Water Quality and Tea

"Alton B. Wilson" snipped-for-privacy@cinci.rr.com> wrote in news:47cf628c$0$1085 $ snipped-for-privacy@roadrunner.com:

Well, pretty much all I know about the subject is that alikilne hard water (pH>8.5) doesn't tend to disssolve stuff nearly as well as softer, more acidic water. Stuff like theanine, caffeine, tanic acid, and all the other flavorful componsents of tea leaves.

Wasn't the whole idea behind Scottish Breakfast tea choosing a blend of Assam which would be ordinarily be too strong for most palates, but just right for the hard water of the Scotland?

Ozzy

Scottish Breakfast tea is made to counteract the dulling effect of Scotland's soft water. At least, that's what it says on the Taylor's of Harrogate web site.

To answer the OP: water with some mineral content is best (in general) for tea.

Oh, and oxygen content. Water that lacks oxygen (from being boiled too long, for example) tends to make a flat-tasting tea. Oxygen is to tea as salt is to food, in that salt can enhance the flavor of food. And it can do this without making it taste salty; notice how often salt is included in sweet dishes.

Alan

Alan wrote in news:e38a6e32-db2d-4936-8d2c- snipped-for-privacy@i12g2000prf.googlegroups.com:

I stand corrected, Alan, thank you. (BTW, my source was a box of SB from a snobby store in Greenwich Village, I forget the brand.)

Ozzy

I tend to make all my tea from RO water. I've tried expensive spring waters, and honestly I had a hard time discerning the difference. Most tap water in my area (eastern PA USA) is chlorinated, which I find REALLY objectionable in tea. My local market has a RO machine, and one can bring in containers and fill them there.

I've also experimented with adding small quantities of soluble salts (Na, K, Ca, Mg) to my RO water to see what effect it has on the resulting tea, and although I can detect a difference with some teas, on average I don't necessarily prefer it.

My $0.02.

Regards, Dean

Tea always has small quantities of soluble salts (Na, K, Ca, Mg) S. M. Changoiwala Gopaldhara tea company PVT Ltd. Kolkota Gardens-soongachi, New Glencoe Darjeeling- Gopaldhara, Rohini

I will be obliged if the following is answered in the light of science. Question 1- What is the contribution of Oxygen in tea brew from Quality angle ? Question 2- Is it correct to say that the solubility of oxygen is more in cold water than hot water? question 3- no one drinks tea boiling hot. will the tera brewed with boiling water will absorb Oxygen from atmosphere during the intervening period while we drink tea. S. M. Changoiwala Gopaldhara tea company PVT Ltd. Kolkota Gardens-soongachi, New Glencoe Darjeeling- Gopaldhara, Rohini

A quick answer to question #2:

Actually the solubility of oxygen in colder water is greater than the solubility in warmer water. The solubility process is exothermic (or releases heat) and based on the equilibrium of the reaction, the colder temperature is preferred.

As far as question #3, I don't know the answer, but why don't you compare tea soaked in room temperature water versus hot-water brewed tea that is then cooled to room temperature (or heat the room temperature-water brewed tea)?

Alt> >>

Tea always has small quantities of soluble salts (Na, K, Ca, Mg) S. M. Changoiwala

I understand that. We've had previous discussions on this forum as to what effect dissolved minerals have on the diffusion of flavor compounds from the tea leaves into the water. There are some who strongly affirm that natural spring water, with it's mineral salts, makes noticeably better tasting tea than that made with RO or distilled water. Others, myself included, are less enthusiastic. Perhaps it's a matter of taste; perhaps it depends on complex interactions between the tea and the water.

BTW, how are conditions in Darjeeling this year? I was underwhelmed by the

Regards, Dean

Hello. If we can return to the original question, I would say that the simple answer (already implied in passing) is that the chlorine put into tap water in most countries that I know of is extremely destructive of true tea taste, and if your tap water is loaded with limestone / chalk (hard water) that too will spoil things quite effectively. (I know nothing about fluoride in terms of its effect on the taste of tea) The easiest solution for most people, I suspect, is a cheap brand of ordinary bottled water, which is going to be without chlorine and lime. I do not have taste-buds capable of detecting trace elements or dissolved oxygen, and I have to confess (shame!) that I cannot tell if the water used to make tea has previously been allowed to boil or has only been raised to a threshold temperature well below boiling, and (worse still?) I do not think it matters much. But chlorine and hard water are the Death of Tea when the tea is being drunk for delicacy of taste. By contrast, in my childhood I saw traditional British breakfast or afternoon teas designed to be served with milk (and optional sugar) being made using water so hard that the kettle had to be regularly de-furred with white vinegar to prevent the spout getting clogged. No one complained about loss of taste back then! It's another drink, that's all. Br Anthony

I don't know about the effect of fluoride in water either, but I do know there's a lot of fluoride already in the tea leaves before you add water. And don't forget the aluminum!

/Lew (with no obvious signs of aluminum-induced Alzheimer's yet)