Water Water Everywhere... What’s Your Water?

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Victoria
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Mon Dec 17, 2018 2:46 pm

Wow @Baisao that’s messed up. And safe to drink before hitting metal plumbing is quite a condition :oops:
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Baisao
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Mon Dec 17, 2018 3:06 pm

Victoria wrote:
Mon Dec 17, 2018 2:46 pm
Wow Baisao that’s messed up. And safe to drink before hitting metal plumbing is quite a condition :oops:
I recognize this is an extreme example but all is not well in the republic. I want to put the taboo of using bottled water into context: tap water in the US frequently tastes bad, and even water that passes acceptable standards by regulatory agencies can be so foul that you wouldn't wash your cloths in it, let alone make tea with it.

I don't want to derail the topic so I'll leave it at this: people shouldn't feel burdened with guilt for using bottled water when their tap is barely fit for drinking.
.m.
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Wed Dec 19, 2018 5:45 am

plamarca000 wrote:
Sun Dec 16, 2018 10:38 am
.m. wrote:
Sat Dec 15, 2018 1:51 pm
Does anybody have an experience with maifan stones?
I leave one permanently in my kettle with reverse osmosis water. I think it helps bring back some of the mineral content. I like it but wondering about using a britta instead. I live in Brooklyn so our water to begin with is decent out the tap.
So you boil the water with them? If you dont mind, may i ask where did you get them from? I'm asking, because I'd like to get some to experiment a bit. ;)
.m.
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Wed Dec 19, 2018 5:54 am

Baisao wrote:
Mon Dec 17, 2018 3:06 pm
I don't want to derail the topic so I'll leave it at this: people shouldn't feel burdened with guilt for using bottled water when their tap is barely fit for drinking.
I couldn't agree more. I think nobody with certain amount of awareness likes to buy plastic bottles, but there is often no better way to go. Personally i always feel guilty if i waste a good tea by preparing it with a water that is not good enough.
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There is no self
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Wed Dec 19, 2018 6:11 am

Baisao wrote:
Mon Dec 17, 2018 1:01 am
I have a notoriously acute sense of smell. My son told me today that it sounds like a curse— and it can be— but it’s a wonderful gift when drinking tea or eating. Aromas have dimensions to them that are hard to explain. It’s an almost synesthesia-like experience for me.
It's the same for me. Living in a city, I can immediately smell the difference in the air between rush hours in the morning and evening, and the central hours, say 2.00-4.00 p.m., when there are fewer cars around and fewer people heating their flats. This is also the reason why I have to wash my beard before a tea session - too many unpleasant smells otherwise.

Baisao wrote:
Mon Dec 17, 2018 2:40 pm
First world problems: this was in the local news today. A town an hour away has corrosive tap water. It's probably not good for tea.
As the saying goes around here: "water makes you rusty and makes poles rotten". (So you should drink wine instead.)
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Victoria
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Wed Dec 19, 2018 3:49 pm

Unfortunately, the Crystal Geyser Alpine Spring (by CG Roxane from Blue Ridge Mtns. SC), 110 TDS, doesn’t really make great tea. I thought it was okay, but I notice all my oolongs are more tannic and hard. I’m going to try and find VOSS, Nice! Iceland Spring Water, Aqua Panna and or Poland Springs... Look forward to returning home to my Santa Monica, remineralized RO tap water, filtered with Brita. I think I just got use to steeping with that water, making necessary steeping adjustments.
oolongfan
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Wed Dec 19, 2018 6:00 pm

I use well water. I live in 'limestone country' near Williams, Indiana. There is a company bottling 'artisinal spring watr' not too far from us..the name escapes me at the moment.

My water is really good, fairly 'sweet' but not quite the same as the tap water I grew up with in NYC. I keep meaning to get the well tested just for kicks and giggles. I am just glad that I live up on a hilll and not in the low areas near the river. Those wells tend to get what is known as 'fart' water, smelling like egg....to put it politely ;)
plamarca000
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Thu Dec 20, 2018 12:55 am

.m. wrote:
Wed Dec 19, 2018 5:45 am
plamarca000 wrote:
Sun Dec 16, 2018 10:38 am
.m. wrote:
Sat Dec 15, 2018 1:51 pm
Does anybody have an experience with maifan stones?
I leave one permanently in my kettle with reverse osmosis water. I think it helps bring back some of the mineral content. I like it but wondering about using a britta instead. I live in Brooklyn so our water to begin with is decent out the tap.
So you boil the water with them? If you dont mind, may i ask where did you get them from? I'm asking, because I'd like to get some to experiment a bit. ;)
I leave it in my bonvita kettle all the time. It just rattled around in there when I boil water.

I got a few from a friend in nyc a few years ago. This link here looks like the ones I use


http://dancingwithwater.3dcartstores.co ... _p_78.html
.m.
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Thu Dec 20, 2018 1:52 am

plamarca000 wrote:
Thu Dec 20, 2018 12:55 am
.m. wrote:
Wed Dec 19, 2018 5:45 am
I leave it in my bonvita kettle all the time. It just rattled around in there when I boil water.

