Water is water...right?
Yes...kinda, but not really
Brewing TRIBO Coffee is extremely easy and an almost fail safe way to brew great cups of coffee every time.
"Almost fail safe?"
Yes. Almost. Like we've mentioned before, we've done all the hard work roasting and calculating grind size and coffee amount to ensure that you brew a great cup every time, but it's up to you to choose water that will propel your cup over the delicious finish line.
Here are some considerations...
WATER IS WATER, RIGHT?
Actually water can (and usually does) lean towards being more acidic or slightly more alkaline. Tap water can have too much chlorine. Bottle waters can have too many or too few minerals. And sometimes when water has been distilled (ie. softened by removing minerals), coffee extraction will be weak, and the beverage will be relatively flavorless—as food can be if no salt is used.
NOTE: If you like the coffee you are brewing, there is no need to mess with your water unless you are curious. If you can’t figure out why your coffee is not up to cafe standards, perhaps water might be something worth investigating.
SO WHAT SHOULD I DO?
One good and easy-ish solution is to brew with neutral water that has a pH close to 7.0. Neutral water is definitely a safe and reliable option, although we do feel that from an extraction perspective, some minerals, namely magnesium and calcium, present in your water help to get the best tasting cups.
That said, the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) recommends the following brewing water criteria:
- It should be clean and free of odors, colors, and off-flavors
- It should have a neutral pH (neither acidic nor basic)
- It should have around 150 mg/L of dissolved minerals
- It should be approximately 40 mg/L alkaline, and
- It should have NO CHLORINE
