Water, the key ingredient

BendiBus

Am I the only one who considers the quality of the water just as important as the quality of the bean (or leaf) in the making of a quality hot beverage?

For the best tea or coffee I prefer to use Brita filtered water which has been standing for a while.

No filter available at work so I opt for water straight from the tap into the kettle. I see some people fill the kettle from a hot water urn but there's always a metallic taste from these things. Most horrifying of all, I've seen some people fill a kettle from the hot water tap :eek:

Am I taking things too far?

whiskeyman

Water is definately a key factor.
I simply can't drink the tea from boiled water striaght from my tap at home as the taste of chemicals is too overpowering.
It tastes a lot better from filtered water.

MY favorite cuppa is always one from down the country where the water seems much purer (well, expect in Galway!)

Mr Magnolia

Water is very important to the final product tea or coffee

My water at home isn't too bad at all, I'm lucky I suppose.

BendiBus wrote:

Most horrifying of all, I've seen some people fill a kettle from the hot water tap :eek:

That's just wrong

brianthebard

99% of your drink is water, so I don't think its overreacting to want the main ingredient to be of good quality.

Sparks

Gotta go with the filteration option if possible (britta kettles are neat), but I don't agree with letting it stand - you're just letting the O2 out doing that.

nesf

I miss the hard water taste from where I grew up sometimes. Though I don't miss the limescale.

Schlemm

Got some very posh vanilla tea recently and it specifically said to use good quality water!

jimmytwo

Also if using an espresso machine, your boiler will thank you for using filtered water

BendiBus

Sparks wrote:

but I don't agree with letting it stand

I admit it's just a habit at this stage, but I remember reading/hearing that leaving the water to stand lets the chlorine evaporate. Could be pure nonsense, and might make no difference anyway, but it's now part of my ritual.

And ritual is a vital part of the tea/coffee making process.

ruprect

BendiBus wrote:

I admit it's just a habit at this stage, but I remember reading/hearing that leaving the water to stand lets the chlorine evaporate. Could be pure nonsense, .

It does allow it to evaporate. Boiling will get rid of most of it anyway, but it is best to start with clean water. Most bottled water would be considered a little hard for coffee too. Filter the tap water and let it stand.

but I don't agree with letting it stand - you're just letting the O2 out doing that.

It will lose aeration so after standing you can simply introduce oxygen again, decant it from a height. People do this with many drinks and it is important though many think it is just for show.

Water should be boiled as fast as possible which also lessens the subsequent loss of O2 from it. So keep those kettle filled to the bare minimum you need. And pour from a height onto the coffee.

JIZZLORD

christ, i think ye're being a bit anal about this topic. As far as i'm concerned good coffee will be good no matter what water you use (as long as it's treated obviously). i use tap water, am i common...

nesf

JIZZLORD wrote:

christ, i think ye're being a bit anal about this topic. As far as i'm concerned good coffee will be good no matter what water you use (as long as it's treated obviously). i use tap water, am i common...

If you're making a mild tasting tea you'll notice the difference. For a strong coffee I wouldn't notice any difference though tbh.

JIZZLORD

Touche, i actually never factored in tea, water in tea does make a big difference (as i leared while in connemara at the gaeltacht a few years back).

Binomate

You have to fill up the kettle with fresh water after you've boiled it once, since the oxygen goes after the first boil.

DonkeyStyle \o/

BendiBus wrote:

Am I taking things too far?

By filling the kettle from the tap? I don't see how.

I've similar experience to nesf on this... when I go "down the country" (rolleyes optional) and boil tap-water, my cup of coffee tastes somehow odd compared to what I'm used to with Dublin tap water.
It's vaguely unsatisfying... for reasons I can't put my finger on.

simu

I use tap water for tea although I use filtered when drinking plain water. I agree that water affects the taste, though. This is actually very cool as it means the taste of a cup of tea is dependent on geographical location. There's a spring water well on the grounds of my parents' holiday home and the tea from it tastes amazing!

Endurance Man

Work at starbucks and we have a massive water filtration machine that feeds our taps and espresso machines, the water must be kinda important.

Gran Hermano

It's not just a question of taste, filtration will also reduce the amount of
lime scale and suchlike building up in the boiler/lines. It should reduce the
amount of maintenance required on espresso machines in the long run.

A simple Brita jug will normally be sufficient for home users with problems.

Decanting the water from the jug at a height will assist in reintroducing
oxygen when adding to your water reservoir.

mcaul

The quality of Water is key to any drink. Guniness always tasted different in UK (until they moved all production to Dublin) because the water was different. Coke tastes slightly different here compared to other countries, same with Carlsberg & Budweiser (both brewed here).

Tap water is generally fine with any hot drink but if you want to treat yourself, Lidl do spring water for about 35c per 2l bottle - as good as any spring water! Works out at 6c / cup

rockbeer

mcaul wrote:

if you want to treat yourself, Lidl do spring water for about 35c per 2l bottle - as good as any spring water! Works out at 6c / cup

Yeah, Lidl water is good and cheap. But I wouldn't put it in an espresso machine, it has rocks in it. The limescale off that stuff defies belief, I used it in a brand new kettle and it was scaled up in about three days.

Volvic is non-scaling, if anybody is looking for bottled water to put in an espresso machine.