Hello fellow tea lovers,

In my research around tea I have come across a plethora of opinions about water quality. The conclusion that I have reached so far is that R.O. water will create a flat taste and a "soft water" is ideal for tea. That means, "some" minerals, but not a lot. For this reason it seems most city's tap water in conjunction with a good carbon filter may be the best bet apart from spring water (feedback welcome).

I am trying to decide on the best water system for a commercial tea venue as I draft business plans for a loose leaf tea lounge and artisan pottery shop. In hopes that I may find somebody who can decipher this information and be able to advise on appropriate filtration I have received the "Water Quality Report" from my city and found out the following figures from last year:

(all figures ppm unless specified otherwise)

Chlorine 0.47 - 3.4
Fluoride 1.2
Sodium 260 (violation last year which has been corrected and is now back in compliance with federal law)
Nitrate 0.6
Lead 3 PPB
Copper 0.0448 PPM
Calcium 86
Magnesium 8
Iron 0.001

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

I am alternatively looking for any feedback from business owners on whatever water filtration systems they found to work best. I have heard good things about Everpure undersink filters.

Thanks.

Earth&Water > wrote:
>
>In my research around tea I have come across a plethora of opinions
>about water quality. The conclusion that I have reached so far is that
>R.O. water will create a flat taste and a "soft water" is ideal for tea.
>That means, "some" minerals, but not a lot. For this reason it seems
>most city's tap water in conjunction with a good carbon filter may be
>the best bet apart from spring water (feedback welcome).

The reason that you find so many different opinions is that different
people like different tastes in tea, and they are used to different things.

A lot of the issue isn't just the total mineral content, but the overall
balance of minerals.

>I am trying to decide on the best water system for a commercial tea
>venue as I draft business plans for a loose leaf tea lounge and artisan
>pottery shop. In hopes that I may find somebody who can decipher this
>information and be able to advise on appropriate filtration I have
>received the "Water Quality Report" from my city and found out the
>following figures from last year:
>
>(all figures ppm unless specified otherwise)
>
>Chlorine 0.47 - 3.4
>Fluoride 1.2
>Sodium 260 (violation last year which has been corrected and is now back
>in compliance with federal law)
>Nitrate 0.6
>Lead 3 PPB
>Copper 0.0448 PPM
>Calcium 86
>Magnesium 8
>Iron 0.001

These look pretty reasonable... iron is okay, and it's a bit softer
than I might pick but it's not horrible.

Make a cup of tea with it and see what you think. If you like it,
don't change anything.

If anything you might want to reduce those sodium and calcium numbers
a bit, but that's a fairly expensive thing to do and it might not improve
the taste anyway.

>Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

Get a sample, make some teas with it. Compare with some teas made with
the same volume and the same steeping times using a reference water,
say Volvic mineral water or flat Perrier. Do they taste good? If they
taste good, the water is good.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

I always tell people if you want to spend more money on tea dont waste
it on water. It is my experience if your water is lacking something
the taste of tea will make up for it.

Jim

On Jun 17, 1:21 pm, Earth&amp;Water <EarthampWater.
> wrote:
> Earth&Water;1624020 Wrote:
>
> > Hello fellow tea lovers,
>
> > In my research around tea I have come across a plethora of opinions
> > about water quality. The conclusion that I have reached so far is that
> > R.O. water will create a flat taste and a "soft water" is ideal for tea.
> > That means, "some" minerals, but not a lot. For this reason it seems
> > most city's tap water in conjunction with a good carbon filter may be
> > the best bet apart from spring water (feedback welcome).
>
> > I am trying to decide on the best water system for a commercial tea
> > venue as I draft business plans for a loose leaf tea lounge and artisan
> > pottery shop. In hopes that I may find somebody who can decipher this
> > information and be able to advise on appropriate filtration I have
> > received the "Water Quality Report" from my city and found out the
> > following figures from last year:
>
> > (all figures ppm unless specified otherwise)
>
> > Chlorine 0.47 - 3.4
> > Fluoride 1.2
> > Sodium 260 (violation last year which has been corrected and is now back
> > in compliance with federal law)
> > Nitrate 0.6
> > Lead 3 PPB
> > Copper 0.0448 PPM
> > Calcium 86
> > Magnesium 8
> > Iron 0.001
>
> > Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you!
>
> I am alternatively looking for any feedback from business owners on
> whatever water filtration systems they found to work best. I have heard
> good things about Everpure undersink filters.
>
> Thanks.
>
> --
> Earth&amp;Water

Space Cowboy > writes:

>I always tell people if you want to spend more money on tea dont waste
>it on water. It is my experience if your water is lacking something
>the taste of tea will make up for it.

