Starbucks ONE Water 500ml Sparkling

ONE Water 500ml Sparkling costs £2.55 at Starbucks UK and carries 0 calories, no sugar and no salt. It is the same British spring water as the still bottle with carbonation added, in a bottle made from recycled plastic.

Starbucks charges the same for this as for the still version, which is not true everywhere and is worth knowing. Carbonated water usually carries a small premium in a supermarket; here the two 500ml bottles sit at an identical £2.55, so nothing is lost by taking the one you actually prefer.

Sparkling water does one thing still water cannot, which is cut through fat and sugar. It works better than still alongside anything from the bakery case, and it is the more useful order next to a croissant or a brownie for exactly that reason. Against a sandwich it is a matter of taste rather than function.

The practical warning is the obvious one. A carbonated bottle that has been carried in a bag, warmed on a train and then opened will empty part of itself onto whatever is nearby. Still is the safer thing to buy if the bottle is not being drunk soon, and this one is best taken when you are sitting down with it.

Carbonation fades once the cap comes off, so a bottle opened and left on the table for an hour is flat water by the time you come back to it. Nothing is wrong with it, but the reason you chose it has gone. Drink it while it is sharp or take the still bottle instead.

Prices run from £2.55 to £3.45 depending on the platform. The bottle is 100 percent recycled and recyclable, excluding cap and label, and the water is gluten free, vegetarian and vegan. The 500ml still is the flat version at the same price, and the 750ml still is the best value per litre at £3.00.