If commercial beverages were considered a royal court, bottled water would probably be the jester. It keeps you entertained, but it just doesn’t have the muscle to rule.

Soda is still the supreme ruler in the court of thirst. But the jester is getting serious about seeking the crown.

According to the International Bottled Water Association, bottled water ranked as the number 2 most-consumed commercial beverage in the United States in 2007. Consumption last year surpassed 8.8 billion gallons.

That’s bottled water, not tap.

While tap water still quenches, it is its bottled cousin that’s going places — to ball games, hikes, walks in the park and picnics on the patio. People like the convenience and, yes, the taste, of bottled water.

And many have their favorites. For some, it’s Aquafina, for others it’s Evian. And most swear that they can tell the difference.

So, we decided to test four brands of bottled water — Aquafina, Dasani, Evian and Nestle Pure Life. Just for fun, we also had our eight testers take a sip of tap water. No one knew what brand they were tasting (the cups were numbered 1 to 5). Testers also were asked to guess which brand they thought they were drinking. Their answers? Well, read on:

Aquafina: Bottled by the Pepsi-Cola Co.

Aquafina is purified water, meaning it comes from a public water source and then goes through a special purification process.

Taste: Aquafina earned comments such as “cloudy,” “minerally, tastes like tap water,” “bland,” “sort of tinny” and “maybe Chlorox-y.” One person said it tasted like “water” and another said it tasted “good.”

Like: The fact that it was cold impressed the testers (all the water was refrigerated before testing). Two testers said it tasted like water should. Many had no opinion.

Dislike: The taste didn’t appeal to the majority of the testers. “Tasted like chemicals” was one comment echoed more than once.

Purchase: Only one person said they would purchase the water again.

Guess: Only two people guessed that the first water they tasted was Aquafina.

Dasani: Bottled by the Coca-Cola Co.

Dasani also is purified municipal drinking water.

Taste: The majority of the testers said the Dasani tasted like bottled water should. “Clean” and “crisp” were some of the comments.

Like: “Cool, refreshing, tastes like water should” was one comment. One tester liked the fact that the water had “no taste.”

Dislike: The majority of the testers said there was nothing to dislike about the water. One did say it tasted “stale” and another said it had “no taste.”

Purchase: Three testers said they would purchase Dasani.

Guess: Although it was the second water sampled, only two testers guessed it was the Dasani.

Evian:

Evian is natural spring water from the Cachat Spring in Evian, France.

Taste: Testers were all over the place on the taste of the Evian. It earned comments such as “tastes like chlorine,” “a little bitter” and “almost has a sweetness to it, refreshing.”

Like: Refreshing and cold were the words most testers used to describe Evian. One tester said there was nothing to like about the imported water.

Dislike: Three testers said there was nothing to dislike and two said the water tasted “chemically.” One tester said the water tasted “plain.” The most unique comment was “tastes like bathroom water.”

Purchase: Only one tester would purchase Evian.

Guess: Two testers guessed that the third water they tasted was the Evian.

Nestle Pure Life:

Bottled by the Nestle Corp., this also is purified municipal drinking water.

Taste: Responses ranged from “crisp, refreshing” to “tastes like well water.” One tester thought it “tastes a little sweet” and others thought it just tasted like “water.”

Like: “Tastes fresh” and “cold, refreshing” were comments this water earned. One tester said “my favorite, the most neutral.” Like the other waters, this one also earned a “nothing” to like about it.

Dislike: Three testers said there was nothing to dislike three others were put off by a chlorine or chemical taste and one said the water tasted “plain.”

Purchase: Three testers would purchase this water.

Guess: One person guessed that the fourth water they tasted was the Nestle Pure Life.

St. Joseph tap water:

Turn on the faucet and you take a sip of tap.

Taste: Do we really need to go there? “Yuck!” “tastes dirty, a little bitter perhaps” and “nasty” were some of the comments. One person did say that besides a mineral taste, the water was “still good.” The rest of the testers said “tastes like tap water.”

Like: Only one person found the tap water refreshing. The rest didn’t.

Dislike: Perhaps we should start with the positive: One person did say there was nothing to dislike about the tap water. That person was in the minority. Tap earned comments such as “had a bad taste and smell,” “the taste, gross!” and “tastes like pond water.” The kindest comments were “it tastes like tap water.”

Guess: Six out of the eight testers correctly guessed that tap water was the fifth water they tasted. One tester thought the Aquafina was tap water and another thought the Evian was tap water.

Lifestyles reporter Cathy Woolridge can be reached at cathyw@npgco.com