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Once you have installed the best coffee machine for an office or home, one of the most important factors in making a great cup of coffee is the quality of the water. It is an often overlooked aspect that is crucial to the consistency and quality of the end product, a beautiful, delicious cup of coffee.
Why Water Quality Matters for Coffee Machines
Water isn’t just the fluid you use to mix the coffee with, it is more than that. It is a balancing act to ensure that your coffee isn’t too weak or too bitter, that you don’t flatten out the flavour profile. The mineral content of the water you use is important, with calcium and magnesium important in the process, but too high a level of minerals can lead to your coffee machine scaling.
Common Water Quality Issues
Water content is important in making your coffee, and in many ways can make a big difference to the overall flavour profile, due to:
Mineral content
Higher traces of magnesium and calcium in the water can enhance the extraction of oils in the coffee grounds, this adds layers of complexity to the coffee and provides a fuller body. Too much though can leave a chalky taste.
Chlorine
This can lead to a sharpness to the coffee, masking the delicate notes that you are often looking for.
pH levels
Acidity and pH levels can change how your coffee tastes. If it is too acidic the water might make the bitterness of the coffee come out even more, while alkaline water can flatten the taste profile.
Consistency of temperature
Inconsistent water temperature can mean extraction is over or under the levels required. This leads to a cup of coffee that is either too bitter or not strong enough.
Effects of Poor Water Quality on Coffee Machines
As water varies from region to region in hardness or softness, and in mineral content, it is important that when you sign up to a coffee subscription or when choosing the right commercial coffee machines, that you use the right system and use fresh, clean water to ensure that the quality of your coffee isn’t affected. There are a few steps that you can take to ensure that the water quality doesn’t impact your cup of coffee. Poor water quality can lead to scale buildup in your coffee machine, affecting performance and lowering the lifespan of the product.
How to Test and Improve Your Water Quality
You don’t need a PhD as a scientist to understand how to test and adjust the water in a commercial coffee machine. With some simple training, it all becomes apparent and there are testing kits that can measure the hardness of the water, pH and chlorine levels, from which you can adjust.
Best practice to ensure good water quality and maintenance of coffee machines include:
Filtration systems
Installing advanced filtration systems helps to improve water quality significantly.
Regular maintenance
Maintaining coffee machines and water filtration units is crucial for commercial coffee machines, preventing scale buildup and improving consistency of coffee quality.
Test the water
Test the pH and mineral content of your water to make the necessary adjustments for optimal coffee brewing.
Benefits of Using Filtered Water in Coffee Machines
Filtration systems remove impurities in the water and adjust the mineral content significantly. The cleaner the water, the better the extraction of the full flavour profile of coffee beans. Filtration removes chlorine and chemicals, making the water you use to make coffee as clean as possible. It helps to prevent scale buildup in the coffee machine (which can happen with hard water), helping to maintain high standards and lifespan of the machine. Most of all, the better the quality of water, the more enhanced the flavour profile is, allowing you to brew intricate and complex coffee flavours alongside more simple tastes without worrying about losing the authentic flavour.
Frequently Asked Questions About Water Quality and Coffee Machines
Q: Why is filtration important for coffee making?
A: By using a coffee machine with an advanced filtration system, you can significantly improve the quality of the water through a removal of impurities and an adjustment in the mineral content. This leads to a much more consistent taste profile for your coffee.
Q: Should I use different types of water for different types of coffee?
A: For all coffee drinks you should use fresh drinking water.
Q: How often should I change the water in my coffee machine?
A: You should change the water in your coffee machine every day. Water makes up 98% of your final beverage, so it is important that the water you use is fresh, colourless, and flavourless to ensure that the end product is a coffee full of flavour.
