Have you ever wondered what the best water is for your coffee?
Water is 1 of the only 2 ingredients in coffee. Grounds are the obvious other, by the way.
The water you use to brew a cup of coffee is crucial to the final flavor of the brew. I always thought if you had killer beans, you were good to go. I learned that there are many important factors like the grind, water temp, golden ratio, and the type of water you use to make your coffee.
I’m sharing in this post why tap water is terrible for your coffee, what’s the best water for your coffee, and how to get the best water for your coffee.
Let’s dive in, if you will.
Why Tap Water is Bad for Your Coffee
Why doesn’t anyone tell us the obvious? Like ever?
Tap water is bad for your coffee’s flavor. Since making coffee is science, really, why would you let go of control when it comes to the water you use to brew your coffee?
Tap water (depending on where you live) most likely has trace amounts of chemicals like chlorine in it. Chlorine isn’t ideal for the flavor of your cup of coffee, regardless of your brewing method. It can make the oils in your beans taste bitter or off.
When you fill up a gooseneck kettle or the water reservoir in your drip machine, you’re adding in unknown flavors that can affect the taste of your coffee. Maybe you’ve never noticed it. But I bet 9 times out of 10. You’re left scratching your head as to why your favorite beans don’t taste right.
It’s your tap water. You can buy the most expensive coffee your budget will allow, spends $100s on your brewing method, even use chlorine free, unbleached filters. But if you’re using tap water in your coffee, you’ve set yourself up for failure.
The reasoning behind unbleached, chlorine free coffee filters is that bleach and chlorine bring unwanted chemical flavors to your final brew. Why would you reintroduce those flavors back with your tap water?
See where I’m going with this?
Luckily, there are some easy solutions.
Why You Should Use Filtered Water for Your Coffee
Filtered water wants to be best friends with your coffee routine. And it should be.
Filtered water is free of additives that are found in most tap water. Filtered water is the best water for your coffee. Plain and simple.
The Specialty Coffee Association of America suggests using filtered water for all of your coffee brewing. They have a written set of standards they look for in the best water for coffee brewing. Ideally, it should be free of any flavors or odor.
Starbucks even uses a variety of filtration methods for all the water consumed in their retail stores. I bet your favorite local roaster or coffee shop uses filtered water for their locations too.
That’s a pretty compelling reason to use filtered water for my coffee.
Switching to filtered water might seem like, “Oh great. She wants me to add another special step to my coffee?”. I promise you’ll notice an instant difference. You can make the switch from tap water to filtered water in a few (usually inexpensive) steps.
Are There Other Types of Water for Coffee?
Are there other types of water for coffee?
You know there are. There’s some debate, as per usual, surrounding the best water to use when making coffee. Is it water run through a home filtration system? If so, is it hard or soft water?
Some industry experts believe that harder water (containing more natural elements of calcium and magnesium) makes a better cup of coffee. Magnesium, in particular, seems to enhance the flavor compounds found in coffee.
Hard water can also be an issue for espresso machines or other pressurized coffee brewing methods. Hard water leaves behind calcium scales (white calcium deposits on metal) destroy these brewing systems.
Then there’s soft water. Soft water lacks the natural magnesium and calcium found in hard water and is higher in sodium. Super soft water for coffee can result in a flat tasting coffee. Salt (sodium) and coffee aren’t friends.
Reverse osmosis (RO) water is very popular in the bottled water world right now. RO is a process that removes everything from the water. This is a problem. Much like soft water, RO water doesn’t have the magnesium content to enhance the coffee’s flavor compounds. Steer clear of RO water.
One last type of water that’s not ideal for making coffee is bottled water. Not only are they either too acidic or too alkaline, but they also don’t make sense. I would stay away from bottled water for many reasons: waste, cost, and the environmental impacts of single use plastic.
If you must use bottled water, I suggest that you try to find one that has added back the ideal mineral content to enhance your coffee’s flavor compounds. This can be a hard venture, but I’ll give you a solution in a bit.
Water Filters for Coffee
Now that you’re (hopefully) second guessing the use of straight tap water for your next cup of coffee you make at home, where do you start?
There is no reason to go out and buy an entire house filtration system for all the water coming into your home. I’m also not going to give any water filtering options that are expensive or require a plumber.
Here are my top 3 water filters that you can start to use as soon as they arrive.
1 – Britta Standard Ultra Max Water Filter
When Britta water filters hit the scene in the mid-1990s, they were all the rage. Every person in my extended family had one. It was almost like for clout. Oh, you don’t filter your drinking water? Sheesh.
The Britta has stayed true and established itself as a company that makes filtered water accessible to the masses. Their products are affordable. This massive countertop water filter holds 18 cups of water and comes with a filter.
You’ll have to buy more filters as you use them, but this one should last long enough to get you started. The replacement filter cartridges run about $20.00 to $30.00 for generic brand packs of 4-6 filters.
The Britta water filter cartridges last for about 40 gallons of water filtration. That’s around 53 12-cup pots of coffee. I’m a big fan of price performers, and this water filter fits the mold.
The Britta Ultra Max is an excellent solution for coffee lovers who want to move away from using their home’s tap water to make coffee. You can buy the Britta Ultra Max Water Filter on Amazon for under $40.00.
2 – Waterdrop WD-FC-01 Faucet Water Filter
Waterdrop filters are somewhat new to the water filtration game, but that shouldn’t turn you away. This is the filter I use on my faucet in the kitchen. It’s affordable, easy to use, and long lasting.
The sink faucet filter makes filtered water available to you on demand. This style of water filter cuts out the prep time that pitcher or countertop water filters require. But that’s not all this water filter has to offer.
The cost is cheaper, and it comes with a high volume filter cartridge. The filter on the Waterdrop can clean up to 320 gallons of water. This filter is a workhorse when it comes to the demand you can push it to.
The replacement cartridges are reasonably cheap as well. Considering they can filter up to 320 gallons of water, the price tag of around $20.00 apiece is pretty budget friendly in my book.
I can’t say enough about how I adore this water filter. If you haven’t opened a new tab on your browser to buy this filter, do it now. You can buy the Waterdrop Faucet Filter WD-FC-01 on Amazon with free shipping for Prime members.
3 – 3rd Wave Water
What’s better than a water product designed and tested by a coffee industry veteran? Nothing, that’s what.
3rd Wave Water isn’t exactly a water filter, but it’s a mineral additive that gives your filtered water the ideal balance of minerals to produce an optimal cup of coffee.
The 3rd Wave minerality is the perfect addition to your home filtered water and bottled waters that might be missing the mineral content that is ideal for coffee. You could even use RO water and add one of these capsules to achieve the mineral content you’re looking for.
3rd Wave Water has developed a capsule that brings your distilled or filtered water to the perfect pH for coffee’s flavor compounds. The 2 friends who created 3rd Wave Water are industry experts, and one is even a NASA scientist.
Each packet contains 12 capsules. Each capsule will maximize the mineral content for 12 gallons of water for coffee. This stuff became a game-changer for the home coffee brewing industry when they were featured on Shark Tank.
You can buy 3rd Wave Water in 2 different “flavors”: classic and espresso. 3rd Wave Water capsules are on Amazon.
Conclusion
Who knew the type of water use for your coffee mattered so much?
It makes sense because coffee is just 2 ingredients: water and coffee beans. I hope you’ll be rethinking your water choices when brewing your next pot of coffee, French press, or pour over.
I would love to know if you’ve tried any of these products or if you have a favorite not listed. Please leave me a note in the comments.