Tap water kills the flavor of everything. Chlorine, chloramine, and the trace minerals in municipal water compete with whatever else is in the glass. The lemon slice tastes less like lemon. The mint tastes less like mint. The fruit tastes less like fruit. Spring water — clean, mineral-balanced, no chlorine — gives your add-ins room to actually express themselves.

Cold matters more than you think. Spring water delivered chilled and stored cold stays at serving temperature without aggressive ice dilution. A 2.5 gallon glass dispenser with a stainless spigot keeps water in the 38-45°F range for hours. Guests pour what they want, ice doesn't melt into the pitcher, and the last glass of the night tastes as good as the first.

The vessel is part of the experience. A 2.5 gallon glass dispenser with a copper spigot is furniture, not tableware. It changes the look of the table. It signals that someone put thought into this. Plastic water bottles — even premium ones — don't do that. Glass does.

The dispenser goes in the center. Not on a side table. Not in the kitchen. On the dining table, on a sideboard, on the kitchen island — wherever people gather. The visual centerpiece is the water.

Ice and add-ins in small bowls. One bowl of ice. One bowl of citrus slices. One bowl of fresh herbs. Guests compose.

Cups that feel good in the hand. A 16 ounce glass cup with a rounded shape works better than a tumbler for infused water — it lets the aromatics hit the nose on the way in. If you have glass cups, use them. If not, anything ceramic or stainless works.

No straws, no plastic. The whole point is that the water is served in vessels that match the care you put into the food. Glass, ceramic, stainless — pick one and commit.