Rant #3,979: Hubble Bubble

As you know, due to my health problems, I have had to cut my intake of soda down to next to nothing--

And my doctors have told me that I need to drink as much water as possible.

I have done just that, and in the process, I have lost 20 or so pounds.

That is all fine and good, but I just don't like drinking water.

Never have, never will.

It is great in short spurts where you need to hydrate, but as a choice of beverage, it never has really registered with me.

My father used to say that water "is for peasants" ...

His only drink for years was water, as he had an ulcer, and during those days, doctors felt that you would irritate the ulcer if you drank anything but water.

He hated it, but abided by what his doctors said, and he eventually went back to sugar-free/caffeine-free soda, which is way worse than drinking the real thing.

But back to me ...

I am not a water drinker, although I am getting used to it, in a funny way.

If I have to drink water, I much prefer seltzer.

I like the fizz, I like the carbonation, and I guess it makes me think of soda, even though it doesn't have that flavoring in it--

And no, I don't drink the flavored seltzer, because to me at least, it has a bad aftertaste.

It is kind of in my veins, because I used to drink seltzer a lot as a kid, when we used to get it delivered in those old-fashioned bottles with the spritz lever at the top of the bottle.

That was REAL seltzer.

Few places offer that type of seltzer now, but you can get seltzer in bottles and cans just about anywhere.

I have chosen Poland Spring seltzer as my go-to beverage, as it gets as close to the old type of seltzer as anything I can find in a supermarket--

Until recently.

If you drink this seltzer, you know that they changed the label on the bottles--both the larger and smaller bottles--and with that change, evidently, came a change in formulation, as the seltzer simply doesn't have the pep--and pop--that it used to have.

When you open the bottle, you used to get a rush of carbonation, but that seemingly is gone after the first sip.

The carbonation that the product once had has been lessened, and after a sip or two, you can barely taste the bubbles.

I don't know why they did this, but this seltzer is as flat as the other seltzers on the market, and it is very disappointing.

The last time my family and I were on a cruise, I asked for seltzer, and they offered me, I think it was Seagram's seltzer in a can, and that was the best over-the-counter seltzer I think I have ever had.

The carbonation kept going and going until you drank the final drop.

The problem is that you can't find that seltzer anywhere--believe me, I have looked--so I had to settle for the Poland Spring seltzer, which at the time, wasn't as good, but it was good enough.

Now, it simply isn't.

I wonder why they changed the formulation when they changed the bottle labels ...

Maybe they found that most people prefer less carbonation, but I don't, and if the bottle sits in the refrigerator after you open it, once you drink it, it tastes like heavy water, not seltzer.

Has anyone else had this experience with Poland Spring seltzer?

It simply does not have the pop it used to, and when I want to bubble up--

It appears the bubble has burst.