Wanda Water Filter and Carafe Review
Reviewed by Emma Rogers
In a world where we are now all looking for ways to improve our health and keep the health of the planet happy by not using plastic, the market seems to have exploded for non-plastic, low carbon, non-paraben and chemical free products. Don’t forget how many times we’re told to drink more water too!
The Wanda Water Filter and Carafe is a world away from the Brita filters some of us grew up with. The Wanda is an elegant carafe (basically a tall jug) made of clear glass and carries about a litre of water. It’s topped with a bamboo lid, which matches many bamboo plastic alternatives now, so fits well into rest of the décor in my kitchen. It’s easy to pick up with one hand, and also fits nicely in the door of the fridge as it’s about as wide as a milk bottle – not like the chunky Brita filters.
The difference is in the way the water is filtered. There isn’t a plastic filter that needs rinsing or submerging and looks completely different. The filter is itself charred bamboo – that’s right, a piece of bamboo that has been burned to charcoal. You don’t need to fill the carafe through the piece of bamboo, nor is there anywhere to put it, you just add it to the jug.
So we tried it in my household! The jug (carafe) itself is very pretty and looks delicate but I’m sure it isn’t. We filled up the carafe and popped in the bamboo filter. It feels strange – I don’t normally have something that’s burned to a crisp in my kitchen and this is very similar to the charcoal you find in a BBQ. Adding it to the water (after a quick rinse under the tap to remove dust) all you have to do is leave it in the jug for at least an hour. The instructions say that you leave the filter in the carafe for at least an hour and the longer you leave it in, the better the water tastes.
After an hour, I tried a first glass. It didn’t look much clearer as there are tiny particles of charcoal in the water. I know from other sources that charcoal is good for your health so I wasn’t bothered by the charcoal. Tasting the water, it was much softer than my (very) hard water from the tap and had a slight after taste. I realised it was the charcoal in the water that was cleaning the plaque off my teeth… I have a charcoal toothpaste and I know that the slightly abrasive nature of charcoal, along with the carbon that makes it up, neutralises the nasties in the water and acts as an antibacterial agent without killing off all the good stuff. It’s totally natural.
After trying the water a few times with varying lengths of time in the filter, the aftertaste is still there but isn’t very prominent. The water is definitely clearer and cleaner too.
The only downside is that the packaging that it comes in includes polystyrene, which is obviously not great for the environment but probably essential for keeping the glass carafe safe.
I’ll definitely be keeping the Wanda Water Filter and buying more filters in the future. Not just for the health and planet benefits but because it looks so classy in the kitchen and on the dinner table!
Rating: 4.5/5
RRP: £29.95 (Carafe) / £9.95 (Replacement Filter)
For more information or to buy visit www.livewanda.com.
