Perfect Water

what is the perfect water composition (yes aside from the 2H and the
O), as in what minerals in what amount,

do tea producers & their professional tasters control the water for
their tastings so it has always the same contents? or do they just use
local "tap" water?

On Feb 28, 5:53 pm, SN <SilverNeed...@> wrote:
> what is the perfect water composition (yes aside from the 2H and the
> O), as in what minerals in what amount,
>
> do tea producers & their professional tasters control the water for
> their tastings so it has always the same contents? or do they just use
> local "tap" water?

I took part in a few tastings and we used bottled water. Frankly, the
water here is Northern California works well enough for me, even with
my extravagant teas; but, we used Fiji which seemed to be a good Ph
and neutral-tasting. Fiji workedwell with these high-grade sen-chas
and darjeelings.
Roy Fong uses a specially designed gizmo to get the Ph perfect in his
shops.

Shen

On Feb 28, 8:53 pm, SN <SilverNeed...@> wrote:
> what is the perfect water composition (yes aside from the 2H and the
> O), as in what minerals in what amount,
>
> do tea producers & their professional tasters control the water for
> their tastings so it has always the same contents? or do they just use
> local "tap" water?

Where I live in PA we have a lot of natural springs that come straight
out of mountainsides and are incredibly cold and clear. My best tea is
brewed with that water and comes out amazing, however I don't know the
exact composition of it. When the weather is bad or I'm lazy we have a
local water distributor who sells water already in water cooler (3 & 5
Gallon) jugs from a similar spring, it's excellent as well.

I have tried a number of bottled waters but in the end I go back to my
quad filtered (Dupont not Brita/Pur) tap water. I will also say though
as an avid camper/backpacker that tea brewed fresh from streams is
also tops on my list... but that may just be due to exhaustion/cold
and any hot beverage :) To answer your question though, I've seen many
establishments use bottled waters for their teas.

- Dominic

On Feb 28, 7:53 pm, SN <SilverNeed...@> wrote:
> what is the perfect water composition (yes aside from the 2H and the
> O), as in what minerals in what amount,
>
> do tea producers & their professional tasters control the water for
> their tastings so it has always the same contents? or do they just use
> local "tap" water?

Kansas City water is great, but it was pronouced the best tap water in
the US a couple of years back. It very occasionally gets too
chlorinated after a storm, so I boil the chlorine out. Toci

On Feb 29, 6:53 am, SN <SilverNeed...@> wrote:
> what is the perfect water composition (yes aside from the 2H and the
> O), as in what minerals in what amount,
>
> do tea producers & their professional tasters control the water for
> their tastings so it has always the same contents? or do they just use
> local "tap" water?

Friends,

With my experience, I can say with conviction that rain water is the
best for tea.
However, please avoid the first few rains .. which are acidic.
As far as tasting of tea is concerned, it is possible to notice even
minor flaws / differences in the color and taste of liqour, when the
sample is brewed using rain water. On the estates, particularly of
Assam and Darjeeling, it is quite a common practice. The only
difficulty being the readjustment of palate / organoleptic senses with
ordinary "tap" water, once monsoon gets over.
The rain water can be safely stored in closed, cool and dark
containers / tanks, for a long time, and the brew prepared with it is
brighter, more flavoury and a wee bit thin.

Tea Cheers!
Jayesh S Pandya.

On Sun, 2 Mar 2008 03:41:52 -0800 (PST), teapandya
<teapandya@> wrote:

>On Feb 29, 6:53 am, SN <SilverNeed...@> wrote:
>> what is the perfect water composition (yes aside from the 2H and the
>> O), as in what minerals in what amount,
>>
>> do tea producers & their professional tasters control the water for
>> their tastings so it has always the same contents? or do they just use
>> local "tap" water?
>
>Friends,
>
>With my experience, I can say with conviction that rain water is the
>best for tea.
>However, please avoid the first few rains .. which are acidic.
>As far as tasting of tea is concerned, it is possible to notice even
>minor flaws / differences in the color and taste of liqour, when the
>sample is brewed using rain water. On the estates, particularly of
>Assam and Darjeeling, it is quite a common practice. The only
>difficulty being the readjustment of palate / organoleptic senses with
>ordinary "tap" water, once monsoon gets over.
>The rain water can be safely stored in closed, cool and dark
>containers / tanks, for a long time, and the brew prepared with it is
>brighter, more flavoury and a wee bit thin.
>
>Tea Cheers!
>Jayesh S Pandya.

This is hilarious.

What exactly is in this magical rain water other that H2O?

And why does it need to be stored in dark containers?

On 2008-05-03, Lurfys Maw <invalid@invalid.invalid> wrote:
> What exactly is in this magical rain water other that H2O?

Other way round. Tap water is often very mineral rich in ways that
adversely affect the flavor of, well, anything. In India, tap water
is often non-potable.

Do you think iron or sulfur hard or brackish water make good tea?

> And why does it need to be stored in dark containers?

To avoid algae/mold, if you're saving it for months?

N.