Choosing water for making tea

[JBaymore]

........just cause it's more expensive, it tastes better....... (

Everybody knows THAT!

And I saved 15% in 15 minutes........ ah... nevermind.

I do have to say that (IMO) nothing makes better water for matcha than the cast iron Japanese Chagama I have for tea ceremony use. Same matcha, water prepered in different heaters of various sorts....... the Chagama wins hands down. Has to be the trace iron ions it picks up there.

best,

..............john

[MEversbergII]

No, I totally get you! I was also really skeptical in the beginning.

When I grew up and first got into loose tea, it was good well water. When I moved downtown, I tried making tea as usual, figuring municipal water wasn't really all that different. Wasted quite a bit of leaves trying to figure out how I managed to make it so bitter. I've moved since then, but not far so it is the same municipal water. Just kept in the habit of getting jugs.

The brand my local CVS carries is a bit harder than the rest; using it in my measuring cups leaves a white powdery coating which I don't mind at all. Differences in tea making appear to be minimal between the brands, though I haven't done a serious analysis.

For the Gerolsteiner mineral water, it certainly is more appealing. Pretty high in mg, especially compared to tap. I'm the only guy I know who can drink it - everyone else thinks it is too hard. Me, I like my minerals...mix it 1:1 with lemon juice and I have a good time.

M.

[Tead Off]

I buy alkaline water from an aquifer located about 30 minutes away here in San Diego, 15 gallons at a time. it's about 8.3 pH and I can tell the difference between it and the local R.O. water dispenser at the gas station by my house. There's quite a difference in price ($3.50 for 5 gallons vs. $1 for 5 gallons) but since it makes up 99% of the tea, I don't mind spending the extra money.

I'm curious about the high ph of the water you're using. IME, the high ph waters worked well for teas like Sencha and other greens, maybe the occasional puerh, but did not work well for oolongs and black teas. What's is your experience telling you?

[Muadeeb]

pH is about 8.3 and I think it helps all teas. I can tell the difference between this and regular r.o. water, so to me it's worth the extra drive and cost.

[Tead Off]

pH is about 8.3 and I think it helps all teas. I can tell the difference between this and regular r.o. water, so to me it's worth the extra drive and cost.

RO water is not good for tea, in general. What I was asking is if you had any hands on experience comparing the 8.3ph water and other good mineral waters around 7ph. For me, there is a big difference, and I wouldn't use a high ph water for oolongs and many other teas.

[Muadeeb]

No, I don't have experience with other mineral waters or bottled waters. All I know is that this is better water than San diego tap and Brita filtered. I am actually in Cleveland right now visiting family and I brought one of my favorite Lishan Oolong's from red blossom and my green oolong pot with me. I brewed it this morning with tap water and it tasted flat. No sweetness or complexity at all.

[Tead Off]

No, I don't have experience with other mineral waters or bottled waters. All I know is that this is better water than San diego tap and Brita filtered. I am actually in Cleveland right now visiting family and I brought one of my favorite Lishan Oolong's from red blossom and my green oolong pot with me. I brewed it this morning with tap water and it tasted flat. No sweetness or complexity at all.

I gave up using a Brita filter some years ago. It lowered my tap water ph which was 7, to less than 6.

[Wout]

I use a special osmotic water filter that is directly connected too my normal 'pipe' water. It clears the water more then the Mont Roucous or Spa reine (both very clear water) i would otherwise use .If your interested i can look up how its exactly called.

[chrl42]

I recently got interested in this...

I think this pH thingy is a thing for green tea..because I heard once the water is boiled, it turns automatically alkaline


I didn't notice it much, but I've found the water do play an important role when brewing green (the tea I drink most recently).

Here in China, I drink mostly Nongfu spring. It's the water from Zhejiang's Qiandaohu lake..a huge beautiful lake..the pH is around 7.0~7.2

Kangshifu bottle is somewhat cheaper...it's made from filtered tap water then the minerals are added. The pH is the lowest in China..is less than 6. It brews Puerh very well nonetheless.

Evian is super expensive in China...pH is around 7.1

My favorite is Kunlunshan..kinda expensive. It's from snow mountain of Tibet and Xinjiang area. The pH is 7.1 I heard.

Then there's Korean Samdasoo..volcanic water from Mt.Hala...pH is around 7.7...currently my favorite for Yancha.


dunno much about western brands

[Tead Off]

ph is just one factor in water choice. The amount of certain minerals and TDS particles will have a great effect on taste and mouthfeel.

[Poseidon]

For us Westerners, a quick google search found a blog PH for most water you can find in stores. Looks like my local water(highbridge springs) that I buy, I try to buy local as much as possible(Kentucky proud), is currently at 6.7ph.

http://www.alkalife.com/blog/is-your-bo ... -alkaline/

[chrl42]

ph is just one factor in water choice. The amount of certain minerals and TDS particles will have a great effect on taste and mouthfeel.

Of course you are right. I just wanted to learn about this subject.

This water that got bad effect on my green tea (or just about my palate) comes from the groundwater of Mt.Lao,

Lu Yu' said "mountain water the best, river water the second and well water to be worst"..I dunno where groundwater fits

Nongfu spring seems compatible with green tea..it's from a huge lake that
might draw more to 'river water' I guess?


I think it's very complicated beyond just pH.

[chrl42]

For us Westerners, a quick google search found a blog PH for most water you can find in stores. Looks like my local water(highbridge springs) that I buy, I try to buy local as much as possible(Kentucky proud), is currently at 6.7ph.

http://www.alkalife.com/blog/is-your-bo ... -alkaline/

That's absolutely helpful.

Furthermore I can draw this comparison..

Binglu = Aquafina (purified tap water)

Kangshifu = Dasani (purified tap water + adding minerals)

Samdasoo = Fiji (volcanic water)

Kunlunshan = Evian (snowy glacier water)


but I think the pHs also differ by labs it is tested..but at least it's good know where they come from

[mganz42]

So... what exactly does one look for in water? I'm assuming maximizing iron while minimizing chloride, sulfate, and fluoride, yes? What's the target pH?
I'd like to know what minerals one would want to get, rather than where the water should come from. I'm a little skeptical when people say that water should come from a specific location. For example, if you look here http://manitoumineralsprings.org/pdf_fi ... _Chart.pdf you see how you could get very different water samples from within a ten mile radius. So of course I don't think that location gives a good indication of where to get water from.
I'd perform a taste test myself, but I'm reluctant to use any of my good leaves with this stuff. Some of these fountains taste pretty awful

[chrl42]

So... what exactly does one look for in water? I'm assuming maximizing iron while minimizing chloride, sulfate, and fluoride, yes? What's the target pH?
I'd like to know what minerals one would want to get, rather than where the water should come from. I'm a little skeptical when people say that water should come from a specific location. For example, if you look here http://manitoumineralsprings.org/pdf_fi ... _Chart.pdf you see how you could get very different water samples from within a ten mile radius. So of course I don't think that location gives a good indication of where to get water from.
I'd perform a taste test myself, but I'm reluctant to use any of my good leaves with this stuff. Some of these fountains taste pretty awful

Try distilled water in a Tetsubin then....

best.