Brief water comment

[moot]

I live in Hollywood, which has some of the most wretched water on the face of the planet. Tastes like sulfur and death. Not even double-Britaing can save it, so I go bottled.

After a tour through many types, including the usuals like Arrowhead and Crystal Geyser, and shelling out for some of the more expensive and whatever, I have a new general favorite for many applications:

Trader Joe's New Zealand Artisan Water.

It's actually kind of unexpectedly expensive for TJ's: $2.50 for a gallon.

But it's really nice, and I'm willing to shell out for it for use with some of my better teas. When I backpack to the Sierras, one of my favorite things (besides, you know, the view, and the fishing, and the raw edged feeling of survival and exhaustion), is the taste of freshly filtered, purified high-sierra water. It has this nice minerally, clear edge to it. TJ's New Zealand water, while not *gorgeous* the way real high Sierra water is, is at least vaguely in that direction I get from locally available water sources. It has a crispness... the opposite of ultra-softened stuff like Evian-the-gross.

It works particularly well in my book with Taiwanese teas, and with dan congs.

(I have, incidentally, taken Taiwanese high mountains up to the Sierras, and brewed them waking up from my tent in the morning, with filtered high mountain water, on a freaking high mountain. It's beautiful, and lovely, though how much of that is the match between water and tea, and how much of that is raw endorphins and the glory of nature, is pretty damn hard to tell.)

(I've done some blind testing with my other standards waters, like Whole Foods 365 a.k.a. Crsytal Geyser, and Arrowhead, which are both considerably cheaper. It definitely registers, and works really well with with high mountains, delicate old bush dan congs. It registers moderately with, not too heavily roasted. By the time you get to pu-erhs, any subtle differences between water types are totally gone, in my book - but others may be more sensitive.)

(Note: this is *not* the standard TJ's bottled water. Not all TJ's have it. It's in a big blue jug with a handle.)

[brandon]

http://tea-obsession.blogspot.com/2006/ ... -test.html

[Intuit]

From Imen's blog on water qual sampling.

Fiji sample
TDS 210 mg/L

*eyes rolling back in head*

They can't be serious. This is moderately hard water, leaves mineral stains, masks food flavor/odor, and sucks the 'body' out of tea brewed in it. Public utilities sometimes soften water that this this hard...except in my city, which turns a BLIND eye to my present water sector supply that is full tilt 330 mg/L in winter and at its least, 230-250 mg/L.

Edit: Addendum Oct.12.09 Fiji water has been tested by USDA and meets certification criteria for European water standards and also NSF International Bottled Water Certification.

http://www.wwdmag.com/index.cfm?fuseact ... emID=19343

I thought I'd add this in fairness to claims that commercial bottled water isn't tested by government agencies. If the company steps forward and requests it, their products can be tested, professionally evaluated and certified against standard regulatory criteria by USFDA, USDA labs, USEPA and independent international technical authories, under the respective agencies product certification programs.

The info on Crystal Geyser* is useful - the local supermarket has one of their bulk water vending stations and I own a couple of large carboys. Added comment: I found this bulk water supply to also be moderately hard, readily foaming and forming a scum on my tea leaves during steeping. Teas lost aroma and suffered from flavor 'suckout' when this water source was used.

Water quality in the Hollywood foothills: a Moot Point
http://wsoweb.ladwp.com/Aqueduct/histor ... uality.htm

You got the 15% GW source for the LA Metro basin that is really crappy, contaminated and heavily treated/chlorinated.

Ding Ding Ding ....Congratulations!! You're in a worse situation than I. You could move, or you could buy large carboys, and find a free public supply tap that provides the tasty high mt Sierra Nevada supply.

[moot]

http://tea-obsession.blogspot.com/2006/ ... -test.html

Hah! I hadn't seen that!

Aquafina is interesting. I find it a little more neutral, where the New Zealand water is an edge more minerall-y. It's a good water, though. I'll give it another go.

(But also - the test isn't a taste test, but a pure deposit test).

(Some content in the water may not be bad, if it's the right kind of content. The whole point of running water through a chou zhou kettle, at least in Imen's claims, is to *add* in the right minerals and harden up the water in the right way.)

[moot]

Personally, I would opt for the Crystal Geyser/carboy choice, it got a good rating. Water from New Zealand....from many thousand miles away..and its only 1.5 times more expensive than the no-name 'spring' water sold in WallyWorld?? You believe it??

*hysterical laughter*

I don't care if it's from New Zealand, or a natural spring in Baja, or from the butt of the goddess of Mojave, or whatever. It tastes better to me. (Actually, I'd be happier if it turned out to be more local - enviro/transpo cost/hydrocarbon, etc. I currently buy it with a little bit of guilt.)

