# Water filter



## James811 (May 10, 2014)

Hey guys, I understand that using filtered water is optimal for coffee. What I wondered is how you all filter your water. Do you have jugs or what? What is the most cost effective filter for this?

I have a bobble bottle which is a filter bottle that hold 500ml and it goes everywhere with me, they're £5 and last for over 100 litres. Could I just use that?

James


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

Where in the country are you?


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## Scotford (Apr 24, 2014)

At work I have a 4 stage filter. If I'm tinkering at home then I use bottled.


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## MrShades (Jul 29, 2009)

Your bobble bottle won't filter anything out that is harmful to coffee machines... it's designed to make water taste better and not to remove the disolved solids (that will form scale when heated).

Many of us use Tesco Ashbeck bottled water - quite cost effective in 5L bottles, and is what I personally use. RO Systems, Brita professional filters, and Brita jug filters all filter water to a better or lessor degree (I've listed them in decreasing order of filtering ability) but can be quite costly to maintain properly.


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

Good quality filtered water does make the coffee taste better.

You are near me aren't you? The water in Norwich is is bad you can see the limescale floating in it, gross! Kettles die very quickly around here. It's a lot harder to decsale your nice shiny espresso machine, so I run mine off Volvic. Worth it in the long run.


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## James811 (May 10, 2014)

Yea I am in Great Yarmouth. Very very hard water. Tesco bottled water the way to go?


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## James811 (May 10, 2014)

Tesco do a filter too, removes 80% of limescale. Would that help?

Please note ill only be using French press


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

I'd say so. You can bew a filter with tap water, then with bottled (obv keep dose, grind, coffee etc the same). Bottled water should be much tastier when you taste.


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## James811 (May 10, 2014)

Thanks Aaron, you reckon the filter will work better or the bottled?

Also i so I see you're going to smokey barn on the 31st. I'll be there too, will be good to meet some people from here to put faces to the usernames


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

I'd go for bottled tbh, but filter would suffice for French Press.

Yep will be there, and will be good to meet some of the local forum members!


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## Phil104 (Apr 15, 2014)

Another helpful post - somewhat similar to James, I assumed the charcoal stick in a bottle would produce water of the right quality - clearly not. I wouldn't get anything from Tesco though, they put our closest shop out of business.


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## James811 (May 10, 2014)

What about this water guys?

Or stick with the filter?

http://www.tesco.com/groceries/Product/Details/?id=250634760


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## Phil104 (Apr 15, 2014)

And there's this from the Londinium blog -

http://londiniumcoffee.blogspot.co.uk/2009/01/best-water-for-your-espresso-machine.html


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## Phil104 (Apr 15, 2014)

Meant to add... all I want is someone to say, this is the close to the best water you can use....


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

Tesco's Ashbeck is pretty good - £.1.20 for 5ltrs. Use it for brewed and espresso. Lot cheaper than Volvic. If it had a PH of 7.0 it would be perfect. PH is 6 by the way.


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## Phil104 (Apr 15, 2014)

And this from home-barista.com, which suggests a charcoal filter thing is okay

'Water for Espresso



Finally, a note about water, the other constituent of good coffee and espresso. Water for coffee should be pure and odor free. Charcoal filtering to remove chlorine and sediments from municipal water is a good idea. Further filtering is required if the water is from a well having iron, sulfur, heavy metals, or organic contaminants. Alternatively, consider bottled water.Note that "pure water" in this case does not mean distilled or free of all minerals. Natural water contains calcium carbonate and some magnesium carbonate; these constitute the water's hardness. Overly soft (low mineral) water will create a light bodied, metallic and excessively bright tasting shot. Overly hard (high mineral) water will scale the machine, while the chalkiness of the calcium carbonates precipitating as the water heats will interfere with proper extraction. The best coffee water has about 5 grains (90 mg/L) hardness and 150 mg/L total mineral content. For espresso machines, water at about 3 grains (50 mg/L) and 90 mg/L total mineral content is used to reduce descaling costs. This is a compromise on the ideal water for espresso, but the 90 mg/L shots are almost indistinguishable from shots with the higher 150 mg/L mineral content. If your tap water is excessively hard or soft, look into bottled water or water treatment options, many of which are not expensive.'

