Just watched this by lance. https://youtu.be/EABZn-dh-w4 So if I use boiler safe water, would it work for espresso? Interesting

Adding minerals post brew

Bagpu55

Just watched this by lance.

So if I use boiler safe water, would it work for espresso? Interesting

MediumRoastSteam

Bagpu55 I’ve been meaning to try this for a while. Never really got around to do it.

Bagpu55

MediumRoastSteam Yeh for sure, Im waiting on the chemistry peoples here to tell me what I need to add to a bottle and how much to add 🤞

Petre

I did try today for espresso and noticed some differences. Unfortunately what I had in the machine was pretty hard to begin with (80gh 40kh) and adding drops of 10000ppm only made the shot worst. But next batch of water will be 40/20 and lower and hope I get better results.

MWJB

Petre adding drops of 10000ppm only made the shot worst. But next batch of water will be 40/20 and lower and hope I get better results.

Should you be brewing in the espresso machine with 20ppm alkalinity?

10,000ppm sounds like a typo?

If 1 drop of Lotus alkalinity (KH) is 10ppm in 450mL then 1 drop will be around 113ppm in 40mL and not practical for espresso.

Rob1

This basically underlines the point that the specific minerals affect the taste of the coffee without necessarily having an impact on extraction. You’d probably have to go back to the forum that shall not be named and find the discussion on this in which I suggested the idea of adding minerals after extraction just to prove the point, though I doubt I was the first to have the idea. Maybe little dropper bottles will catch on….I never thought it would.

Cuprajake

so can we now buy cheap beans and cheap grinders, produce $hit shots and add water post to make them taste good? sweet im in,

MWJB

Cuprajake so can we now buy cheap beans and cheap grinders, produce $hit shots and add water post to make them taste good? sweet im in,

No, it just tweaks perceived acidity, in the same way brewing with different water does, it just let’s you brew with a ‘clean slate’ and dial in the acidity by taste, or find a value you like if preparing a new batch of water.

Cuprajake

just to add, pure distilled is bad for an espresso machine no?

MWJB

Cuprajake Yes, do not put 0TDS water in your coffee machines (espresso, or otherwise).

Petre

MWJB I am using 10,000ppm concentrates to make my water and I was using those to add drops in my shots too.

I just weighted now and seems like a drop would have around 0.0285g. If I don’t suck at math, at 40g beverage every drop will increase ppm by 7.

Cuprajake

i was being cheeky - its alot of messing about dont you think?

i use the dr pavliss water as he believed it added nothing to the taste of the coffee

MWJB

Cuprajake I know, but what water makes coffee taste just like coffee within influence of water? None of it, because coffee is made with water and there is no known neutral state (other than 0TDS and that is very, very far from normal and is more one end of the spectrum rather than neutral).

MediumRoastSteam

So I checked out the video. Very interesting… But no news there really. There was something else, about water science which talks roughly about the same thing. They also don’t mention much about espresso. They say the advantages of using good water for the coffee machine (in terms of boiler safe water) but don’t have a method of using their drop kit for espresso. But… But check this:

In any case, I tried it… I went to find the Epson salts, which I didn’t have any left. So I thought… I could just get some of the nastiness left behind in the kettle. Dilute a bit… As I live in the Thames Valley, this translates to concentrated chalk.

So I put some of that diluted calcium on top of the espresso puck, put an aeropress filter on top and brewed: Definitely a change in flavour, for the better.

Appreciate it’s a very crude experiment, but I think the idea is there.

MediumRoastSteam

Cuprajake I’ve also seen these drops pre dropped on to a tamped coffee pick before pulling a shot

That’s the video in my post…

MediumRoastSteam But… But check this:

Cuprajake

For me with espresso it’s a trade off, I trade off some possible taste? For boiler safe water which will never scale, I’m happy with the espresso I make, don’t feel like it’s missing anything post brew, this gets into the realms of refractometer and faff

Yes I have one, but rarely use it haha

MWJB

This is no faff, it’s a drop or two in your 450mL/225mL of coffee, it doesn’t seemingly have any application for espresso.

So you are using 0TDS water? I’m confused now.

Cuprajake

MWJB no I use rodi with potassium bicarbonate, for espresso

For brews I just use bottled water

If I wanted to mess with stuff like this I’d make my own,

Giphy - breaking bad amc GIF

I understand it’s use but you would have to do a test run would you not everytime you changed beans.

Like they did, 4 cups different additives?

I’ve also seen these drops pre dropped on to a tamped coffee pick before pulling a shot

MWJB

Cuprajake no I use rodi with potassium bicarbonate, for espresso

That’s what they’re doing, basically. They don’t need the alkalinity to protect a kettle so much, but add the drops/KH after brewing, you add it before brewing. They’re adding GH too, but you don’t need to, nor do you need to use 4 different drops. It’s easier to dose than sodium bicarb is to RODI water, no scales needed.

There’s no more/less need to test run than you have now.

Cuprajake

Do most people who do pour over use distilled water?

LMSC

Cuprajake I use Osmio Zero - mineralised.

MWJB

Cuprajake I shouldn’t think so, I use Lockhills, or Zero jug water remineralised with tap water, or BWT mg2 filtered water, depending on what’s around at the time. But if I stuck to Zero jug, these drops are not something I’d rule out, saves mixing/measuring (depending on price/availability, they seem a whole lot more practical than say Third Wave Water).

I don’t think it any more/less practical overall that what you, or I basically do, unless for experimenting/tweaking on the fly, where it’s quicker & more convenient for small batches.