TIL that fancy coffee water is a waste of money

I bought a box of those third-wave mineral packets you add to distilled water. It was 25 dollars for 12 packets. After a week of testing, I couldn't tell the difference from my regular filtered tap water in a blind taste test with my partner. My wallet felt the difference, though. Anyone have a cheaper way to manage water hardness that actually works?

3 comments

3 Comments

margaret_singh12mo ago

My friend who runs a coffee cart swears by those packets... he says the mineral balance is key for pulling a good shot. You might not taste it in the water alone, but it changes how the coffee extracts. I spent a month testing and my pour-overs got way more consistent when I controlled the water. Maybe your taste test was too simple... try it with the actual coffee.

jade31mo ago

Wait, has anyone checked if it's not just the minerals but the temperature stability that changes? I mean, those packets dissolve and might affect how evenly the water heats up or holds temp in a pour-over. I messed around with distilled water plus a pinch of baking soda once, and my brew temp dropped way slower than straight tap water. Maybe the mineral balance is actually changing the thermal properties a bit, not just the extraction chemistry.

faithb782mo agoMost Upvoted

I hear what you're saying, @margaret_singh1, but I still find the difference too small to be worth the extra fuss for me.