Water Additives

[Stephen]

I've been experimenting with water additives. My home has deep well water. It's ozone treated, high in iron, and has tds around 90. It's delicious water for drinking, but makes sharp tasting tea without much body. I primarily drink shu and sheng puer. I've tried additives to improve it. Recently I tried ConcenTrace Mineral Drops. Raising the tds to around 150 helped, but the water tasted a bit salty and the tea flat. Now I'm trying Third Wave Water mineral powder for coffee/tea water. I've had good results so far raising tds into the 130-200 range. Has anyone used this or other additives?

[Tor]

You might want to try Matt’s recipe here:

https://baristahustle.com/blog/diy-wate ... o-bottles/

Generally I don’t feel Mg works as nice for tea as for coffee, but that’s subjective.

[Tor]

.. It's delicious water for drinking, but makes sharp tasting tea without much body.

In that case, you may try bamboo charcoal.

[Stephen]

@Tor

Interesting article. Lots of chemistry. Have you tried that recipe?

I've never used bamboo charcoal. I always thought of it for deodorizing or purifying water. Does it mineralize water as well?

[Tor]

Interesting article. Lots of chemistry. Have you tried that recipe?

I've never used bamboo charcoal. I always thought of it for deodorizing or purifying water. Does it mineralize water as well?

I’ve never tried the recipe with tea. I’ve tried filtered water from BWT which uses Mg mineralizer and found it a bit harsh for tea, but some people like it though.

Bamboo charcoal makes water softer and have a fuller mouthfeel. It does mineralize water slightly - around 10mg/L tested with my home TDS meter.

EDIT: When I said the charcoal makes water softer I mean it “feels” softer, not lower in mineral content.

[Stephen]

@Tor

Good to know. I'll give the charcoal a try. The Third Wave Water is giving me good results. I mix it into a 3 gallon ceramic cistern of water. It's a mix of magnesium sulfate, calcium citrate and sodium chloride. One drawback is that it's probably overpriced given the contents ($15 for 18g package.)

[Tor]

Yes, so you should try Matt’s recipe. Those ingredients are cheap, household stuffs. You can also use RO instead of distilled water.

[.m.]

@teasecret has shared his recipe https://teasecrets.home.blog/2018/12/28 ... -in-water/ in the water thread viewtopic.php?f=36&t=759

[Stephen]

@.m.

Thanks for the link. I'll check it out!