Drinking nothing but tap water during the day can become tedious, but many people shy away from sugar-laden juices and sodas for health reasons. For those seeking some middle ground between these beverage options, flavored water seems to offer a solution.
Hint is a brand of unsweetened water flavored with natural fruit extracts. The beverages are free of calories, sweeteners, and preservatives.
The company currently bottles its beverages in Texas and New York and applies various purification techniques to ensure that the water is almost 100% pure and has low mineral content. These include reverse osmosis, de-ionization, and ultra-violet purification.
The water is then infused with natural flavors derived from fruit through pressing, heating, cooling, filtering, and other extraction techniques. Each batch is then pasteurized before bottling to ensure safety.
The resulting drink should have a clean, crisp taste as if you sliced up fresh fruit and let it infuse in water for several hours. Does this match the experience for those who tried Hint, and is the beverage as healthy as it claims? We’ll analyze what this beverage offers so you can decide whether to buy it.
Hint Water Product Line
Hint offers four unique product lines, which include the following:
Hint Still
As Hint’s original product, Hint Still is a carbonation-free beverage flavored with fruit extracts.
Flavor Options: watermelon, blackberry, pineapple, strawberry-kiwi, cherry, lemon, peach, mango, crisp apple, raspberry, mango-grapefruit, pear, pomegranate, blood orange, peppermint, clementine.
Price: $19.99–$20.99 for twelve 16-oz bottles ($15.99–$16.99 with subscription).
Hint Sparkling
These beverages have carbonation to give them a distinct bubbly taste. Like the original option, they are flavored only with fruit extracts.
Flavor Options: Watermelon, blackberry, peach, cherry.
Price: $19.99–$20.99 for twelve 16-oz bottles ($15.99–$16.99 with subscription).
Hint Kick
Each 16-oz beverage packs 60mg of caffeine (equivalent to a 20-oz Pepsi or a half cup of coffee) without any artificial preservatives or added sweeteners.
Flavor Options: Raspberry, apple pear.
Price: $19.99–$20.99 for twelve 16-oz bottles ($15.99–$16.99 with subscription).
Hint Kids
These kid-friendly flavors are packaged in 6.75-oz juice boxes and contain nothing but fruit extracts.
Flavor Options: Blackberry, apple, cherry, watermelon.
Price: $19.99 for 32 6.75-oz cartons ($15.99 with subscription).
Is Hint Water Healthy?
Hint Water claims to flavor its drinks with nothing but all-natural fruit extracts. What does this mean in plain language?
To start, Hint defines fruit extract as the essence of the fruit, which is removed using steam or alcohol extraction methods. This pulls out the taste while separating out the pulp and sugar. Extracts differ from fruit concentrates because the later involves removing much of the water content to intensify the sweetness.
Are natural fruit extracts good for you? Lisa Hugh, a registered dietician in Southern Maryland, believes there could be a reason for concern.
“As far as Natural Flavors goes, the term is very vague. Lots of things are natural but might not be good for individual people. [For example,] wheat may provide a natural flavor - but this would be bad for people with celiac or wheat allergy or wheat sensitivity.”
Hugh further explained that her primary concern with natural flavors is the lack of consistent labeling.
“My concern about this (as a dietitian and as a parent of children with food allergies) is that by using natural flavor on a food label, the manufacturer may change the actual ingredients from batch to batch.”
This might mean that someone with severe allergies could react to one batch of Hint water without having any problems previously, and the label wouldn’t indicate any differences between them.
Adding to this concern, the company shares that the beverage’s listed flavor isn’t always indicative of what’s actually inside. For example, the pomegranate flavor contains citrus essence in addition to pomegranate, but both will be on the label as “natural flavor.”
But beyond these concerns specific to allergy sufferers, Hugh believes that flavored water beverages like Hint make sense from a health standpoint, especially for those who have a hard time drinking regular water and would otherwise be sipping on sodas or fruit juices.
Where to Buy Hint Water
Every Hint product can be purchased online as a one-time order or through the company’s subscribe and save program. You can save up to 20% per order when you commit and will earn free shipping when you subscribe to receive three or more cases per delivery.
