Welcome to the ultimate place to splash out - Britain's first dedicated WATER shop, where there is a sommelier on hand and bottles cost up to £120.<br /><br />Fine Liquids launched in Fulham, south west London last week - and the team want to make you question what you think you know about H2O.<br /><br />The unique branch is run by Milin Patel, a certified water sommelier, who believes no two types of water in the world taste the same.<br /><br />The shop, which also has a water-themed art gallery, stocks hundreds of bottles of natural water sourced from as far away as Australia.<br /><br />Prices range from as little as £2.50 to as much as £120 per bottle - with water tasting courses also offered.<br /><br />Milin, 40, wants to show people water should be appreciated, and can be paired with meals like wine.<br /><br />He said: "I call myself the Willy Wonka of natural water. I've always had a deep passion for water - it's my life and I want to show others how to appreciate it.<br /><br />"There are so many different factors that make a water unique - different temperatures and levels of minerals change its taste and how it feels in your mouth.<br /><br />"There is no single best water in the world but it's my job to find the perfect one for you."<br /><br />Milin, from London, has been working as a water consultant for nearly two decades.<br /><br />He went on to become a water sommelier - just like a wine sommelier - after sitting countless exams and gained his qualification from an official board in 2020.<br /><br />Over the years, Milin has collaborated with companies including Water Aid and the NHS - and even Watches of Switzerland, where he paired water with watches.<br /><br />Milin met his now business partner, German Pat Eckert, 47, online in 2020, after Pat took over Fine Liquids in 2018 after being founded in 1987.<br /><br />Under its founder it had been a wine and water distribution company, but Pat completely relaunched it as a water only-distributor before Milin joined two years later.<br /><br />Their tagline is "hydrate the imagination" with their aim to adapt the way people think of water.<br /><br />Fine Liquids has two warehouses in Germany already and last week saw Milin open the doors of Fine Liquids' first UK shop in London.<br /><br />Milin said: "We wanted to give people the opportunity to go in and discover water like you would with wine.<br /><br />"There isn't another shop like this in the country!"<br /><br />The shop stocks hundreds of different waters from different natural water sources all around the world, from natural springs to collected rain pools, each with different properties from the next.<br /><br />Milin explained how this can be dependent on factors such as temperature and mineral content, because "different levels of calcium, magnesium and bicarbonate for example, all create a different taste and feel in the mouth".<br /><br />He said: "When it comes to water tasting, you have to let your senses truly experience it - it's more than just the taste.<br /><br />"Trying the different types of water will help you work out your personal preference - for example, a water with high silica levels has a very velvety mouth feel.<br /><br />"Water with high levels of magnesium will have a slightly sweet, metallic taste."<br /><br />Prices for their bottled water vary - with Milin insisting there is "a water for everybody and every budget."<br /><br />The most expensive option is APSU Origin Water, from Patagonia - sold at £120 per 750ml bottle.<br /><br />But the extreme price is justified by its origins, coming from a free-flowing glacier from the Gran Campo Nevado in Subantarctic Chilean Patagonia.<br /><br />They also run a monthly podcast where they discuss the 'drinking water lifestyle' and their favourite waters.
