WIf there is one product whose demand will probably never end, it is water. All living beings must drink. People buy bottled water from liquor stores, or they get high-quality tap water fairly cheaply. At least that applies to Germany. Although the tap water is well monitored and cleaned, many Germans still drink water from the soda bottle. One reason for this is the lack of carbon dioxide in tap water. Water bubblers from Sodastream, Aarke and other brands, which press the gas into the liquid with replaceable cartridges, have been a remedy for many years. The filters from Brita and Co., which remove limescale from tap water and reduce the proportion of chlorine, lead and copper, have existed even longer than bubblers. Such aids are indispensable for ambitious tea and coffee drinkers.
It started more than 20 years ago with carafes for the table, but manufacturers such as Hytecon now offer devices that can be integrated into the cold water circuit and stand under the sink. This is intended to put an end to bacteria, viruses, parasites, but also microplastics. For several years now, another measure has been added that treats the water from the tap. Manufacturers like Luqel add minerals to it so that it tastes different. So there is a lot of movement in this market.
In October of last year, the product from the start-up Mittemitte from Berlin went into series production. It’s called Mitte Home, which, like the company name, is supposed to be an allusion to the district. We had it sent to us as a test device because it offers all three options described. Mitte Home filters the water, adds minerals and, if necessary, carbonates it. The processing has its price. The manufacturer charges 350 euros for its starter kit. For comparison: water bubblers are available for well under 100 euros, table water filters for 20 euros. But: We don’t know of any cheap devices that add minerals, and the expensive products are not designed for home use either. For example, Luqel offers its hydro system for offices, hotels or similar places.
Each liter of sparkling water costs 30 to 40 cents
The starter kit Mitte Home consists of the device itself, which is as big as a tall filter coffee machine and takes up significantly more space on the worktop than a simple water bubbler. When we were asked in the instructions to first install an app and connect the device to the home network, we immediately got red spots on our faces because of our app allergy for kitchen appliances. But this app makes sense. It counts the bottles that have been filled and reports in good time when the “balance cartridge” needs to be replaced. This is a smartly designed cartridge that contains the minerals. And the app tells you how full the CO2 cylinder is. Both can be reordered directly via the app or the e-mail that is automatically sent when the stock is low.
A mineral cartridge costs 45 euros. It holds about 250 liters. A pack of four CO2 cylinders costs 40 euros. It is difficult to calculate after how many draws these have to be exchanged because there is a moderate and a strong bubble function. After we counted the impacts for each function, really sparkling water would have to use about twice as much CO2. The manufacturer estimates the costs at an average of 30 to 40 cents per liter if you split the expenses for the cartridge and cylinder.
It’s easy to use, but the process takes time
Mitte Home is pretty easy to use. As with a coffee machine, you remove the container with the handle, fill it up under the tap and put it back in again. Then the supplied plastic bottle is screwed in, before the short hose has to be fed into the opening. You can now choose between a tap of your finger: none, a little or a lot of carbonation. Let’s start with a second tap on the drop symbol. The water runs – not visible from the outside – first from the container into the green cartridge. There it pours over calcite and magnesite rock, which is extracted from a mine in Istein am Rhein, and dissolves the minerals calcium and magnesium. An activated carbon filter then stops lead, chlorine and other particles. Finally, a hollow fiber filter ensures that as few bacteria, germs or microplastics as possible get into the bottle. This takes about 50 seconds. With the gentle supply of carbon dioxide, eight puffs of CO2 come out of the tube, if you want as much as possible, 17 puffs end up in the bottle. Then the drink is ready after one minute and 20 seconds.
This process worked perfectly every time. The supplied bottle keeps the carbon dioxide for several hours, it also fits in many bags due to its size, and it is easy to drink from its opening. In direct comparison, the water from Mitte Home does indeed taste different than from Frankfurt’s Nordend. It’s softer, has its own flavor that we like. But we don’t complain about our tap water either. However, we know that there are cities and places where the nearly free good does not taste good. The need for water treated with minerals is likely to be greater there.
Mittemitte wants to make the app and thus the device more complex this year. Then the users can determine more precisely how much carbonic acid should be produced. There will also soon be several cartridges with different mineral compositions.
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