Have you ever thought that 95% of your infusions (be it coffee or tea) are water?

 What's the point of going to the trouble of buying excellent tea (or coffee) and following the preparation instructions (such as water temperature, amount of tea and brewing time), if the water you use to prepare it is of poor quality? 

As early as 1200 years ago, Lu Yu, a Chinese writer from the famous book Cha Jing (The Classic of Tea), described the quality of water in different regions of China and recommended using “spring water.” Today, most of us use tap water, filtered water, or bottled water.

The water in each city of the republic has different contents of minerals and additional components such as chlorine, these affect the taste of tea in the following way:

HARD WATER : With a high calcium content, this type of water reacts with the tannins and theine in tea, causing the flavor to be bland and reducing the aroma.

P H :

• Acidic water decreases the color of the infusion.
• Neutral or alkaline water makes the color of the infusion darker or redder.

CHLORINE : Chlorinated water (0.5 mg or more per liter) will cause tea to smell bad and when combined with the polyphenols in tea will make it taste like medicine.

DISSOLVED SOLIDS : All water has dissolved compounds (minerals) hence it has conductivity, however these compounds must be at a certain level:

• Above 200 mg/l: Interferes with the taste of tea. Tea should be left in contact with water for longer.
• Below 100mg/l: It will not have the mineral balance that reflects the characteristics of the Tea.

SALT : The presence of sodium in water is necessary because it promotes the perception of sweetness. As the concentration increases, tea is perceived as sour (200 mg/l) and even more concentration will make it taste salty. Some water softening procedures raise the sodium level.

IRON AND MANGANESE : Water with a high content of these elements will make the tea taste “metallic”, its color will also become darker.

In summary, the ideal water for preparing tea should have the following characteristics:

•  Chlorine free
• With dissolved solids = 150 mg/l
• Hardness between 34-85 mg/l
• PH between 6 and 8
• Sodium less than 50 mg/l

There are different water purification treatments, each designed to remove or alter the water in a specific way; local water conditions will determine which treatment (or technology) is appropriate. There are carbon filters, water softeners, nano filtration, reverse osmosis, etc.

 Before buying a filter, check the conditions of your water and what type of filtering will balance it, or use bottled water, but be careful, not all bottled water has the ideal conditions for making infusions. “Sodium-free” and “alkaline” waters are in fashion, as we have already seen, these waters are not suitable for preparing tea, those that come from natural springs are preferable.

I wish you a delicious cup of tea.

Olivia Medina
Tea Master, EURO TEA