Water Matters (When Brewing Tea)
The day I noticed that differently treated water affect the flavor of the tea, was the day it dawned on me that I'm pretentious. Again.
There used to be a teahouse that I liked. I remember trying a delicious tea there, and then buying some to drink at home. When I brewed it, however, it was a shadow of what I originally tried - the water dominated the flavor and muted the tea!
The teahouse had a reverse osmosis water filter - maybe the best thing you can get for your coffee or tea hobby, water-wise. I had tap water. A new building's tap water, so not as rusty as in most houses around here, but still.
At first I wanted to install one at home, but that fell through because of logistics - it would've taken up space and require us to drill in the kitchen counter, which my girlfriend won't approve. We ended up installing a basic filter to soften the water, and using a Brita filter to get rid of smaller impurities.
It makes a difference - I enjoy the same teas I drank before much more now.
I think the most serious water treatment for tea I've ever seen was during my recent trip to Taiwan.
We drank tea at the home of a very impressive tea host and teaware collector. The water she used was boiled in both a silver kettle and an unglazed ceramic kettle, each of which are said to affect the flavor.
I'd like to one day do a comparison to see how (and if) kettles of different materials affect the tea, but I'm a long way from replacing my comfy electric kettle and doing this kind of investment.
What I'm trying to say is - water matters. If you have a hobby that uses water and is about drinking something, and if you get serious about it, this is another direction to inspect, compare and invest in.
Happy tea-ing!
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