One topic that is often overlooked is water. Understandably, because upon receiving our espresso machines and grinders, the first thing we want to do is pull shots. After all, it’s the reason we made such an investment.
Complicating matters is either the lack of information provided with our machines and also the overly complicated explanations of the role of water in online sources. This post will hopefully simplify everything about water so you can prolong the life of your espresso machine and also enjoy great tasting coffee.
How Water Affects Espresso Machines?
The water we pour inside our espresso machine can be either beneficial or detrimental. It’s beneficial when it facilitates the proper function of components inside the espresso machine. It can be detrimental if it corrodes components or builds up limescale.
Every water source whether it’s tap, filtered or bottled water will have it’s unique composition. It can be hard or soft water. Hard water has a higher percentage of minerals. While minerals are good, too much of them will cause an array of problems for your espresso machine.
Soft water on the other hand is lack of minerals. It may seem great, but too soft and it’s bad. Distilled is one example of too soft water because all minerals are removed. This type of water we want to avoid too. Water that is too soft and lacks minerals completely will be detrimental because minerals are important for the functionality. The reasoning is that components inside espresso machine including plumbing system require some minerals to maintain their function and longevity. Temperature sensors also work optimally with water that has minerals.
The takeaway here is you want water that is not too hard nor completely soft. The way to go about it is to measure the hardness or softness of the water source. This can easily be achieved with a TDS meter. These are inexpensive and easy to use.
The recommended range may vary from machine to machine. Take a look inside your user manual and look for either ppm (parts per million) or dH (direct hardness). There should be a number after these initials. An example is my Profitec GO, the manual states, “You should use water with a max hardness of 4 dH”, this correlate to about 71 ppm. What’s missing, however, is the minimum value. So, if 71 ppm is the maximum value what is the minimum? In my case, I used Profitec’s “safe range” for their Profitec 700 espresso machine as a guideline which ranges between 35-85 ppm.
By knowing 71 ppm is the max number for the Profitec Go, the water I input into the machine does not exceed that.
This is the approach you should also take. The manufacturer’s guideline is your best choice as they constructed and know it inside out.
Regarding the missing minimum ppm value (which is kind of odd). If you face a similar dilemma. Then the 35-85 ppm is a good guideline to go by as it’s also a range used by major espresso machine vendors who service these machines.
Solutions for Water Hardness or Softness
If you’ve determined that your water is too hard for your espresso machine. You have some options to solve the problem. One is to filter your water to a safe ppm level. Remove the excess minerals that may harm your machine. There are many filters that will help you achieve this. Filtering pitchers are also another option at your disposal. Another solution is to use water softening packets that soften hard water.
One solution that I use and may not be practical for everyone is I mix bottled mineral water with either distilled or purified water. I kill two birds with one stone with this technique by achieving a ppm under 71 and PH level for great tasting coffee (see below).
How Water Affects Coffee Taste?
Brew a cup of coffee using very soft or distilled water, in which all minerals are removed, and then brew another cup of coffee using mineral water. The difference will be obvious, and the taste of the coffee brewed with mineral water will be much better.
Simply, mineral water has flavor that results in a better tasting coffee. The mouthfeel is also noticeable. Ideally, we want to use water that doesn’t harm our espresso machine and results in a flavor rich coffee. If you followed the procedure above, then your next aim is to tinker your water to reach a PH neutral or near neutral. This ranges between 6.5 and 7.5 PH with 7 being completely neutral.
It’s not difficult at all, and you probably won’t have to do anything to achieve this because water normally ranges between 6.5 and 8.5 PH. The distilled water that I use is sold as 6.7 PH and the mineral water I use is 7.1 PH, so right there it’s about 7 PH.
Whichever route you take, what’s important is that the process should not be tedious. It should be one that you’ll repeatedly do with minimum annoyance. So, if a filter works for you and the ppm and PH are fine, then you managed protecting your espresso machine and having ideal water for coffee.