Here’s a new way to overcomplicate life: go to a café to drink water.
At least that’s what Adam Ruhf, the co-owner of New York City’s first “water café” is hoping.
He’s spruiking freshly filtered tap water, guaranteed to be sifted of any nasties in fancy glass bottles with clean blue labels. One cup will set you back $US1. More if you choose to add a selection of vitamin supplements for an extra “health boost”.
Health benefits are probably the only thing that you can’t ridicule about this business idea. According to Ruhf the café water goes through a seven stages of filtration before it hits your glass. Yes, seven. They’ve even installed a very scientific looking jumble of white pipes at the back of the store to set the cynics straight.
But the real question here has nothing to do with the product and everything to do with the service. Just why would anyone choose to go to a café to drink water in the first place? Perhaps the owners aren’t sure either because the décor is not what you’d call inspiring. It’s a stripped back affair, bare floorboards and a wooden bench with a tap.
Also, what exactly are you expected to in that café while you are drinking said glass of water? We’ve made an art out of yakking about coffee, but at least there’s variation in what you order.
There’s really not a whole lot you can say about a glass of water.
Imagine the conversation:
Person 1: How’s your water?
Person 2: Tepid. You?
Person: 1 Yes, also tepid. Shall we go?
At least you can guarantee there won’t be too many queues. Then again, this is New York, the city where Seinfeld was set and filmed. If a show about nothing can conquer the Big Apple, why not a café that serves nothing.
Just don’t expect to Russell Crowe in the queue. He tweeted last week that NYC’s tap water as the third best in the world.
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