Calcium quantity in water?

The big deal is low iron content. Calcium will also make a difference in taste and for the most part lower calcium is better.

You can always try distilled water. I have always found tea made with distilled water to be a little flat, but never offensive.

--scott

Calcium and magnesium, however, have the biggest impact on the ph of the water. Contrary to public education, "water" is not always neutral. double-distilled deionized water is neutral, all other waters vary.

In my own diagnostics, available bottled and tap waters in my area vary from 4.5 to 10. Something between 6.5 and 8 is probably preferable.

Water that is somewhat basic will produce weak, flavorless tea that is dark in color and will leave a film on the glass. Water that is somewhat acid will produce tea that is strong, excessively tannic, and light in color. Again, this is from my own diagnostics.

My market has a machine that takes tap water and runs it through an activated charcoal filter to remove disolved gases and a semi-permiable membrane filter to remove dissolved minerals. It's a lot cheaper than spring water and produces a good, fairly neutral cup of tea, but its chief advantage to my mind is consistency. It allows me to evaluate teas without the added variable of the effects of water quality. I don't know if this is available in Spain, but if it is I suggest it as an alternative to spring water.

Regards, Dean

Quite apart from what it does to tea, calcium is a necessary nutrient. Check out that you have enough other sources of it if you take it out of your water, Toci

Thanks for the replies.

Iron isn't listed on the label so unfortunately I can't check that, but I'll look into the PH of the different bottles, and at filters.

One of the bottles does leave a film on the cup and sometimes a layer along the top after brewing. I presume this is the 'somewhat basic' water described by Eric J.

I'm getting an OK tasting tea, but nothing like as good (in my opinion) as the tea made by the Glasgow water I'm used to, despite being city water its some of the best tasting and best tea making water I've come across.

The water that most interfered with brewing a good cup of tea in all my life was very high in iron *and* left a film on the cup. One data point only, but...

/Lew

WATER - 99% of tea is water, Tap water should be avoided since its chemical treatment imparts undesirable flavors and odors which interfere with the delicate aromatics of tea. (Home filters and other water purification systems can minimize and, in some cases, eliminate these problems.) The best water for tea brewing is spring water with a natural mineral content that's neither too hard nor too soft. Since T.D.S., "total dissolved solids," or mineral content measured in parts per million varies greatly from water to water, you may want to do your own taste-test of waters available in your area to determine which one has the best flavor, body and compatibility with the tea you drink. An interesting Distilled water is not recommended for tea since water purified of its mineral content produces a flat-tasting infusion. icetea