Water and your tea

I use still water from the famous aquifers high in the Berkshire Mountain range.The water comes from the spring runoff of the snows, as well as still water from glacial melt going back millions of years. Then, an exclusive corporation arranges its transport to my house, where though a mysterious process the water is further filtered and is then used in my tea. In other words, I use New York City tap water and a Brita filter.

Hello, Ripon:

When I get a new tea and when I'm conducting taste-tests, I use distilled, purified water.

Otherwise, I generally use tap water. If the difference in taste is great, I use whichever water gives better results.

Martha

It was open stage night in rec.food.drink.tea, when Ripon stepped up to the microphone and muttered:

Tap water filtered at the tap.

My experience in the U.S. has been that the "flavor" of that water is the same as what I get from a bottle. And it costs less.

I make the above statement in full acknowledgement that there are places in the world (and even the U.S.) where the tap water is HORRIBLE and bottled water is a better alternative.

Derek

I've used tap water, but could taste the chlorine in the tea, especially on second and third infusions. I tried a local mineral water that I'm drinking as part of a diet I'm on. The black teas came out with a strange film on top and light in color and flavor. The same held true for greens except I didn't notice the film on top. So I've been using bottled spring water which seems to consistently brew a nice cup of tea.

Blues

I've experienced this as well. We started setting out tap water in a

--crymad

crymad wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@xprt.net:

Don't Brita filters remove chlorine themselves?

I used to use a Brita refrigerator pitcher and was very impressed by the taste of the filtered water. Then I switched over to a Pur faucet- mounted filter - much better for water that is going directly into a cooking pot. However, while the Pur filter is okay, I think the taste of the water is not quite as good as with the Brita. Now that Brita also makes a faucet-mount filter, if and when my Pur filter unit dies, I might switch to the Brita model.

For tea making I have a hot water pot set at 208F. It is filled with water that has been filtered at the tap (see above). When I want cooler water than that, I dispense the water into a ceramic pitcher. This immediately drops the temperature by about 30F. If I want water that is truely at a boil, I hit the boil button and set about measuring out my tea. It only takes a minute or two until the water is ready. The hot water pot was originally purchased so I could make tea in my office. Now that I am semi-employed working out of my home, I am using it here, since I have it anyway. It certainly is wonderful when one gets the urge - no waiting for water to boil!

FWIW, 208 seems also to be an excellent temperature for brewing c****e. I've noticed a clear improvement since my hot water pot came home with me.

Debbie

Their packaging says they do. But I'm not certain about the chemistry involved. Anyone here with expertise on the matter?

--crymad

It was open stage night in rec.food.drink.tea, when crymad stepped up to the microphone and muttered:

Activated carbon filters remove a lot of stuff. Pur filters don't claim to remove ALL chlorine, just reduce it in the water. Brita is probably the same.

The following is from an aquarists' site regarding the use of activated carbon in aquariums.

"A particle of activated carbon is mostly air. It has thousands of tiny holes and crevices through which water can circulate. When water carries an organic molecule – a contaminant – into these narrow passages a short range attractive force between the molecule and the carbon will become effective and the molecule sticks. This particular method is called physical adsorption. The other kinds of adsorption also involved with activated carbon are of only minor importance to the aquarium."

Keep in mind that activated carbon is often given in emergency rooms if poison is ingested, and it is the first treatment for animals who have ingested ethelene glycol (antifreeze). It bonds to a lot of stuff that we don't want.

Derek

Is it safe to say that chlorine is absorbed the same way? If so, then our method of removing the chlorine in water by letting it sit out before transferring to the Brita pitcher would seem to account for the extended lifespan of the filters.

--crymad

It was open stage night in rec.food.drink.tea, when crymad stepped up to the microphone and muttered:

Yep.

More than likely. The less stuff you have in the water to "plug the holes" the longer your filter will last.

Derek

i use tap water. :) i was in canada last summer and used water from an artesian well that has a high sulphur content. it really brought out the flavor in the oolong i was brewing. don't know if it as the sulphur oe something else.

a lot of bottled water is municipal tap water.

It was open stage night in rec.food.drink.tea, when Chandler stepped up to the microphone and muttered:

Yeah, well. Then there's that.

That reminds me of a skit I saw once on Royal Canadian Air Farce that showed a guy filling water bottles from a garden hose and a woman with a cigarette dangling from her mouth capping them.