I actually like drinking plain (filtered) water, but occasionally I want to liven it up with some flavor. A friend of mine who used to live in India gave me this tip: just drop a star anise into a glass of water. The water will have an exotic, interesting taste (it reminds me of Pernod or Rickard, but without the alcohol of course!) and one star anise will flavor many, many glasses of water so you can leave it in your glass and just refill with more water. No calories and next to no cost, and it's delicious. I'm hooked!

If I want flavored water, I crush a lime.

That's an herbal tea (tisane)! I will have to try it; I drink tea like it's going out of style.

I dislike plain water, in most instances. It's a weird personal thing.

@Daedala: I have the same deal. I can drink milk, juice, Crystal Light, anything but plain old water. Bleh! I guess my taste buds demand to be stimulated.

That is a really interesting idea. I may have to try it. In the summer, cucumber water is really refreshing.

I've also heard ginger is good.

Dumblittleman.com:

http://www.dumblittleman.com/2007/07/9- ... d-how.html

Personally, I use 4C for this purpose. They cost a lot less than Lipton, and I get more for the same price.

When you say you don't like water, we're talking about decent, fresh, good water right? I mean, if we're talking about Souther California pool water municipal tap, then I hear you. But filtered, clean, fresh-from-a-mountain steam water? You're crazy. Be careful on adding up the calories just trying to stay hydrated.

Anyway, I love water, or I just drink tea. Tea's super healthy and there's really not much caffeine compared to, say, coffee. Caffeine is a diuretic, but tea still hydrates on the whole.

You might give a try to mint leaves. Spearmint water is strangely tasty and mint grows like crazy pretty much anywhere you plant it (in my climate at least).

get some sassafras (probably can find it out in the woods near you, too). other ideas is just put some raisins in water and let soak, or put fruit like pears and apples in the water and let soak, or get fresh mint as Ryuns mentioned, boil some pine needles in the water and drink chilled.

Sassafras has been shown to be carcinogenic -- you can look it up online. Wish I'd known that before I drank all that sassafras tea when I was a kid!

I add a few drops of lemon juice... or an ounce or two of flavored selzer, or juice if I'm feeling like being really wild (I have blood sugar problems)

I've also tried a bit of licorice root in my water bottle - licorice can raise blood pressure though, so if yours is already high, I'd stay away, just in case.

Your prejudices are quite evident.

http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles ... aste_test/

Your prejudices are quite evident.

http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles ... aste_test/

yes, and so are basil, pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, and several other commonly used herbs which all contain safrole, which is the carcinogenic. you can buy safrole free extract. although banned by the fda, there hasn't been any substantial studies on the actual affects on humans, oddly enough, and the base test of was based on overloading rats with safrole oil and seems that rats turn safrole into a carcinogen whereas humans do not, but oh well. from the conspiracy theorist in me the beer companies, the major cola companies, and the us military (who was rumored to be playing around with ecstacy in the 1950s) forced the ban. beer is like much more carcinogenic than sassafras tea, none of the other herbs which contain safrole are banned, there is nothing like root beer. i guess i'll still boil some sassafras roots in the woods just to boost morale.

I like to flavor my water with lime, mint, sugar, club soda, and rum.