Which kind of bottled water is best for making coffee? Mineral water or mountain spring water for making coffee?

As the main raw material, water not only accounts for the vast majority of a cup of black coffee, but also affects the extraction of different substances, thus presenting a different flavor and taste. Therefore, we should all know the importance of water to coffee.

The types of common drinking water on the market, from the brand to the ingredients contained, from the purification process to the purpose of use, can be said to be dazzling. However, because the use effects are different, it has also aroused more curiosity and discussion. For example, not long ago, a brewing enthusiast wondered,"Will it taste better to make coffee with the most expensive water than the cheaper one? "

Although this issue is ambiguous, after all, we cannot define which is the "most expensive water" and the "cheapest water". However, Qianjie has always liked to give it a try and never let go of any topic worth writing about. So let's start "playing with water" around this doubt today.

Considering that everyone will give priority to bottled water that is "large and full" for daily coffee making, the key test objects of this article still focus on this type of products. Qianjie directly opened the commonly used takeout platform, directly checked the most expensive and cheapest bottled water to place an order, and finally screened out two products: Kunlun Mountain Snow Mountain Mineral Water at 19.9RMB/5L and Dinghu Mountain Spring Drinking Natural Water at 6.9RMB/5L. (Although Evian water, which is outstanding for its price, has attracted more attention, its TDS value (489ppm) is much higher than the maximum TDS value of coffee water, so it is not suitable for making coffee. Qianjie here will not be included in the discussion separately.)

During the experiment, Qianjie will also compare Nongfu Spring used in the store, and use two coffee beans to brew, one is Yejia Shefei red cherries that express fruit acid, and the other is true nutty. Diamond Mountain. In order to avoid being preconceived, the brewed coffee will be tasted in a "blind drink" format in order to see what flavors they each have.

First round of experiments

Coffee beans: Yejia Shefei·Sun-cured Red Cherry

Powder amount: 15 grams

Powder to water ratio: 1:15

Water temperature: 93℃

Abrasion degree: EK 43s scale 10 grids

Three-stage: 30g-90g-105g

Dinghu Mountain: Mainly flavored with lemon, grapefruit, berry, etc., with particularly outstanding acidity, short finish, slightly watery feel, and thin aroma;(TDS: 1.27)

Nongfu Spring: It has flavors such as citrus, sweet orange, black tea, etc. It shows berry acid at low temperatures. It has a soft taste and a balance between sweet, sour and bitter;(TDS: 1.31)

Kunlun Mountain: The taste is thick, mainly caramel and orange flavors, with a touch of strong tea, but the bitterness is obvious and remains on the tip of the tongue for a long time.（TDS： 1.33）

Second experiment

Coffee Beans: Jade Manor·Diamond Mountain

Powder amount: 15 grams

Powder to water ratio: 1:15

Water temperature: 91℃

Abrasion degree: EK 43s scale 10 grids

Three-stage: 30g-90g-105g

Kunlun Mountain: There is caramel and light chocolate aroma at the entrance. The flavor is only concentrated in the front section. The taste is monotonous and there is almost no aftertaste;(TDS: 1.31)

Dinghu Mountain: The flavor is mostly plum, myrica acid and cocoa sweetness. The taste is light, and the coffee is slightly sour at low temperatures;(TDS: 1.36)

Nongfu Spring: The aroma of nuts and cocoa is obvious. The low temperature has the acidity of dark berries and stone fruits, as well as a little sugar sweetness and the fermentation aftertaste of ripe fruit.（TDS： 1.32）

It can be seen from the flavor performance of coffee brewed with three water types that the most "expensive" water is no better than the cheapest "cheapest" water. The coffee brewed from Dinghu Mountain Spring drinking water, which has the "lowest price", has obvious acidity and low mellow content; the overall flavor of Nongfu Mountain Spring coffee is relatively balanced; while the "highest price" Kunlun Mountain Mineral Water not only has a sharp taste, but also Weakens some of the aroma and makes the coffee lack layers to drink.

What factors in water affect coffee extraction?

As the main solvent, water is responsible for extracting various soluble flavor substances in coffee. Generally speaking, if coffee wants to taste good, it must satisfy moderate hardness and acidity.

The pH value of coffee is generally between 5 and 6, so it is weakly acidic. When using alkaline water to brew coffee, it will neutralize some of the acidic substances in the coffee, reduce the sourness, and then balance the overall taste of the coffee. Coffee brewing water with a pH value of 6.5 to 7 is considered to perform better.

Among the three types of drinking water in this brewing comparison, Qianjie learned through inquiry that the pH value of bottled water in Nongfu Spring is 7.3±0.5, the pH value of drinking natural water in Dinghu Spring is 6.5 - 7.3, and the pH value of Kunlun Mountain Snow Mountain Mineral water is 7.0-8.5. The first two are neutral and the latter is weakly alkaline.

After talking about acidity and alkali, let's continue to talk about the hardness and softness of water. The composition of water is composed of countless elements. For coffee extraction, the most important ones are magnesium ions, calcium ions and bicarbonate. Water containing a proper amount of calcium ions can better dissolve the acid of coffee, while water with a proper amount of magnesium ions can effectively improve the release of coffee sweetness and aroma. Therefore, if you want to make coffee well, you must have appropriate amounts of calcium and magnesium ions in the water. The hard water that people often say essentially means that the content of magnesium and calcium is too much, which can easily lead to a bitter taste, so it is not suitable for making coffee.

According to the WHO's Drinking Water Quality Guidelines, a hardness below 200ppm is called soft water, and a hardness above 200ppm is called hard water. For coffee brewing water, SCA recommends a range of 75 to 250 ppm, with an ideal value of 150ppm. However, in fact, the TDS of water used to make delicious flavors is less than 100ppm.

When using a TDS testing pen to test the above three types of water, it was found that the TDS of drinking natural water in Dinghu Mountain Spring was 25ppm, which contained the least magnesium ions and calcium ions; the TDS of Nongfu Mountain Spring was 37ppm, with calcium ions and magnesium ions. The content of ions is moderate; while Kunlun Mountain mineral water was measured at 322ppm, indicating that it has the highest content of dissolved substances, which affects its extraction ability after coffee is poured into water, resulting in changes in sour, bitter, fragrant, sweet and other tastes.

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