Everyday in the UK, us Brits drink 100 million cups of tea and a whopping 95 million cups of coffee. But how can your coffee and tea taste bad one day and good the next? There’s one little-reason for this, and it’s fairly common.
When you have a cup of coffee or tea that’s not, well, your cuppa tea, people tend to blame it on their tea bag, their beans (especially if they’re the stores own brand) and the milk. However, it could actually be all to do with something you wash your dishes and shower with. Yep, your water could be the issue.
Experts from BRITA, one of the world’s most trusted water filter companies, as well as leading coffee roaster, Matthew Algie, say that your water quality has a ‘significant’ impact on the taste. So don’t go chucking those beans away just yet.
Samantha Scoles, BRITA sales director and certified Water Sommelier said: “Taste and aroma of coffee and tea is impacted significantly by water quality. There are differing levels of minerals in water, then you have substances being added to water by treatment companies. This all has an effect.”
She said drinkers often ignore water as the issue, yet it’s something to be mindful of when making a cuppa. She explains: “Water makes up 98% of a cup of coffee but it is often overlooked as an ingredient, with coffee beans and tea leaves prioritised instead. However, water directly affects the rate of extraction and flavour of a cup of coffee. So, understanding the quality of your water and how to treat it is important.
“When it comes to tea, the flavour profile can be very delicate, especially with white or green tea. Therefore if you have an imbalance of minerals and substances in water – they can easily be detected. It is crucial to treat water accordingly. Also, different teas require different water temperatures and steep time.
“Understanding the correct preparation method for the type of tea your making is therefore important as well. For example, many people say they don’t like the taste of green tea, but maybe they aren’t brewing it correctly. Green tea should generally be brewed at 85 degrees and brewed for three minutes, which people often don’t realise.”
In fact, BRITA has been producing water filters for the home and your favourite high street coffee shops since the sixties. But what does filtering your water actually achieve? “Filtered water essentially means that the water has the right balance of minerals in it,” Samantha continued. “There are a couple of impurities added to our water that kill bacteria and present no health risks, but can come with a certain taste or smell such as chlorine. Calcium and magnesium are present in minerals which water can pick up if it happens to flow through something like limestone on the way to our taps.
“Too many minerals can result in beverages appearing dull and lifeless. On the other hand, too few minerals can make hot drinks sharp, bitter and unpalatable. BRITA professional filters get your water within the Speciality Coffee Associations water specification. This is essential for high quality hot drinks. There are environmental benefits to filtering water too. High mineral levels in water can lead to a limescale build up in equipment. When elements become covered in limescale it can take longer for the machine to heat to temperature, as just one millimetre of scale build up results in 7% higher energy resulting in higher carbon emissions.”
So what should we look out for and how can we help prevent it?
Samantha added: “If the water coming out of your taps has a high mineral content – this can cause scum and turbidity – cloudiness. In terms of knowing how often to change your water filter, filters need to be exchanged at capacity or annually, whichever comes first. It is very important to measure water hardness levels frequently and monitor usage through a filter cartridge to ensure it is changed at the right time.”
BRITA also claims that those who opt for bottled water are not avoiding the problem. “Many people drink or use bottled water because they believe it doesn’t contain the minerals in tap water, however they often have the same effect as making tea or coffee with high mineral content as they are a mineral water. This means that they can still impact extraction and flavour plus cause issues with lime scale Meaning filtering is the best option for hot beverages – and the more environmentally friendly option.”
Matthew Algie said people who own coffee machines need to be especially careful – warning that machines could actually break down as a result of bad water quality. A Matthew Algie spokesperson said: “Using unfiltered water in your machines can cause limescale build up, resulting in excessive energy consumption and machine breakdown. Hard water can cause mineral build up on components such as level probes.
“When probes become covered in scale, they often lose their effectiveness of water level and temperature detection within the machine boiler. Particles from pipework can also make their way into the machine causing blockages in pipes and valves. One way to help minimise the risk of this happening is by ensuring your water filters are exchanged at the necessary intervals.”
What are the signs that my coffee machine is damaged?
“In terms of spotting the signs of damage, if your coffee machine takes longer to heat to temperature – there is likely an issue,” the coffee expert added.
“Test your water to understand if you are in a hard water area. Scale forms above 4 dH. Fit a filter and ensure that the filter is set to the correct settings for that specific water quality. Monitoring the usage of your filter and ensuring it is exchanged before the point of exhaustion will ensure your machine is kept free from limescale, energy efficient and maximises the machine lifetime.”
Matthew Algie is all for using filtered water to ensure top quality coffee – whether that’s at home or in a commercial setting such as a cafe. “In commercial environments, customers are paying a premium for a coffee they feel they may not be able to achieve at home. To ensure the best experience, especially in coffee shop chains, you want to ensure the quality of your beverage is consistent, no matter the geo-graphical location of the shop, so customers return time and time again, as well as ensuring machine protections”
