored water. (Note the lack of “Belle Vie” on the label and the difference in design.) PurAqua sparkling water comes in four varieties:

• Peach
• Black Cherry
• White Grape
• Strawberry

These are generally shelved in the same section, and you need to watch that the bottles haven’t gotten mixed up over the wrong tag. So, what’s the difference between these two products?

PurAqua sparkling water is not the same

PurAqua Belle Vie sparkling flavored water contains just filtered carbonated water and natural flavors.

PurAqua sparkling flavored water, on the other hand, starts with carbonated water and natural flavors — but then it is sweetened with aspartame, and also contains citric acid, potassium citrate, potassium benzoate, and malic acid.

(You’re paying a bit extra for all of those added ingredients, too. At my stores, Belle Vie is $.55 per liter — while the non-Belle Vie flavored water runs $.59 per liter.)

I accidentally grabbed one of the non-Belle Vie flavors once, and can attest that they are not at all the same; I’m not a fan. If you like more sweetness in your sparkle and don’t mind the taste of aspartame, though, regular PurAqua sparkling water may be for you.

As far as nutritional information goes, Belle Vie sparkling water sports all 0s. No calories, no sodium, nothing else you may not be looking for in your water.

Bottles or cans?

While we’re on the subject, let’s talk pricing here. ALDI prices, of course, can always vary by region. At my local stores, however, you can choose from:

• Single 1 liter plastic bottles of Belle Vie sparkling water, $.55 (1.7 cents per fl oz)
• 12 packs 12 oz cans Belle Vie sparkling water, $3.19 (2.2 cents per fl oz)
• 8 packs 12 oz cans Belle Vie bold sparkling water, $2.99 (seasonal; 3.2 cents per fl oz)
• Single 12 oz cans Belle Vie sparkling water, $.99 (in coolers by the register, 8.3 cents per fl oz)

I always prefer to purchase the 1 liter bottles. Not only are the bottles cheaper per oz, cans seem to impart a slightly metallic taste to the water. (This isn’t limited to Belle Vie, of course; I notice it with a lot of sparkling waters.)

For purposes of price comparison, my ALDI also carries 12 packs of La Croix sparkling water cans for $4.99 — which works out to 3.5 cents per fl oz.

But, how does it taste?

Bubbly water for the win! ALDI brand has much more flavor than, say, La Croix — instead of a “hint of” flavor, you get actual flavor, and I prefer it to La Croix there. In terms of both its flavor and its general level of bubbliness, it seems very comparable to name brand waters such as Ice Mountain (which in other parts of the country you might know as Arrowhead, Polar Spring, or Deer Park).

However, ALDI flavored sparkling water is much cheaper than its name brand counterpart. While very occasionally I can pick up Ice Mountain more cheaply by combining a sale with a coupon, its everyday price of around $1.00 per 1 liter bottle at my other local grocery stores keeps me from purchasing it often. $.55 per bottle at ALDI is much easier to justify.

The grapefruit flavor (my fave) is deliciously refreshing in its citrus-y tartness. If they’re out, though, I pick up lemon-lime — I would prefer the straight up lime, but that’s only available in cans. Middle School Guy likes the slightly sweeter berry flavored sparkling water, but will drink any of them I happen to pick up.

ALDI Belle Vie sparkling flavored water is highly recommended: A good product at a good price. What’s your favorite flavor?