And, what would be an equivalent to Tesco's Ashbeck from another supermarket?
​


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

Phil104 said:


> And there's this from the Londinium blog -
> 
> http://londiniumcoffee.blogspot.co.uk/2009/01/best-water-for-your-espresso-machine.html


This is quite old, it's from the old Londinium blog.

Reiss still advocates Volvic, or did last time I asked. I always run my machine off it and use it for the chemex wherever possible.


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## Geordie Boy (Nov 26, 2012)

The Systemic Kid said:


> Tesco's Ashbeck is pretty good - £.1.20 for 5ltrs.


Works out to be even cheaper (by the litre) if you buy 6 x 2 litre bottle packs


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## James811 (May 10, 2014)

Sure does









Just typing something random to get over the 13 character minimum


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## Phil104 (Apr 15, 2014)

aaronb said:


> This is quite old, it's from the old Londinium blog.
> 
> Reiss still advocates Volvic, or did last time I asked. I always run my machine off it and use it for the chemex wherever possible.


 Volvic it is...


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## MrShades (Jul 29, 2009)

Waitrose Essential isn't bad either... and cheaper than Tesco!


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## fluffles (Sep 4, 2012)

Does anyone know if water quality degrades once the bottle is open? If I buy a 5L bottle and use it over a number of days (probably even weeks), would this be OK?


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## Phil104 (Apr 15, 2014)

fluffles said:


> Does anyone know if water quality degrades once the bottle is open? If I buy a 5L bottle and use it over a number of days (probably even weeks), would this be OK?


It's hard to escape the conclusion that in part there's a marketing ploy at work plus water bottling companies wanting to cover themselves just in case anyone gets ill - because there seems to be no chemical reason why the water shouldn't keep. There's a fair amount onthe net about this, e.g.,

'There are several reasons for an expiration date on a bottle of drinking water. Some states require that every food item has an expiration date, so even candy or nuts and other perishables may have them. The other reason is the taste. As long as a bottle of water stays unopened, it is safe to drink. The taste however can change over the course of time. The plastic of the container can make the taste go bad when it is not stored properly. Also, sunlight can deteriorate the plastic and add to the bad flavor. Many gases are able to pass through plastics, which can affect the taste of bottled water. For those reasons, always store plastic bottles in a dry dark place without the presence of household chemicals (paint thinner, gasoline and dry cleaning chemicals). It is recommended that when a bottle of water is opened, it is used within two weeks, because algae or bacteria can start to grow and will cause health risks. So bottled water doesn't spoil when unopened, but the taste can change over time...'

Incidentally, Morrisons are selling 2x6 packs of Volvic for £5.50


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

fluffles said:


> Does anyone know if water quality degrades once the bottle is open? If I buy a 5L bottle and use it over a number of days (probably even weeks), would this be OK?


Wouldn't advise weeks. Keep the water out of direct sunlight and it should be fine.


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## nvening (May 6, 2014)

If you think your problems are bad, I have a friend who is currently stuck in Enfield having to frequently chisel out scale from industrial pumps and as they remove leaked engine oil. No vovic there









Oh and I think most of the value waters do not have the analysis on the side so you would have to perform your own to know how hard it is... also I depends whether you object to being sold bottled tap water.


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## Charliej (Feb 25, 2012)

fluffles said:


> Does anyone know if water quality degrades once the bottle is open? If I buy a 5L bottle and use it over a number of days (probably even weeks), would this be OK?


If you are thinking of the Tesco Ashbeck water that comes in 5 litre bottles just buy 6 x 2 litre bottle pack for £2.10 which works out cheaper anyway.


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