Have you ever wondered why your coffee doesn’t taste as perfect as your local specialty coffee shop’s? You’re using great coffee and suitable brewing equipment, but is there still something missing to your brew?
Maybe the water you use could turn it all around.
With water making up the majority of our cup, it is no wonder that it will have a great impact on the quality of our brew. Most specialty cafes have reverse osmosis (RO) water systems in place, and sometimes a remineralization process. These systems first filter out a wide range of impurities, including chlorine, minerals, and organic compounds, to bring the numbers to zero, then remineralize with magnesium, sodium, calcium, and potassium. A good combination of minerals help ensure that coffee's true flavours are highlighted without interference from unwanted elements in the water. However, chances are you don’t have a RO system in your home.
So, that leads us to our next big question:
Tap water can actually be suitable for brewing depending on where you live. Joseph, our Head of Operations, actually won 6th place out of 54 competitors in the Toronto Aeropress Regional Qualifiers using tap water (Click here for the BTS)!
Here are a few simple things you can check to see if your tap water is suitable for brewing:
Water should be clear and free from particulates or sediment.
If your tap water has a chlorine taste or an unusual odor, it can negatively impact the flavor of your coffee. Sometimes, letting water sit on the counter for a few hours can help reduce the intensity of chlorinated water.
High levels of calcium and magnesium in water (known as hard water) can lead to scale buildup in your coffee equipment and affect the extraction process. You can test for water hardness using a test kit, or find out a more general answer from reports done for your neighbourhood.
The pH of water affects coffee extraction. Ideally, water should have a pH between 6.5 and 7.5. You can use pH test strips or a pH meter to check your water’s acidity or alkalinity.
The balance of minerals in water impacts coffee flavor, where minerals help pull flavours from the coffee grounds during brewing. Harder water typically comes with some flavour, but also extracts flavour compounds more efficiently than softer water. Water testing kits can help determine the specific mineral content.
Luckily, there’s an easy fix for that! All you need is distilled water and any of the following pre-made mineral packets, usually dosed to be dissolved in 4 litres of water.
1. Perfect Coffee Water
2. Third Wave Water
3. Aquacode
All of these packets have nailed down the ideal mineral profiles for water so that you don’t have to worry about it yourself! All you need to do is add any one of these packets to distilled water, start brewing, and taste the difference. To make your experience more fun, we decided to create a bundle of four different water profiles for you to try.
Happy brewing, everyone!
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