Tea is almost all water, so what's dissolved in it matters. Very hard water dulls aroma and can leave a film on the cup. Distilled or very soft water tastes flat and empty.
Most people get good results from filtered tap water or a soft bottled spring water. A cheap TDS pen gives a number to compare: many tea drinkers like something in the region of 30 to 100 ppm, but taste is the test.
That's why Steepbook lets you choose a water for each session: the dialed-in steep for one water may not be the one for another.
Words in this article
- TDS
- How much is dissolved in your water, in parts per million. A rough measure of hardness.
More in Learn
- Leaf, heat and time
- Water temperature by tea
- Gongfu steeping
- Rinsing the leaf
- Freshness and storage
- The families of tea
- Dialing in a new tea
- Tea glossary
Steepbook is a free app that remembers the steep that worked for each tea, teaware and brew style. Have a look if that sounds useful.