The water cafe purifies tap water that may contain harmful chemicals. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

by Adel Manoukian

Molecule, located in the East Village between First Avenue and Avenue A is a café like no other. Instead of offering your usual coffee, this café only serves filtered NYC tap water.

Molecule Water Café uses a $25, 000 machine to filter water to its purest form. For those looking for a little extra something in their drink, the café can add certain vitamins, minerals, and plant-based supplements for that extra boost.

Their mission is simple: providing people with chemical-free water that you can’t have drinking from a plastic bottle. Bottled water can contain the harmful chemical BPA that causes infertility and brain tumors, according to the cafe.  City water also contains chlorine, fluoride, and compound metal–this store gets rid of that.

The water costs $2 per serving, $2.50 for a 16-ounce to-go glass and $3 for a gallon. The store also can deliver three or five gallons of pure water to residents of the East Village.

Some residents are weary about the high prices but co-owner Adam Ruhf says it’s worth it, citing the healing properties of filtered water.

If this doesn’t encourage people to drink more water in the summer heat, who knows what will.