Water is the second key essential to a good cup of coffee, and one that commonly gets overlooked. This may be due to misunderstanding that good water means water that tastes good! Or, it's filtered, or I bought it from the store. Indeed, all of these measures produce water that tastes good to US. However, our good friend, coffee, has a different taste-and likes water that is pretty specific.
So what makes up good coffee water?
1. Total Hardness
Hardness is the amount of calcium and magnesium present in your water. Generally speaking, too much hardness will produce bitterness and a drying mouthfeel, while too little hardness will produce a weak and tea-like cup.
2. Alkalinity
Don't confuse this with alkaline (as in the PH scale). Alkalinity is the measure of the amount of carbonate and bicarbonate in your water. Alkalinity is responsible for neutralizing your acids. Alkalinity has a major impact on your cup, even more-so than the hardness in your water. If water has too much alkalinity, it will neutralize too much acidity and the result will be a flat and chalky cup.Too little alkalinity and you won't neutralize the acidity enough. The result will be a cup that is too sharp and acidic.
Unfortunately, most people don't have access to great water. Here are my recommendations for how to handle your coffee water.
1. Thirdwave Water. (Did you know, we put a complimentary pack of TWW in your first order of coffee?!). To use Third Wave Water:
1) Simply pick up gallon of DISTILLED WATER at your local grocery store. Take out a pouch and dump it into your gallon of distilled water. Shake Well and Brew!
Pro Tip: To save money, buy two gallons of distilled water, and dump half of the pouch in each container. This is actually my preferred coffee water concoction because it increases the flavor clarity, and make the cup a little more lively.
2. Brita Water Filter: This water pitcher essentially just removes the odors from your water, which will definitely help, however, compared to TWW, your coffee will decrease in cup clarity, and just overall it will decrease in quality by a notch or two. It works OK in a pinch but once you've brewed with TWW, you will notice a difference.