# What water do you use in your Sage machine?



## CrashEd (Oct 31, 2016)

Just bought a new Barista Express and I'm loving it. Getting some really nice consistent shots from it thanks to the great posts on here and some really nice coffeee from Rave.

I live in a medium/hard water area and I'm using the stock filters and tap water.

Just wondered if if anyone is using bottled water in their Sage Barista or DB?


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## Sami (Apr 18, 2013)

Volvic!


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

Volvic Waitrose essential mix


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## lmulli (Feb 16, 2015)

Tap! (Dual Boiler)


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## Deejaysuave (Jan 26, 2015)

lmulli said:


> Tap! (Dual Boiler)


Ditto!


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## MarkT (Nov 21, 2015)

I use Waitrose and volvic half half


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## CrashEd (Oct 31, 2016)

MarkT said:


> I use Waitrose and volvic half half


Thanks.

Whats the main reason for doing so - is it a flavour thing or more to do with reducing calcification in the machine? Would I need to change the stock filter if I were to move to bottled water?


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## MarkT (Nov 21, 2015)

I live in Yorkshire and the water here is pretty hard. Lol. Mainly helps the machine with lime scale build up and also taste better too. But some will argue and there are a ton of discussion on water and feel free to search for them. I think for me on the sole reason alone of limescale it's worth it. I usually stick up 8 packs of 6 at a time on Volvic. Currently on offer at Sainsbury for £3 per 6 bottle pack or if you have Amazon prime it's the same price and get it delivered to you.


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## CrashEd (Oct 31, 2016)

MarkT said:


> I live in Yorkshire and the water here is pretty hard. Lol. Mainly helps the machine with lime scale build up and also taste better too. But some will argue and there are a ton of discussion on water and feel free to search for them. I think for me on the sole reason alone of limescale it's worth it. I usually stick up 8 packs of 6 at a time on Volvic. Currently on offer at Sainsbury for £3 per 6 bottle pack or if you have Amazon prime it's the same price and get it delivered to you.


Cheers mate, good to know. Will have a search on the topic of water


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

I live in a soft water area. I use it for taste.


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

CrashEd said:


> Cheers mate, good to know. Will have a search on the topic of water


Based on label values these water combinations match SCAE recommendations for taste & calcification, feel free to disregard any with red on yellow values (guesstimated/not rigorously determined)...

(EDIT - "Waitrose Essential" only refers to the 2L & smaller bottles sourced from Stretton Hills, not the 5L Princes Gate, Pembrokeshire bottles).








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## CrashEd (Oct 31, 2016)

MWJB said:


> Based on label values these water combinations match SCAE recommendations for taste & calcification, feel free to disregard any with red on yellow values (guesstimated/not rigorously determined)...
> 
> (EDIT - "Waitrose Essential" only refers to the 2L & smaller bottles sourced from Stretton Hills, not the 5L Princes Gate, Pembrokeshire bottles).
> 
> [/url]


Interesting data. So it looks as though a combination of 3 parts Volvic to 2 part WE gives the most Neutral pH? (or similar to a 1:1). What is 'TDS'?


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

CrashEd said:


> Interesting data. So it looks as though a combination of 3 parts Volvic to 2 part WE gives the most Neutral pH? (or similar to a 1:1). What is 'TDS'?


Don't worry too much about pH, all shown are within tolerance (6.5-7.5).

TDS AKA Total Dry residue, AKA total dissolved solids - don't worry about that either, again within tolerance.

This is only a tiny slice of bottled waters available and combinations that could be used if brewing manually, with a kettle. These shown are specifically those that meet the SCAE's spec for machine boilers. There may be others, but I have excluded any with any missing data (apart from aforementioned red on yellow values).


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## CrashEd (Oct 31, 2016)

MWJB said:


> Don't worry too much about pH, all shown are within tolerance (6.5-7.5).
> 
> TDS AKA Total Dry residue, AKA total dissolved solids - don't worry about that either, again within tolerance.
> 
> This is only a tiny slice of bottled waters available and combinations that could be used if brewing manually, with a kettle. These shown are specifically those that meet the SCAE's spec for machine boilers. There may be others, but I have excluded any with any missing data (apart from aforementioned red on yellow values).


What's the best way of comparing my tap water to the values in the above table? Can I test it somehow? (other than just pH). Is the data in the table obtained be yourself or is further information available from the SCAE? Unfortunately we do not have a Waitrose near us. Only the bigger brands available in the usual supermarkets...


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

CrashEd said:


> What's the best way of comparing my tap water to the values in the above table? Can I test it somehow? (other than just pH). Is the data in the table obtained be yourself or is further information available from the SCAE? Unfortunately we do not have a Waitrose near us. Only the bigger brands available in the usual supermarkets...


Ask your water supplier for a breakdown.

Data on the table is from label values on the bottles, cross referenced against the SCAE ideal zone for water boilers, I've just saved you some math.

If you can't find the water above elsewhere (& assuming you can't get Ocado delivery) Volvic alone will certainly do.


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## ashcroc (Oct 28, 2016)

Would the essential waitrose olone be ok or does it really need mixing first?


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

ashcroc said:


> Would the essential waitrose olone be ok or does it really need mixing first?


It doesn't meet the spec on it's own (no bottled water I am aware of does), bicarbonate is too low, but people do use it (I find it a bit dry). As you can see there are lots of options for mixing with other water, so I don't see it being an issue.


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## CrashEd (Oct 31, 2016)

MWJB said:


> Ask your water supplier for a breakdown.


I had a quick look on the Severn Trent Water website for our area, but the data there doesn't seem to relate to anything in the above table other than pH.









I'll try some Volvic and see how I get on!


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## donblacc (Jul 23, 2017)

Bringing up a bit of an old thread here, but I just wondered ..are people still using the Sage water filter with bottled water?

Would the ion exchange not affect the composition/taste


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## ATZ (Aug 4, 2017)

I just use tap water but I do live in a very soft water area:

http://www.dwi.gov.uk/consumers/advice-leaflets/hardness_map.pdf


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

donblacc said:


> Bringing up a bit of an old thread here, but I just wondered ..are people still using the Sage water filter with bottled water?
> 
> Would the ion exchange not affect the composition/taste


I wouldn't see the need for using the filter with Volvic.


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## donblacc (Jul 23, 2017)

MWJB said:


> I wouldn't see the need for using the filter with Volvic.


I guess what i'm getting at is - will it do harm in using the filter with Volvic? ...as i already installed and don't wish to waste it!


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## Leigh (Jan 14, 2015)

It does not *remove all of the minerals from the **water. It reduces the concentration of **calcium and magnesium with cation ion exchange resins, but theses substances are not completely removed as in desalination systems or industrial plants that use reverse osmosis or distillation processes, for example.*


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## JonR (Aug 21, 2017)

I live in Aberdeen where the tap water is of superb quality, so I use tap water in my Sage Dual Boiler.


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