Water Quality and Tea

Water Quality and Tea

I have a general question about water quality and what impact it has on
the taste of tea. I'm thinking of pH, mineral content etc.

Is there any one factor that is most significant in contributing to off
taste? Is anyone using bottled water or distilled water or deionized
water to make tea?

Does anyone have experience with making tea from water that has been run
through a reverse osmosis filtering system?

Thanks in advance,

Alton

Re: Water Quality and Tea

"Alton B. Wilson" <awilson4@cinci.rr,com > wrote in news:47cf628c$0$1085
$4c368faf@roadrunner,com :

> I have a general question about water quality and what impact it
> has on the taste of tea. I'm thinking of pH, mineral content etc.
>
>...
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Alton

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

Re: Water Quality and Tea

Scotland in the main has very soft water (lots of granite rock) and a
tendency to slight acidity (pH 5.5 is the minimum allowable standard
of the Scottish Water Authority). Water supplies drawn off the peat
moors can be very acidic and indeed look, though not taste, like weak
tea.

Nigel at Teacraft

On Mar 6, 6:29 am, Ozzy <please.answer@NG> wrote:
> "Alton B. Wilson" <awils...@cinci.rr,com > wrote in news:47cf628c$0$1085

> 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

Re: Water Quality and Tea

On Mar 5, 11:29 pm, Ozzy <please.answer@NG> wrote:
> 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

Re: Water Quality and Tea

Alan <alan@alanandmike,com > wrote in news:e38a6e32-db2d-4936-8d2c-
bcfe92ad4ff5@i12g2000prf.googlegroups,com :

> 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

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

Re: Water Quality and Tea

On Thu, 6 Mar 2008 20:06:32 -0800 (PST), Alan <alan@alanandmike,com >
wrote:

>On Mar 5, 11:29 pm, Ozzy <please.answer@NG> wrote:
>> 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

In that case, my water distiller, a counter-top stainless steel model,
no doubt robs water of oxygen. The manufacturer supplies charcoal
filters that are supposed to help the taste, but I'm not sure if it
corrects for oxygen loss. Seems like letting distilled water stand
for a while will re-oxygenate it some. Maybe you could get fanatical
about the oxygen and put your distilled water in a food processor for
half an hour? bookburn

Re: Water Quality and Tea

On Mar 7, 9:06 am, Alan <a...@alanandmike,com > wrote:
> On Mar 5, 11:29 pm, Ozzy <please.answer@NG> wrote:
>
> > 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

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

Re: Water Quality and Tea

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)?

Alton

smchangoiwala@gmail,com wrote:
> On Mar 7, 9:06 am, Alan <a...@alanandmike,com > wrote:
>> On Mar 5, 11:29 pm, Ozzy <please.answer@NG> wrote:
>>
>>> 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
>
> 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

Re: Water Quality and Tea


"Alton B. Wilson" <awilson4@cinci.rr,com > wrote in message
news:47cf628c$0$1085$4c368faf@roadrunner,com ...
>I have a general question about water quality and what impact it has on the
>taste of tea. I'm thinking of pH, mineral content etc.
>
> Is there any one factor that is most significant in contributing to off
> taste? Is anyone using bottled water or distilled water or deionized
> water to make tea?
>
> Does anyone have experience with making tea from water that has been run
> through a reverse osmosis filtering system?
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Alton

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

Re: Water Quality and Tea

On Mar 7, 6:16 pm, "DPM" <d...@junk,com > wrote:
> "Alton B. Wilson" <awils...@cinci.rr,com > wrote in messagenews:47cf628c$0$1085$4c368faf@roadrunner,com ...
>
> >I have a general question about water quality and what impact it has on the
> >taste of tea.  I'm thinking of pH, mineral content etc.
>
> > Is there any one factor that is most significant in contributing to off
> > taste?  Is anyone using bottled water or distilled water or deionized
> > water to make tea?
>
> > Does anyone have experience with making tea from water that has been run
> > through a reverse osmosis filtering system?
>
> > Thanks in advance,
>
> > Alton
>
> 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

Re: Water Quality and Tea

> 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

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
2007 teas I sampled, and was hoping for a better crop this year.

Regards,
Dean

Re: Water Quality and Tea

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

Re: Water Quality and Tea

An Sonjae <ansonjae@sogang.ac.kr> writes:

> 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)

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)
---
Lew Perin / perin@acm.org
http :// www .panix,com /~perin/babelcarp.html

Re: Water Quality and Tea

On Mar 6, 11:24 am, "Alton B. Wilson" <awils...@cinci.rr,com > wrote:
> I have a general question about water quality and what impact it has on
> the taste of tea.  I'm thinking of pH, mineral content etc.
>
> Is there any one factor that is most significant in contributing to off
> taste?  Is anyone using bottled water or distilled water or deionized
> water to make tea?
>
> Does anyone have experience with making tea from water that has been run
> through a reverse osmosis filtering system?
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Alton

The general knowledge about this topic is that water with a higher
mineral content will allow the flavors in the tea to come out better;
science aside. They say here that spring water is best for tea with
well water and river water being less desired.