On 5 Mar 2006 09:19:49 -0800, "Mydnight" > wrote:

>>Anyway, the provisional conclusion: a very small addition of minerals
>>can apparently have a profound, persistent and positive effect on
>>perceived quality in brewed tea, without much effort. Your mouthfeel may
>>vary.
>
>Without all that scientific stuff, this very same thing was told to me
>by an old man in the Sichuan province. He said the reason people like
>to use natural "mountain" water (shan quan shui) is because it's filled
>with many different types of minerals, and it's the minerals that bring
>out the tea's flavor more. Very interesting stuff.

It is my understanding that TDS directly relates to mineral content in
the water.

I find this most interesting as I am getting 2 sample bottles of
Spring Water delivered from a local bottling company. Shenandoah
Spring Water has a TDS of 92ppm and Mountain Valley Spring Water has a
TDS of 268ppm. I plan on doing side by side testing using the same tea
to see if I can tell the difference. The winner will be delivered to
me every month.

http://www.shenspring.com/products.html

The next question is which tea will make the best litmus paper...


--
Mike Petro
http://www.pu-erh.net