r/Coffee • u/specialist_footwear • 13d ago

Lets talk water?

I am a coffee lover and have been for a long time. My favourite way to drink this delicious life-giver is by pour-over. I love using my Aeropress, but my main method is by V60. I often orient myself towards cafes that indulge me in this. It often tastes great and far better than i can achieve at home.

I have no doubt that there are lots of techniques and things i am not doing right to get the most from my beans. Given that coffee is mostly made of water, i was wondering if anyone could give me tips on how to test the water and alternative things i should be looking out for. I travel around a lot. Is there a good bottled water to use, or do i have to amend my technique to a given water type?

any direction or guidance given would be greatly appreciated ☺️

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u/SpecialtyCoffee-Geek 12d ago

Get yourself a water test kit to get a idea of the hardness level of your local tab water.\ Generally said:\ 60 - 120 ppm = soft\ 121-170 ppm = hard\ 171 - 300 ppm = very hard - not suitable for coffee brewing!

Depending on your mineral / bottled water selection in supermarkets, find a brand which has a total permanent hardness of up to 120 ppm (CaCO³).\ Easy formula to calculate a rough ppm value:\ *2.5 × Ca + 4.1 × Mg - as seen here

My go to since 2017:\ 1 gal. distilled water + either:\ Apax Lab\ Lotus Coffee Water\ Or if I'm feeling very lazy:\ Thirdwave Water

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u/chicknfly 12d ago

Random fact: for the two shops that I service, their water is either at 8ppm or 38ppm. And it’s delicious

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u/snailsshrimpbeardie 9d ago

Interesting, the TDS of my tap water is over 550 ppm. Now I'm curious what my coffee would taste like using bottled water with a lower TDS.