the importance of water
Depending on strength, a cup of coffee is about 98% water, and the quality of the water dramatically impacts the quality of the cup of coffee you enjoy at cafes or brew at home.Good water is the start of good coffee.
A cup of coffee brewed from coffee beans that are fresh-roasted, ground just before brewing and brewed at the right temperature with the correct amount of clean, filtered water. That's what makes a great coffee that smells so good, and has a complex, mouth-filling aftertaste.
More than just water
Water is often taken for granted, but for a cup of coffee or tea it's the largest ingredient. It is the catalyst that transforms coffee and tea into the beverages we love. Good-tasting water isn't necessarily going to make the best-tasting coffee. Some of the things that make water good to drink by itself can interfere with the brewing process. Water becomes even more interesting when you address how the chemical content, mineral content, and oxygen content all affect the flavor in your cup. Water is much more complicated than hydrogen and oxygen atoms bonded into molecules.
Good chemistry
What happens in the brewing process is good chemistry, as long as you've got fresh coffee and good water. The nature of the brewing process varies widely depending on what's in the water, its temperature, how long it's in contact with the coffee, and what kind of grind was used in preparing the beans. Different coffee grinds are appropriate for different brewing methods. The right grind will help ensure the right extraction. When you ask for ground coffee instead of whole beans be sure to advise us of your brewing method.
Coffee has more than 800 identifiable chemical compounds or constituents --more than tea, and more than double the complexity of wine. The reaction of good coffee and good water produces the complex flavors we all seek in a good cup.
(Identification of the 800+ constituents in coffee is a recent phenomenon. About 400 of these have only been discovered in the last 20 to 30 years. Before the advent of the gas chromograph and advanced chemistry, scientists couldn't isolate the individual compounds.)
The texture of water: hard water vs. soft water
Every water has a flavor and a texture, leaving its own distinctive signature on the palate. The texture comes from the level of mineral 'hardness' or 'softness'. Mouthfeel (the texture of the sensations on the palate) is partly determined by the 'hardness' of the water. It is measured by the quantities of dissolved solid matter; this includes the salts in the water and suspended minerals.
Certain kinds of minerals in water can be healthful. Evian® water, for example, has a high content of certain kinds of minerals like calcium, magnesium, iron, manganese, and zinc that may be good for you. The high mineral content that makes this water taste so good will produce a mediocre cup of coffee. Minerals are catalysts that trigger chemical reactions and make water taste sweeter.