[moot]

Ding Ding Ding ....Congratulations!! You're in a worse situation than I. You could move, or you could buy large carboys, and find a free public supply tap that provides the tasty high mt Sierra Nevada supply.

The best water I've had in my life is high sierra water.

The second best water I've ever had came straight out the tap at my girlfriend's grandmother's house in Reno Nevada. Mountains all around you. *God* that was great water. I'd be standing by the tap, just drinking it.

In Hollywood, on the other hand, on the lucky days it *doesn't* stink from across the room like brimstone.

[brandon]

http://tea-obsession.blogspot.com/2006/ ... -test.html

Hah! I hadn't seen that!

Aquafina is interesting. I find it a little more neutral, where the New Zealand water is an edge more minerall-y. It's a good water, though. I'll give it another go.

(But also - the test isn't a taste test, but a pure deposit test).

(Some content in the water may not be bad, if it's the right kind of content. The whole point of running water through a chou zhou kettle, at least in Imen's claims, is to *add* in the right minerals and harden up the water in the right way.)

You are on the right track. Mr. Yardley and Imen have done more testing than I, but my general opinion is that some level of calcium is very beneficial, especially to something like Dan Cong. Sweetens up the brew. The water by itself tastes "crisp". Too much is about the worst thing for tea - it is overly sweet and fruity, a much darker brew, and leaves deposits in your pots, cups, and kettles every time. Too soft water can make bitter Dan Cong with a thin mouth feel.

So thanks for the test, you seem to have ended up in the right place.

[Intuit]

For a small subset of teas, moderate mineral content doesn't adversely affect flavor and aroma, and modest mineral content may be beneficial if it improves solubilization of preferred flavor constituents but inhibits egress of bitter components.

In other teas, moderate mineral content may not be A Good Thing; the tasty components become insoluble (surface tea oils form a scum), reducing flavor and aroma.

It makes sense to choose a water source for tea making that is on the lower end. You use two kettles, one that doesn't add minerals but adds maybe a little iron to sweeten flavorless water for teas that don't tolerate hard minerals. The other kettle, clay, can be used to reintroduce low concentration of minerals for teas that need it.

[teaskeptic]

Water research is something I've shied away from, mainly because it is hard to test without having several kettles.

What teas want hard water?
What teas want soft water?
How is pH related to the hardness of water?

Bamboo charcoal softens water, right? What about Britta, same thing, I guess?

When is spring water preferred? Why?

[Maitre_Tea]

Water research is something I've shied away from, mainly because it is hard to test without having several kettles.

What teas want hard water?
What teas want soft water?
How is pH related to the hardness of water?

Bamboo charcoal softens water, right? What about Britta, same thing, I guess?

When is spring water preferred? Why?

Others will probably be able to answer this more scientifically, and there was actually a blog about this, I can't remember exactly where (will try to snoop around). I think that green teas and greener oolong do better with soft water, while roasted teas and pu'erh (?) might do better with hard water

[Intuit]

Surface water supply (rivers, lakes) usually has natural organic materials (slightly acidic, pH below neutral 7) and it may have dissolved minerals (slightly to strongly basic, pH 7-9, also called alkaline) as well. The more dissolved minerals, the more natural buffering capacity. Groundwater, unless the pump is very shallow, is usually low in dissolved organic materials and is typically higher in dissolved minerals when compared against surface water supply.

Surface water with minimal to moderate dissolved organic materials and very low mineral content is termed 'soft' water. Without mineral content, the 'buffering' by alkaline mineral solids is minimal and the pH can be quite acidic (pH 2-5) and taste somewhat sour.

Good water has low dissolved minerals, just enough to provide slight buffering capacity, the pH is near neutral, it has low dissolved organics, and a very modest amount of iron that many people sense as 'sweet' or good tasting, and has normal dissolved oxygen present. Distilled, deionized water may taste 'dead' because of low dissolved gas and an absence of iron and dissolved mineral salts.

If the water forms a scum with your teas, its got significant mineral hardenss that cannot be easily alleviated by using a simple tap filter. Bottled water or an undersink pressurized multiple cartridge filtration system must be used.

See other threads in this section for discussion of bamboo charcoal.

Others can offer opinions on best water for various teas.

[yee]

This is the table from the label of the water which is considered the best by almost all teadrinkers in my area.

[teaskeptic]

I just had my first run in with some Fiji water.

The water itself felt fuller and thicker, and tasted slightly saltier (I guess this is what people refer to as mineraly?) than my regular tap water.

I brewed some gaoshan with it. The result was pretty much what you would expect from my description of the water. The tea had a great mouthfeel, with a slight saltiness to it. The salty/mineraly flavor started to bother me after several brews. In particular, it made the aftertaste slightly harsh.

So... I guess I prefer my tap water to Fiji for now, at least for gaoshans.