Best water for a home machine

[Barry_Duncan]

I don’t take water for the chemicals in it but to quench my thirst and make my coffee and also to wash in.

I would rather drink water with the remnants of chlorine in it than to suffer from cholera, typhoid fever, dysentery or other water spread diseases. We are lucky in Australia where most of us have access to clean and healthy water and where the use of bottled water is not necessary.

I drink water straight from the tap. However I treat my coffee water to reduce the formation of scale.

Barry

[Vinitasse]

And... your new comments on global warming don't do your credibility any favours.

[Vinitasse]

Now... was that a soapbox or a pedestal?

[Journeyman]

Generalising comments that put down others are less than useful, in spite of like-minded types 'Liking' them. Specifics would help make such comments more in keeping with the expressed wishes of the site owner. Comments failing to talk on the post subject and clearly aimed at a poster are hostile.

Professionals are often simply regurgitators of the dogma attached to their learning and many, if not most, advances come from those who specifically go against the orthodox views. As an example one might look at the expressed knowledge of the experts regarding Climate; only the most fanatical still claim the Earth is warming. The rest of the Scientific world involved in such is trying to find explanations for why it stopped warming right about the time all the doom&gloomers were telling us how bad things were getting.

So going to 'professionals' can often be less than useful, particularly in a field like coffee where not only are the results so personally variable, the field itself is still undergoing changes that often radically alter the accepted 'reality' of the professionals.

Also, one might perhaps ascertain the level of understanding, research and practical knowledge of anyone one wishes to denigrate posters before labelling them uneducated.

One might also either contribute to the subject or go find another thread.

Personally I prefer to make sure that what I put in my body does the least amount of harm - I don't go around making fun of those who blindly follow the mainstream and believe whatever they are told in the media, I just present my views, mostly with backup. I'd ask for sources but the 3 offensive posts have not actually contributed anything other than ridicule so clearly there will be none forthcoming.

It takes very little research at all to start finding the problems with fluoride, and only a little thought on the subject will have one realising that even if there is a justification for topical use, there is no such evidence for ingesting such a poison. And with just a bit more research one can easily find out that even if there IS topical usefulness, it cannot possibly have any effect that continues past the age of around 11 or 12. That's the SCIENCE behind the scenes rather than the mantra proclaimed by the mainstream and media types.

Anything short of a reverse osmosis system will not remove fluoride and it takes activated carbon to deal with the chloramines, added to water supplies because chlorine breaks down fairly quickly with sunlight or aeration - chloramines are added specifically to ensure the chemicals are still active when they reach your tap.

Those ridiculing my position may not care that they are ingesting such substances and allowing their family to do so - I do. I fail to see why that brings such content-free posts.

The one post that DID address my post sensibly I responded to with information taken from the same source quoted.

[Dimal]

Comments from the uneducated of any specific subject speciality, are just opinions. If you want to know exactly and factually what you should be doing, talk to a professional...

Mal.

[Journeyman]

Tank water is (mostly) a great alternative. Unfortunately many people live in environments where tank water collection is closer to a concentration system for the various noxious chemicals released into our environment than it is to a source of pure water. If you're one of the lucky ones, good for you. But there are many who rely on blind faith in the media as arbiter for their opinions and who have little idea of the process of Science and so quote Authority as if it is the be-all and end-all of knowledge.

You can tell them by their posts that target a poster instead of the subject. And they tend to run in packs, so you see the same culprits lining up to have a go one after another. Mob mentality? Or maybe fear of standing by themselves? Maybe it's just their belief that if lots of people say the same thing it must be right?

Not sure, but it's common on forums.

[mulquemi]

Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, you have yours and good on you for that.
I believe tank water is the right way for me to enjoy coffee and treat all my coffee producing appliances (all twenty four of them).
Always great to have such a selection to choose from!
Cheers
Mick.

[Journeyman]

And out come the peanut gallery to cast their aspersion with zero content relating to the thread.

@TheLudicrousBean - First, 'almost no' is not the same thing as 'no' Also Rao does not explain WHY he thinks it is important to not have 'no minerals' - it's just an offhand comment when he is talking about water quality.

