Labels on bottled water love to throw around fancy-sounding words — artesian, mineral, spring, purified. Most of us just grab the one that looks nicest and move on. But artesian and mineral water are actually defined by two completely different things: where the water comes from, and what’s in it.
Artesian water comes from a well that taps into a confined aquifer — basically a layer of water-bearing rock trapped under pressure. That pressure is the whole point: it pushes the water up naturally, sometimes all the way to the surface, without needing a pump to force it. Under US FDA bottled water standards, “artesian water” or “artesian well water” specifically means water from a well tapping a confined aquifer where the water level sits above the top of that aquifer. The defining feature is the geology and the pressure, not what’s dissolved in the water itself.
Mineral water, on the other hand, is defined by its content. To carry the name, it has to come from an underground source and contain at least 250 parts per million of total dissolved solids — naturally occurring minerals and trace elements like calcium, magnesium, and potassium. Critically, those minerals have to be there naturally from the source; none of them can be added afterward. So mineral water isn’t about how the water surfaces — it’s entirely about its natural mineral content.
Yes, actually. A water source can be both artesian (drawn via a confined, pressurised aquifer) and mineral (naturally carrying 250+ ppm of dissolved minerals) at the same time — the two labels aren’t mutually exclusive, since one describes the source mechanism and the other describes the composition. That’s why you’ll sometimes see “artesian mineral water” on a label — it’s simply ticking both boxes.
If you’re after that distinct, slightly mineral-forward taste, mineral water is the one to look for on the label. If you’re drawn to the idea of water that rises naturally from deep, pressurised underground sources — often marketed on purity and a “straight from the earth” story — artesian is the one. Either way, since these are genuine imported and branded products, what’s on the shelf is exactly what you’re getting — real sourced water, no substitutions.
Shop our full range of artesian, mineral, sparkling, and drinking water — delivered island-wide.