You can select your delivery frequency to be monthly, every other month, or every two weeks. It’s possible to cancel at any time without penalty through your online account.
It’s also possible to purchase Hint Water in stores. The product website includes a store locator feature so you can find your closest locations.
Analysis of Customer Reviews of Hint Water
HighYa readers have a lot to say about Hint Water. They rated this beverage company at 2.9-stars after 76 reviews. Here’s our analysis of what they said:
Better Taste Than Other Flavored Water Brands
Many Hint reviewers reported that they loved the subtle flavor of this beverage, especially compared to other flavored water brands.
These users shared that other brands tasted like hairspray to them, but Hint tasted like it genuinely had a hint of fruit in it without an overpowering aftertaste. Many of these reviewers appreciated that the drink didn’t contain any sweeteners.
Great Alternative to Soda
Several Hint Water drinkers used the beverage as a substitute for soda. They appreciated that Hint satisfied their craving for sipping something other than water but didn’t give them unwanted calories or artificial flavors.
Many wrote that they were surprised how sweet-tasting and refreshing the drinks were without them.
Strong, Artificial Taste
Not everyone who tried Hint Water liked the taste. Many complained that it was too strong and artificial tasting and that it hurt their stomach after they took a few sips.
In a few cases, users shared that most batches of Hint Water tasted fine, but that they occasionally purchased bottles with a less pleasant taste.
Bottle Design Problems
One common complaint about Hint Water concerns the bottle design. Many users found them hard to close after they opened them because they felt like they were stripping the threads of the bottle with the twist cap. This often made them feel like they had to drink the full bottle at once.
Too Expensive
Many Hint Water customers loved the drinks but shared they wouldn’t buy them often because of how expensive they were. They shared that the flavor and benefits seemed too subtle to justify the cost for what was essentially just water.
Key Takeaways
Whether you like Hint Water will come down to personal taste preferences. Some users thought the flavor too mild, while others found it too strong. We suggest purchasing a bottle or two for your first taste trial, so you can see where you fall on the tasting spectrum.
Hint Water vs. LaCroix and JUST Water
There are plenty of options for satisfying your flavored water fix without consuming unwanted calories. LaCroix is one option that dominates store shelves, so we compared it—and another popular online brand—to Hint Water to see how they compare.
Deciding between these three brands (and the dozens of others in the flavored water marketspace) comes down to determining what you’re interested in. All three offer zero-calorie drinks flavored with natural fruit extracts, so they each offer identical nutritional profiles.
Hint Water is the only company we looked at that that offers regular water as well as carbonated and caffeinated varieties. This might keep things less monotonous if you’re planning to commit to one brand for the long term.
LaCroix is the most well-known brand on this list, and it's available in grocery stores across the country. In contrast, you might need to buy Hint and JUST water online if you want it regularly. Though this means you need to factor in shipping costs to the pricing, but you can also save money by signing up for either company’s subscription program.
Finally, the water’s packaging might be a deciding factor for you. JUST water’s cardboard carton is made from 82% renewable resources, and the included plastic is made from sugarcane. This gives the brand a lower ecological footprint, which is something to consider if you plan to be a regular customer.
Key Takeaways: There are numerous options for choosing a fruit-flavored water brand without extra ingredients, and your decision will likely come down to taste preferences.
LaCroix’s low cost and convenience make it a natural choice for many, but Hint Water is worth considering if you don’t mind ordering online and prefer a variety of water styles to choose from.
The Bottom Line
Hint Water offers a refreshing way to hydrate for those tired of sipping on regular water. While the taste is polarizing for many people, those who liked it found plenty of flavors that met their preferences and appreciated that they could choose between flat and carbonated water.
If you are already a fan of flavored water, you might find that Hint’s flavor is too subtle for your tastes.
It’s also important to note that the brand has the highest cost per unit of any we looked at, and that’s not factoring in the $5 shipping costs. For many, that might be worth it for the flavor variety and convenience of an auto-ship program.
For those who find themselves turning to juice and soda instead of water throughout the day, Hint products are a healthier alternative that will hydrate you as well as regular water.