Reverse osmosis: Removes more than 90% of TDS, hardness and alkalinity. Straight RO water is too pure for espresso, tea or coffee brewing. RO water should always be blended with mineral-rich carbon-filtered water or used in conjunction with a remineralizer

But he also says that high TDS causes poor tasting coffee...

To put it simply, the less "stuff" already dissolved in brewing water the more "stuff" the water will dissolve from the grounds. If TDS levels are too high water is a weaker solvent and will not extract enough solubles from the grounds.

Now I am not sure how he defines 'straight' but the context of the section where he talks about this is that he is implying water that is 100% H2O, something no reasonably priced RO unit will deliver.

And remineralisers are a common feature on RO systems - I have one on mine. What it means is you get the minerals that are known to be useful for the human body, not crap like chlorine, chloramines and fluoride. Try drinking pure water for a while and the tap water starts to smell and taste off. Anyone wanting to put that in their coffee is welcome to it - I prefer to taste only the coffee. Carbon filters might help with the chlorine but only RO and distilling remove fluoride.

In spite of the comments implying I'm some kind of fruitcake, I'll stick with putting the best quality resources I can get into my body. Cleaning up the water is just one part of healthy living and at 3c/L it is a cheap way to help your body function optimally. And the coffee tastes GREAT - better than almost every café I have been to - and I'm a Melbourne guy, a city with some of the best coffee available.

[TheLudicrousBean]

Journeyman, Why?

RO water has almost no minerals....

In scott rao's book, he points out that you should avoid having NO minerals and that you should stick to certain amounts...

[MrJack]

I had a tour of an industrial RO facility this week. I've that feeling of being followed ever since...

[Vinitasse]

A word of warning!!! The consumption of pure and/or RO water can lead to the wearing of alu-foil hats whilst standing on soapboxes and/or pedestals

[Journeyman]

I use Reverse Osmosis for all internal uses. Near as I can see the 'don't use RO' idea has more to do with sensors needing ions than because it doesn't make good coffee - I had it mentioned after one of my posts and couldn't find anything that actually proves pure water isn't good for coffee.

I had a portable RO unit to begin with - came with an extra membrane and lasted close to 4 years (I was single then) - and my under-sink one has been going great guns since I got it. Last I looked the ROI for the under-sink (which is easily removed and also simple to replace any of the 4 filters) was about 3c/litre. Figured that is a worthwhile investment in my good health.

And the coffee is superb...

[mulquemi]

Tank or Rain water for coffee use.

Dear coffee drinkers.
Depending where you live in Melbourne with airborne nastie's from near by industry,the water goes through our first flush,a bypass of around sixty litres.
This represents a good clearing of the majority of roof "yuck",leaving the tank contents pure and perfect for coffee machines.
Calcium in a dissolved state is present in town drinking water and is responsible for the scale build up in any water heating appliance.
Filtering will not remove dissolved calcium.
Descaling your water heating appliance temporally clears the restriction imposed by this calcium (just like cholesterol buildup in our blood vessels).
Rainwater collected (with a first flush diversion) will be calcium free as well as fluoride,Alum etc ..whatever your local water board chooses to bung in,free also.
Better flavour together with the only other ingredient,coffee.
Check out options for your rain water tank like first flush diversion,ours works well all year round.
See CSIRO report regarding use of rain water from roof catchments.
Public liability though may play a part in its use for a business,cafe's etc...is it politically correct?
This is my opinion and I'm sticking to it!
Cheers
Mick.

Water for your coffee machine,at home.
Why not try rain water,your will need a means to collect it ie roof area and suitable tank for storage,small ones are available.
I have a older cimbali basic M27 and it's plumbed to a 2500 litre rainwater tank (first flush filtering).
Absolutely sparkling water,very soft and clean....no calcium and very little dust residue,means I don't bother descaling anymore (I do check though).
All my domestic machines use nothing except rainwater as well,terrific ,once set up it's free.
Obviously some commercial applications will need considering to plumbing to outside storage options.
Cheers
Mick

[kbc]

Coffee Fever,
There's no need to boil melbourne water. No one does that....

[kbc]

H2O. Not H2no