So infusing tea leaves will improve the taste of virtually any water?
Agreed. But if youre dissatisfied with the tea liquor youre brewing,
improving the water you use might make sense. And if the water youre
currently using is low in minerals, then, as Scott Dorsey has suggested,
it might be possible to improve the water by adding minerals at an
*extremely* low cost.

/Lew
---
Lew Perin /
http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html

In early Chinese literature tea was a remedy for bad tasting water.
It unintentionally took care of organics like bacteria. Boiling water
also softens hard water. Ill let Scott discuss what happens to his
minerals when boiled. It is a common way to get rid of the chlorine
taste if present in tap water. Lemon juice used in ice tea is also
known to chelate inorganic minerals. So do other Tisanes. In my
opinion tea alone is enough. Id like to see some proof that adding a
mineral activates any organic in tea that otherwise wouldnt happen.
You can taste minerals but I dont think can add to the taste of tea
beyond anecdotal evidence. I would tell people to try unglazed clay
over treated water if they want a different taste. I understand there
is a billion dollar after market water industry so what do I know. I
wear a camel back for my bike rides and forgo tossing plastic bottles
in waste bins. I like holy water which has the hell boiled out of it.

Jim


On Jun 21, 9:30 am, Lewis Perin > wrote:
> Space Cowboy > writes:
> >I always tell people if you want to spend more money on tea dont waste
> >it on water. It is my experience if your water is lacking something
> >the taste of tea will make up for it.
>
> So infusing tea leaves will improve the taste of virtually any water?
> Agreed. But if you’re dissatisfied with the tea liquor you’re brewing,
> improving the water you use might make sense. And if the water you’re
> currently using is low in minerals, then, as Scott Dorsey has suggested,
> it might be possible to improve the water by adding minerals at an
> *extremely* low cost.
>
> /Lew
> ---
> Lew Perin /

Lewis Perin > wrote:
>Space Cowboy > writes:
>
>>I always tell people if you want to spend more money on tea dont waste
>>it on water. It is my experience if your water is lacking something
>>the taste of tea will make up for it.
>
>So infusing tea leaves will improve the taste of virtually any water?
>Agreed. But if youre dissatisfied with the tea liquor youre brewing,
>improving the water you use might make sense. And if the water youre
>currently using is low in minerals, then, as Scott Dorsey has suggested,
>it might be possible to improve the water by adding minerals at an
>*extremely* low cost.

I think, though, that it's more common to find water with too much of the
wrong mineral content rather than too little of the right. That's a more
difficult problem but not an insurmountable one.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

> I always tell people if you want to spend more money on tea dont waste
> it on water. It is my experience if your water is lacking something
> the taste of tea will make up for it.

Chinese always said that water is mother of tea. Different water can
make tea taste different.
many tea master believe the first thing of learning brewing tea is to
learn how to brew water.

Julia

On Jun 21, 9:03*am, Space Cowboy > wrote:
> I always tell people if you want to spend more money on tea dont waste
> it on water. *It is my experience if your water is lacking something
> the taste of tea will make up for it.
>
> Jim
>
> On Jun 17, 1:21 pm, Earth&amp;Water <EarthampWater.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > wrote:
> > Earth&Water;1624020 Wrote:
>
> > > Hello fellow tea lovers,
>
> > > In my research around tea I have come across a plethora of opinions
> > > about water quality. *The conclusion that I have reached so far is that
> > > R.O. water will create a flat taste and a "soft water" is ideal for tea.
> > > That means, "some" minerals, but not a lot. *For this reason it seems
> > > most city's tap water in conjunction with a good carbon filter may be
> > > the best bet apart from spring water (feedback welcome).
>
> > > I am trying to decide on the best water system for a commercial tea
> > > venue as I draft business plans for a loose leaf tea lounge and artisan
> > > pottery shop. *In hopes that I may find somebody who can decipher this
> > > information and be able to advise on appropriate filtration I have
> > > received the "Water Quality Report" from my city and found out the
> > > following figures from last year:
>
> > > (all figures ppm unless specified otherwise)
>
> > > Chlorine 0.47 - 3.4
> > > Fluoride 1.2
> > > Sodium 260 (violation last year which has been corrected and is now back
> > > in compliance with federal law)
> > > Nitrate 0.6
> > > Lead 3 PPB
> > > Copper 0.0448 PPM
> > > Calcium 86
> > > Magnesium 8
> > > Iron 0.001
>
> > > Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you!
>
> > I am alternatively looking for any feedback from business owners on
> > whatever water filtration systems they found to work best. *I have heard
> > good things about Everpure undersink filters.
>
> > Thanks. *
>
> > --
> > Earth&amp;Water