# Drip brewing with hard water



## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

At home I treat my water to soften it, but when at work, or visiting relatives I use what comes out of the tap (usually about 300mg/L total hardness, 230mg/L alkalinity). The treated water definitely helps clarity of flavour & makes for a cleaner tasting cup/mouthfeel. The harder water flattens off brightness, but also tends towards a chewier cup, that feels siltier.

I can't say that there is something that you can do to your brews to make them taste the same, whatever the water, but some coffees do seem to stand up better to the hard water. Kenyans, Rwandans, Colombians, more berry forward naturals from Ethiopia, Honduras, brighter Guatemalans. The more delicate coffees, like tea-like Ethiopians & less bright coffees like Brazils seem to be more easily overwhelmed by the chewiness & flattening effect of the high alkalinity water.

I also find with the softer water I can back off brew ratio a little (62-63g/L, or 13.5:213g)) and the coffee comes through more easily, whereas with the harder tap water - if I'm getting off tastes from siltiness (woody/pithy/swampy) - it doesn't hurt to make the cup stronger to help the coffee push through (66-67g/L, or 14:210g).

Ideally, I'd always use the softer water, but sometimes it's just not practical, or makes sharing the coffee less possible. Picking a coffee more likely to stand up to the water can make for less disappointing brews.


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## the_partisan (Feb 29, 2016)

I tired brewing the Has Bean SSSSS which is the Finca La Soledad from Guatemala, Washed Caturra with my tap water, which is very hard (450ppm TDS, 350mg/L bicarb). Previously I made the same coffee but with RO water + a TWW capsule. I think I actually preferred today's brew for some reason, it seem more well rounded, sweeter while yesterday's one was tasting bit more hollow and somewhat metallic. Too bad it creates a lot of scale. For me water seems to be the second most differentiating thing after the coffee itself (i.e less important than the green and roast, but more so than the grinder etc) and some seem to be a lot more forgiving than other. Some just make the coffee very well rounded and some can just make it very flat or metallic tasting.


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## edpirie (Jun 29, 2012)

The problem I have in London is a high chlorine level in addition to hardness. Whereas I can make decent drip coffee (preference Kenyan and similar) in Margate which is hard but low chlorine, in London untreated water is a non-starter. Every brew has a harsh lime acidity that overwhelms other flavours. When I start tasting that I know it's time to replace my charcoal stick.


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