CoyoteOldMan So, a visit here needs to be arranged, I suppose.
Zero water jugs
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LMSC Where is “here”, if I may ask?
You are always welcome here if you visit your daughter in London and go by Oxford!
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CoyoteOldMan We live in Wokingham! Thanks for invitation. Much appreciated.
This is rather an unusual year for us. Covid relaxations have exposed us to unusually large number of guests, who have been visiting us since May this year; They will be (in addition to an 83 year old staying with us) until the until the end of Nov. So, although we are kind of frozen out for this year, we could pencil something in in Wokingham as well early next year! :-)
LMSC For some strange reason, I thought you were in Lancashire! Then “here” to “there” is easy. Even on a pushbike and a Zero Jug in a rucksack.
CoyoteOldMan Exactly. Shouting distance - you, MRS, Dave and self!
CoyoteOldMan - I’m not quite so sure. But again, I can’t explain why. I tried RO water at Dave’s, both from the Osmio and from the undercounted RO system. That’s drinkable and tastes OK.
Distilled water… Not quite the same.Surprising, I know, but I don’t know why.
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MediumRoastSteam The RO leaves traces of minerals in there. Did you by any chance drink mineralised? Does Dave use the mineralisation cartridge ?
Zero Water doesn’t taste great - I’ve tried it a few times and not sold on it at all.
Remineralised Zero Water through the machine with coffee / tea however is a different animal.
LMSC I tried from the Osmio with the remineralisation cartridge and from the RO under the sink, which I think it was just RO water.
Water from the Osmio does taste great I must say!
dutchy101 Remineralised Zero Water through the machine with coffee / tea however is a different animal.
Yeah, same with distilled. I wouldn’t drink it, but as espresso, it’s good. As filter (more water I suppose) is awful.
Doram Bad. Well, not bad - tasteless and not refreshing. At least, to me.
My understanding is that pure water, I.e: distilled, is odourless, insipid and transparent. These are the tree basic characteristics of water. Therefore, the taste you get when drinking distilled water is actually the taste of your own mouth, rather than the minerals in it - as it has none.
17 days later
Sorry if this has already been answered, 2 questions re Zero water:
- Zero water is NOT recommended for espresso machines WITHOUT remineralisation as espresso machines need some minerals to work correctly. Is this statement correct?
- As zero water removes all minerals, what quantity per litre of Bicarbonate of Soda is needed to create an alkalinity buffer and not prevent corrosion/scaling?
coffeealex I would rephrase your first point more as “coffee needs some alkalinity (and arguably other ions) to taste at its best”. Adding some buffering compound also helps with any corrosion from DI water
Many people like an alkalinity between 40 and 60 ppm (CaCO3 equivalent), which means adding 67 to 100 mg of NaHCO3 for every litre of DI water. That will be ample to prevent corrosion; scaling will depend on whether you also add Calcium and/or Magnesium compounds to the water. If you don’t… no scale.
I think eventually I will go down your route of making a saline solution, and then adding it to zero water. This will make things easier in practical terms. Just a little confused at what is the difference between adding bicarbonate of soda or potassium bicarbonate?
coffeealex - I tried both and I can’t taste the difference. The reason behind is that coffee already contains potassium, so adding a bit more should not distort anything.
coffeealex In addition to MediumRoastSteam reply, two ‘practical’ differences:
- Sodium bicarbonate is commonly available in supermarkets; potassium is easy to find, but not as easy. Both are very cheap.
- If you use potassium, then instead of 67 - 100 mg/l you need to use 80 - 120 mg/l to get 40 - 60 KH
CoyoteOldMan Thanks. I take it 40- 60 KH is the generally accepted target levels to aim for. Does adding either sodium bicarbonate or potassium bicarbonate increase the GH level? Sorry if it sounds a stupid question. I am assuming no as magnesium or calcium carbonate do this.
coffeealex Correct. “Permanent” or General Hardness requires Ca or Mg (or other divalent ions, but they don’t scale - or at least not as easily) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DGH