The Water Dictionary

Sainsbury’s British Bottled Spring Water

StillUnited Kingdom

Sainsbury’s own-label still spring water, listed here until now as Castle Spring. Sainsbury’s doesn’t say which spring or who bottles it. Dry residue is 219 mg/L on the 2 L and 230 on the 5 L.

Sainsbury’s own-label still spring water. The pack and product page call it “British Bottled Spring Water Still” and give no spring or bottler. It is spring water, not natural mineral water. We used to list it as Sainsbury’s Castle Spring; a search for “castle spring” on Sainsbury’s site (13 October 2026) now returns only this range. Correction, 13 October 2026: the old page called the water ultra-soft, with TDS about 22 mg/L. That was wrong for the still water.

Mineral composition

2 L pack

2 L still

mg/L
Calcium38
Magnesium12
Sodium8
Sulfate14
Chloride12
Bicarbonate135
Hardness: 144 as CaCO₃Alkalinity: 111 as CaCO₃

Dry residue 219 mg/L, pH 7.8

Source: Sainsbury’s: British Bottled Spring Water Still 2L (typical values, retrieved 13 October 2026)

5 L pack

5 L still

mg/L
Calcium46
Magnesium18
Sodium8
Sulfate50
Chloride10
Bicarbonate170
Hardness: 189 as CaCO₃Alkalinity: 139 as CaCO₃

Dry residue 230 mg/L

Source: Sainsbury’s: British Bottled Still Spring Water 5L (typical analysis, retrieved 13 October 2026)

Compositions can vary by season and source. Read our methodology.

Mineral character

The 2 L and 5 L packs print different analyses. Per litre, the 2 L has calcium 38 mg, magnesium 12 mg, sodium 8 mg, bicarbonate 135 mg, sulphate 14 mg and chloride 12 mg. Hardness is about 144 mg/L as CaCO₃. The 5 L has calcium 46 mg, magnesium 18 mg, sodium 8 mg, bicarbonate 170 mg, sulphate 50 mg and chloride 10 mg. Hardness is about 189 mg/L. Sulphate differs most, 14 against 50 mg. Dry residue is 219 and 230 mg/L. Values are from Sainsbury’s product pages, 13 October 2026.

Use-case suitability

This water is sold with more than one analysis, so suitability is shown for each.

2 L pack

2 L still

  • CoffeeNot used in any current coffee recipe, but hardness 144 mg/L sits within the 9–266 mg/L range typical for these targets.
  • TeaNot used in any current tea recipe. Hardness 144 mg/L is above the 37–59 mg/L range of these targets.
  • BrewingNot used in any current brewing recipe, but hardness 144 mg/L sits within the 26–922 mg/L range typical for these targets.
  • BakingNot used in any current baking recipe, but hardness 144 mg/L sits within the 46–390 mg/L range typical for these targets.
  • AquariumNot used in any current aquarium recipe, but hardness 144 mg/L sits within the 35–212 mg/L range typical for these targets.
  • HorticultureNot used in any current horticulture recipe. Hardness 144 mg/L is above the 12–54 mg/L range of these targets.

5 L pack

5 L still

  • CoffeeNot used in any current coffee recipe, but hardness 189 mg/L sits within the 9–266 mg/L range typical for these targets.
  • TeaNot used in any current tea recipe. Hardness 189 mg/L is above the 37–59 mg/L range of these targets.
  • BrewingNot used in any current brewing recipe, but hardness 189 mg/L sits within the 26–922 mg/L range typical for these targets.
  • BakingNot used in any current baking recipe, but hardness 189 mg/L sits within the 46–390 mg/L range typical for these targets.
  • AquariumNot used in any current aquarium recipe, but hardness 189 mg/L sits within the 35–212 mg/L range typical for these targets.
  • HorticultureNot used in any current horticulture recipe. Hardness 189 mg/L is above the 12–54 mg/L range of these targets.

Where to buy

UK

Sainsbury’s

£0.95 (2 L), £1.75 (5 L) per litre

Sold at Sainsbury’s in the UK. 2 L still 95p, 5 L still £1.75 (13 October 2026).