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You're planning mocktails for Friday dinner, the recipe says soda water, and then you spot the word alkaline on a can. Alkaline soda water is just fizzy water with a pH above 7. It tastes clean, it has no sugar, and it's a sensible swap for a sugary soft drink. It won't change your body's pH or make you healthier, so buy it for the taste and leave the miracle claims on the shelf.
What alkaline actually means
pH tells you how acidic or alkaline a liquid is. 7 is neutral, anything below is acidic and anything above is alkaline. That's the whole definition. The word describes what's in the can and says nothing about what the drink does once you've swallowed it.
It isn't a type of drink either. Soda water, sparkling water and tonic water can each be alkaline or not, depending on the water and what's added to it. So decide which of the three you want first, then see if the pH matters to you. We don't think it matters much.
Soda water, sparkling water and tonic water: how they differ
All three look the same in a glass. The differences show up in the ingredients and the taste.
| Drink | What's in it | Taste | Sugar |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sparkling water | Water with bubbles, natural or added | Clean and light | None |
| Soda water | Carbonated water with added minerals | Clean, slightly salty | None |
| Tonic water | Carbonated water with a bitter flavour, traditionally quinine | Bitter-sweet | Often plenty in regular tonic, zero in Aquatonic |
Soda water and sparkling water are close relatives, and in a mocktail most people couldn't tell them apart. The slightly salty edge in soda water comes from added minerals, often sodium bicarbonate, and some people prefer that rounder taste with citrus.
Tonic is the one that catches people out. The name sounds like water, but classic tonic gets its bitterness from quinine and is often sweetened much like a soft drink, so a glass can hold far more sugar than you'd expect from something that looks like water. A zero-sugar tonic gets rid of that problem and keeps the fizz.
Does alkaline water make you healthier?
There's no good evidence that it does. Your body keeps your blood pH in a very tight range, a little above 7, mostly through your lungs and kidneys. A drink doesn't shift that, and your stomach is strongly acidic anyway, so whatever you swallow meets acid first. We sell alkaline drinks and we'll still tell you this: if a can promises to balance your body, don't believe the can.
The real benefit is in what it replaces. If you have a sugary soft drink most evenings, moving to a zero-sugar mixer takes that sugar out of your day, and that change has nothing to do with pH.
It's also fine to skip the whole category. Plain water hydrates you just as well for less money, and if fizzy drinks leave you bloated you won't enjoy these anyway. After a sweaty session in the heat you're better off with something that has electrolytes, such as our hydration drinks.
What's in stock right now
Aquatonic Soda Water and our plain Sparkling Water are temporarily out of stock. The tonic and the flavoured cans are available. Each comes in 355 ml slim cans, pack of 6, for AED 43 at the time of writing (November 2026), which works out at AED 7.17 a can. All four are listed as naturally alkaline, pH 8.0, with zero sugar.
- 💧 Aquatonic Tonic Water is the one we'd start with. Try it over ice with lime and fresh mint.
- 🍋 Aquatonic Lemon has natural lemon flavour. Add cucumber slices and you've got a mocktail.
- 🌿 Aquatonic Ginger has natural ginger flavour and goes well with pomegranate juice and a squeeze of lime.
- 🍊 Aquatonic Grapefruit has natural grapefruit flavour. Serve it with plenty of ice and a sprig of rosemary.
The full set lives on one page, and soda water will show up there again when it's back in stock. Shop the Aquatonic range
Frequently asked questions
Is alkaline soda good for you?
It's a good swap for a sugary soft drink. There's no good evidence that the alkaline part does anything for your health, though, so don't pay extra for that alone.
What's the difference between soda water and sparkling water?
Sparkling water is water with bubbles. Soda water is carbonated water with added minerals, so it can taste slightly salty. In a mocktail you can use either one.
Is tonic water alkaline?
Not automatically, because pH depends on the recipe. Aquatonic Tonic Water is listed as naturally alkaline, pH 8.0.
Does soda water have sugar?
Plain soda water doesn't. Tonic and flavoured mixers can, so read the label. The Aquatonic cans above have zero sugar.
Aquatonic is a drink, not a medicine. If you're watching your sodium, you've been told to avoid quinine, or you're pregnant, breastfeeding or on medication, read the label and ask your doctor.
