The effect of water on the taste

It is a common knowledge that soft water is more suitable water for brewing tea. The hardness of water is calculated by converting the total amount of calcium and magnesium within the water to calcium carbonate. For example if 1 litter water contains 1 mm gram calcium carbonate, it is rated as a hardness 1. And the water more than hardness 200 is called as hard water, and if the hardness of water is less than 100, it is called as soft water. Most of the water in Japan is a soft water which is the hardness is 20 to 80. The water in Europe is mostly hard water which hardness is about 200 to 400. There are two types of hard water, and one is called temporary hard water which the hardness rate drops when its boiled, and another one is called permanent hard water which the hardness rate does not drop whether its boiled or not. There are some mineral water from Europe which have more than 300 hardness but surprisingly suitable for brewing Japanese green tea. Depending on what water you are using, the taste of water can be greatly changed. There can be big differences between one region and another. Mineral content and the hardness of the water can turn a high-quality tea into an unpleasant brew. You can try using the water from different regions and brew the same tea. You will find the taste differences. However, if the hardness is too high, the taste of tea becomes flat and the color of water becomes more weak. For brewing black tea, soft water is better to use. If black tea is brewed with hard water which the hardness is more than 300, the water color becomes darker. However, Oolong tea does not easily affected by what kind of water to be used for brewing. Good news is the water from Japan is suitable for brewing most of the tea.

(Shigehiro Kodomari)