Spa is a brand of
mineral water
Mineral water is water from a mineral spring that contains various minerals, such as salts and sulfur compounds. Mineral water may usually be still or sparkling (carbonated/effervescent) according to the presence or absence of added gases.
Tra ...
from
Spa
A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneoth ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
, and is owned by the
Spadel Group. Spa mineral water has been
bottled since the end of the 16th century and is very common in
Western Europe
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context.
The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...
and especially in the
Benelux
The Benelux Union ( nl, Benelux Unie; french: Union Benelux; lb, Benelux-Unioun), also known as simply Benelux, is a politico-economic union and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighboring states in western Europe: B ...
countries and
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
but is also exported to other parts of the world. Spa Mineral Water is distributed in the UK by Aqua Amore Ltd. Spa mineral water comes from the grounds of the
Hautes Fagnes
The High Fens (german: Hohes Venn; french: Hautes Fagnes; nl, Hoge Venen), which were declared a nature reserve in 1957, are an upland area, a plateau region in Liège Province, in the east of Belgium and adjoining parts of Germany, between the ...
, of which the upper layers exists from
heath land and
peat
Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...
.
Spa mineral water is available in
bottles
A bottle is a narrow-necked container made of an impermeable material (such as glass, plastic or aluminium) in various shapes and sizes that stores and transports liquids. Its mouth, at the bottling line, can be sealed with an internal stopp ...
of three
litres
The litre (international spelling) or liter (American English spelling) (SI symbols L and l, other symbol used: ℓ) is a metric unit of volume. It is equal to 1 cubic decimetre (dm3), 1000 cubic centimetres (cm3) or 0.001 cubic metre (m3). ...
, two litres, one and a half liter, one liter, 75 cl, 50 cl, 30 cl and 25 cl. It is also available in 33 cl cans. There are several types of Spa mineral water.
Variants
The several types of Spa mineral water are instantly recognizable by their color of the label. These labels are blue, red or green.
*''Spa Reine'' (Spa blue). It contains no
carbonation
Carbonation is the chemical reaction of carbon dioxide to give carbonates, bicarbonates, and carbonic acid. In chemistry, the term is sometimes used in place of carboxylation, which refers to the formation of carboxylic acids.
In inorganic ch ...
and has a very low amount of minerals.
*''Spa Barisart'' (Spa red). It contains few minerals and some carbonation.
*''Spa Marie-Henriette''. It contains natural carbonation.
*''Spa Citron'' (Spa green). It contains some carbonation and added lemon flavour.
The water comes from different sources which are characterised by their difference in minerals.
Spa in national culture
The Netherlands
In the
Dutch language
Dutch ( ) is a West Germanic language spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language. It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language
The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-Europea ...
in
the Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, the brand Spa has historically been so pervasive that it has become a generic term for mineral water in . ''Spa rood'' () is a generic term for sparkling water, as the label for sparkling Spa is red. Likewise, ''Spa blauw'' () is a generic term for still (non-carbonated) mineral water, as the label for non-carbonated Spa is blue.
In a Dutch restaurant, for example, if a customer wishes sparkling mineral water, he will most commonly ask for "Spa rood". Generally, the waiter would not expect that the customer wants Spa brand specifically, nor would the customer expect Spa specifically.
See also
*
Mineral water
Mineral water is water from a mineral spring that contains various minerals, such as salts and sulfur compounds. Mineral water may usually be still or sparkling (carbonated/effervescent) according to the presence or absence of added gases.
Tra ...
References
{{reflist
External links
Spa.beSpawater.com
Bottled water brands
Companies based in Liège Province
Belgian drinks
Belgian brands
Mineral water
Spa, Belgium