Aarke - A Matter of Taste
An appreciation of Swedish tap water, a slightly nerdy curiosity and a trip to Paris put Aarke’s Purifier to a very personal test.
image courtesy Aarke
Growing up in Sweden, I rarely thought about water. Turning on the tap and filling a glass was so ordinary that there seemed little reason to question it. Only after living abroad did I begin to appreciate what I had taken for granted: fresh water with no noticeable taste or smell.
That was also where my slightly nerdy interest in water began. I started paying attention to where it came from, its mineral character and how differently it tasted from one place to another. Water, it turns out, has a geography you can taste.
But while I became more particular about what I drank, buying bottled water every day felt increasingly difficult to justify. The packaging, the transport, the endless bottles carried home. I wanted to enjoy the water coming out of the tap.
It is a rather everyday ambition for a design object to fulfil. Yet that is what interests me about Aarke, the attention it brings to something we use almost without thinking.
The brand’s Purifier is a water filter jug made from glass and stainless steel, with filtration technology developed in collaboration with BWT. Inside sits a refillable steel cartridge. Rather than throwing away the cartridge when the filter needs changing, you keep it and replace the granules inside. Each refill filters up to 120 litres of water, with the granules due for replacement after four weeks or once that volume is reached.
There is a pleasing practicality to that arrangement. And visually, the glass and steel make a persuasive case for giving the jug a permanent place on the table.
Still, if I wanted to find out whether it made a meaningful difference, testing it at home in Sweden was never going to be enough.
I had to bring it to Paris.
For all the things I love about the city, the taste of its tap water has never quite made the list. To my palate, there is a mineral character, sometimes accompanied by a smell of chlorine, that makes me rather less enthusiastic about filling another glass.
I was sceptical about how much a filter jug could change that.
The difference, however, was unmistakable. After filtration, I could no longer detect the taste or smell that had bothered me. The water tasted neutral, which was precisely what I wanted.
According to Aarke, its Pure filter granules are designed to reduce chlorine, limescale and heavy metals such as lead and copper. My own test was a much simpler sensory one: did I want to drink the water? This time, yes.
There is something quietly luxurious about solving a small irritation that follows you through every day. Especially when the object doing the work is one you are happy to leave in view. For me, the Purifier’s appeal lies in that combination of usefulness and visual restraint. It makes an ordinary habit a little more pleasurable.
Naturally, this has encouraged a few further wishes. While I could happily make room for rather a lot of Aarke’s designs, there is one direction I would particularly like the brand to explore: beyond the kitchen and into the bathroom.
Specifically, shower filtration.
I still remember those Paris days when my curls felt closer to the steel wool found beside Swedish kitchen sinks than anything a conditioner advertisement might promise. Whether a future bathroom product could answer that frustration would require a test of its own. My hair and I would be happy to volunteer.
But if Aarke is taking requests, mine is ready.
The drinking water is sorted. Now, about my hair.
www.aarke.com