I got a few from a friend in nyc a few years ago. This link here looks like the ones I use
http://dancingwithwater.3dcartstores.co ... _p_78.html
Thanks :D
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Rickpatbrown
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Mon Dec 24, 2018 1:39 pm

I don't know if this should be a whole new topic, but what is everyone's thoughts on "structured water". I read somewhere about the guy from Mei Leaf mentioning he used reverse osmosis and a Grander water system https://www.grander.com/intl-en/.

Now I'm not trying to offend anyone, but I'm very skeptical of this stuff. But at the same time, I'm a pretty open-minded dude.

Does anyone have experience with "structured water"?
Do you know of places that offer to try this out?
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Rickpatbrown
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Mon Dec 24, 2018 1:44 pm

Holy smokes! If you are looking for a fun rabit hole to dive down this holiday, follow the leads on this Wikipedia article :shock: Super interesting stuff.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Grander
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There is no self
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Mon Dec 24, 2018 1:51 pm

Rickpatbrown wrote:
Mon Dec 24, 2018 1:39 pm
I don't know if this should be a whole new topic, but what is everyone's thoughts on "structured water". I read somewhere about the guy from Mei Leaf mentioning he used reverse osmosis and a Grander water system https://www.grander.com/intl-en/.

Now I'm not trying to offend anyone, but I'm very skeptical of this stuff. But at the same time, I'm a pretty open-minded dude.

Does anyone have experience with "structured water"?
Do you know of places that offer to try this out?
Sounds like a scam, honestly.
Even if this system can rearrange water molecules (and I'm pretty sure it's not possible, science-wise), I fail to see how it should be more beneficial than normal water. The molecules are the same, are they not?
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Rickpatbrown
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Mon Dec 24, 2018 2:28 pm

There is no self wrote:
Mon Dec 24, 2018 1:51 pm
Sounds like a scam, honestly.
Even if this system can rearrange water molecules (and I'm pretty sure it's not possible, science-wise), I fail to see how it should be more beneficial than normal water. The molecules are the same, are they not?
Of course. That's the immediate first conclusion that I came to. I'd still give it a try, if I had an opportunity.

Technically, you can arrange water molecules. That's what ice is. There could be ways to form intermediate liquid phases, but these should all be easily measured by a number of scientific techniques. If you could affect the structure of liquid water, I'd expect it to have an appreciable impact on the water's properties (hydrogen bonding, polarizability, pKa, etc.)

The thing with "pseudo-science", is that it has an element of real science. That is what can make it dangerous.
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Baisao
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Mon Dec 24, 2018 4:30 pm

Rickpatbrown wrote:
Mon Dec 24, 2018 1:39 pm
I don't know if this should be a whole new topic, but what is everyone's thoughts on "structured water". I read somewhere about the guy from Mei Leaf mentioning he used reverse osmosis and a Grander water system https://www.grander.com/intl-en/.

Now I'm not trying to offend anyone, but I'm very skeptical of this stuff. But at the same time, I'm a pretty open-minded dude.

Does anyone have experience with "structured water"?
Do you know of places that offer to try this out?
It’s absolute garbage that’s backed up with only junk science. I’m an open minded dude too, but I have no patience for scams or woo. This combines both.

I realize it was only a matter of time before “structured water” came into the conversation, which is a pity. I suppose the rest of this useful thread will be tainted with posts by flat Earthers on tourmaline filtration, tachyon water, and other mystical states of dihydrogen monoxide.
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Victoria
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Mon Dec 24, 2018 5:00 pm

Oh oh :shock: , a structured water discussion over at FB Los Angeles Tea Society lead to cat fights, and alley brawls, with a few members leaving the group they were so upset.
Rickpatbrown wrote:
Sun Dec 16, 2018 2:42 pm
I've settled on Poland springs for now. The Mountain Valley Springs got cloudy when boiled and only marginally improved the tea flavor. I can't spend $40-$60 a month on water for tea, either.

I love the clay kettle in terms of mechanical use (it pours very softly and accurately with a small wrist movement and is on a hot plate next to my couch for a much better tea drinking experience), but it doesn't drastically affect my tea flavor ... maybe just slightly.
Thanks for heads up on Poland Springs, fairly okay results with oolong and sencha, allowing high/low notes and some complexity to come through. It is closer to Trader Joe’s New Zealand Artesian Water: 88 TDS (not available right now in Annapolis till January) with Poland Springs at 33-100 TDS. Still trying to located VOSS, Nice! Iceland Spring Water, and Aqua Panna.

The clay kettle’s effect on your water and tea really depends on the clay used to make your kettle. I have four from different 20thc periods, and each has very different effects on my water/tea. A white clay kettle from Japan needed to be cured with rice water before positive results appeared. Another early 20thc red clay kettle had better effects after cooking some tea in it and then boiling water a few times.
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