What a great idea to get rid of plastics bottles! It’s odd to say that water tastes good, since there’s usually no flavor. This water actually does have a taste and it’s a fresh, clean taste. I guess you could say that it is crisp also. After drinking water from plastic bottles for years, it was getting tiresome, hard to drink the recommended amount of water each day and unless I added some sort of flavor, it was pretty boring. I didn’t notice any chemical smell inside the carton but I did notice that the water seems to stay cooler in the carton than plastic after sitting out for awhile, kind of like a mini Yeti. Lol I’ve already ordered more of the small waters and also the 16oz for on the go. It is a bit pricey, hoping that comes down a bit.