Waterlady here. When we talk about “natural, single-source” water, we’re chasing more than thirst relief we’re chasing terroir, geology, and a standard of purity you can actually taste.
Today’s spotlight: Hallstein, an artesian water drawn from deep beneath Austria’s Dachstein massif, in the UNESCO-recognized Hallstatt-Dachstein/Salzkammergut cultural landscape. If you’ve heard whispers that it’s “as pure as water gets,” you’re not far off and the story behind it is as compelling as the numbers on the lab report.
The place: Dachstein limestone and an artesian push
Hallstein is tapped from a self-replenishing artesian aquifer ~700 feet (214 m) below ground at the base of the Dachstein glacier. The aquifer is naturally pressurized meaning the water rises without added pumping and is shielded by Triassic limestone and glacial moraine that act as a natural, ultra-slow filter. No treatment, no post-processing, no gimmicks; just geology doing its unhurried work.
The region itself isn’t just pretty; it’s protected. The catchment sits within a UNESCO World Heritage landscape and land owned by Austria’s National Forest Service, which matters for two reasons: it limits industrial activity around the source and helps preserve long-term water quality.
The numbers: light-mineral profile, high oxygen, meticulous reporting
Here are the metrics that water geeks (hi!) zero in on:
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TDS (Total Dissolved Solids): ~84 mg/L — a light-to-moderate mineral footprint. Hallstein positions this as the “sweet spot” for taste and hydration; low enough to feel crisp, high enough to deliver structure.
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pH: ~8.0–8.3 — website materials list 8.3, while the 2024 lab report for the 5-gallon format shows 7.95. Natural water varies slightly by season and format; both figures place Hallstein in the slightly alkaline zone.
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Calcium & Magnesium: ~18.4 mg/L Ca and ~9.5 mg/L Mg, which nets a Ca:Mg of ~2:1—a ratio many tasters find provides a rounded mouthfeel without chalkiness. Hardness clocks in ~85 mg/L as CaCO₃ (medium-soft).
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Sodium: 0.15 mg/L—vanishingly low, which helps the clean, neutral finish.
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Dissolved Oxygen (DO): ~10.8 mg/L—unusually high for bottled water and a big part of that “fresh, lively” snap on the palate. (High DO is also part of Hallstein’s quality philosophy.)
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Nitrates: ~1.83 mg/L on the spec page; the 2024 lab report (5-gallon) shows 0.35 mg/L as nitrate-N—both well below U.S. limits. Different reporting conventions (nitrate vs. nitrate-nitrogen) can make numbers look different; what matters is they’re low in either case.
Hallstein publicly posts annual quality reports, PFAS testing, and microplastic studies a transparency move we always appreciate in the fine-water world. Their site highlights “0% PFAS” and dedicated microplastics testing for both glass and dispenser formats.
The taste: airy, linear, quietly persistent
On the palate, Hallstein sits in that elegant lane between ultra-low-TDS “featherweight” waters and mineral-rich, saline mineral waters. The texture is silky-light; the finish is exceptionally clean (that near-zero sodium shows up here), and the high DO reads as an almost alpine brightness. If you pair water the way you pair wine, Hallstein is a brilliant foil for delicate foods—think crudo, sashimi, fresh goat cheese, simple salads, or pastry work where you want lift without mineral interference. (If you’re curious about pairing frameworks, we’re always happy to chat.)
The philosophy: eight core parameters and a no-compromise bottling line
Hallstein talks a lot about ideal water criteria an internal framework they developed after years of testing hundreds of sources. While “only one water meets all eight” is their brand’s claim, the gist is straightforward: nature-made alkalinity, low sodium, high dissolved oxygen, sustainable artesian flow, low organic carbon, minimal nitrates, balanced minerals, and no post-treatment. Whether you adopt their rubric or your own, we love that they’ve pushed the conversation toward measurable quality markers.
They also obsess over infrastructure: precision-welded stainless lines, state-of-the-art bottling at the source, and packaging that favors 100% recycled white glass for the 750 mL bottles (their dispenser line uses BPA-free Tritan). That combination—source-adjacent bottling and inert materials helps protect what the aquifer already perfected.
The family: a dinner-table question that became a 20-year quest
This isn’t a private-equity roll-up story. Hallstein is a Muhr family project, born in 1999 at a dinner table in Greenwich, Connecticut, when they asked: What does “high-quality” drinking water actually mean and how would you prove it?That question sparked two decades of scientific legwork, global sourcing attempts, and ultimately the discovery of the Dachstein artesian well near the Muhrs’ native Hallstatt. Today, you’ll often see Elisabeth Muhr and her son Phillip T. Muhr telling the story, grounded in ecology, engineering, and hospitality.
What we appreciate about their narrative is its patience: years of testing before going to market, then publishing the data so anyone can scrutinize it. In a category full of vague claims, that level of documentation is refreshing.
What they stand for: transparency, terroir, and leaving the water alone
If we had to boil Hallstein’s ethos down to a few pillars:
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Let geology lead. The water is untreated and unfiltered—no reverse osmosis, no ozone polishing so the aquifer’s mineral fingerprint and dissolved oxygen arrive as-is. That’s rare at scale.
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Publish the receipts. Annual multi-page compliance reports, PFAS panels, and microplastics studies are readily accessible. This isn’t cherry-picked marketing; it’s full-spectrum lab work.
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Protect the catchment. Siting in a UNESCO landscape with National Forest oversight isn’t just romantic it’s practical risk management for the source.
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Design for taste. By choosing low sodium, moderate minerals, and high DO as north stars, Hallstein leans into gastronomic versatility—the kind of water you can pour through a multicourse dinner without palate fatigue.
How we place it in the wider water world
Within our Salacious Drinks universe, Hallstein occupies the “ultra-clean, high-oxygen, light-mineral” niche. Compare it to, say, a richly mineralized naturally sparkling like Vichy Catalan or Borjomi and you’ll immediately see the stylistic contrast: Hallstein is quiet luxury, built for clarity what sommeliers sometimes call “neutral lift.” It’s also a great benchmark bottle for tasting flights when you want to show guests how TDS, sodium, and DO change mouthfeel and finish.
A note on variability & reading lab data
If you’re scanning tech sheets (same, always), you may notice small differences between the website specs and the latest third-party report that’s normal for a natural source. For instance, we’ve seen Hallstein’s pH reported as 8.3 on the spec page and ~7.95 in a 2024 5-gallon compliance report. Seasonal shifts, measurement method, and format (glass vs. dispenser) all play a role. The big picture holds: alkaline, low sodium, low nitrates, moderate minerals, high oxygen.
Who will love Hallstein?
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Cooks and hosts who want a pristine, food-friendly still water.
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Athletes and wellness folks who gravitate to high DO and low sodium.
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Geology nerds (proudly raising my hand) who appreciate limestone-driven waters that are left alone.
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Anyone curious about how radically different “water” can taste when source and stewardship are treated as first principles.
If you’re building a tasting at home, try this three-glass flight:
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Hallstein (Austria) for the high-oxygen, low-sodium still;
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a medium-TDS still with more calcium for a creamy mid-palate;
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a naturally carbonated classic for minerality and bubbles. You’ll come away understanding why water is not just water—it’s geology in a glass.
Bottom line: Hallstein is a masterclass in restraint and documentation. It asks you to notice what happens when you don’t manipulate water and then shows you the labwork to back it up. For us, that’s a story worth spotlighting.
