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Mitte Smart Water System Is Purely Automatic

German company Mitte believes the home water purification experience needs an update. Their home distillation system is designed to remove impurities from tap water while adding back essential minerals into every glass or bottle using customized mineral cartridges formulated with specific taste profiles and mineral content.

The Mitte uses an age old technique – distillation – the same process a spirits distillery utilizes to craft your favorite bottle of liqueur, whiskey, gin, tequila, or vodka. Water is boiled, with condensed steam gathered into a clean container for drinking or use. Impurities are left behind, producing extremely clean water. It’s nothing new or whizbang in itself, but it is proven very effective as a water purification process.

The app-controlled system allows users to adjust water dispensed at a wide range of temperatures, between 5 to 92 degrees Celsius, 41 to 197 Fahrenheit, a welcome feature for those who require ideal water for their hot cup of tea or coffee throughout the day

But the promise of clean water is complicated by findings that show demineralized water isn’t as unhealthy than water with trace elements (the human body requires minerals in minute amounts). Distilled water also tastes quite flat. That’s the reasoning behind Mitte’s mineral cartridge system, each formulated with a cocktail of essential minerals and different pH ratings to add back what was removed in the process of purifying the water from other unwanted elements.

Of course the catch is the system requires reordering new mineral cartridges every 3 months, for about 400 liters of water dispensed through the cartridges (Mitte notes this is still cheaper and more eco-friendly than purchasing bottled water). Ideally, one day the manufacturer would opt to offer a reusable cartridge permitting users to formulate their own mineral content using readily available sources like mineral-rich sea salt.

There are already numerous countertop water distillation appliances available for less, so it seems Mitte is counting on a more aesthetically pleasing level of industrial design and their integrated mineralization feature to standout from the existing crowd of fairly staid looking home water distillers. Beyond price, the Mitte’s 16.5″ x 16.9″ x 12.6″ footprint requires assessment of available counterspace. It’s not huge, but neither is it compact by any means. But if there’s anything worth investing in, clean drinking water is right up there.


Gregory Han is a Senior Editor at Design Milk. A Los Angeles native with a profound love and curiosity for design, hiking, tide pools, and road trips, a selection of his adventures and musings can be found at gregoryhan.com.