Water and the taste of coffee: the ingredient nobody talks about

Almost everything in the cup is water

When a coffee disappoints, we change the blend. Then the grind. Then we start thinking about the machine.

Water usually comes last on that list, even though it is more than ninety per cent of what ends up in the cup. It is the ingredient we buy least often and assess almost never.

In our experience, when two people brew the same coffee on the same machine and get different results, the difference very often sits in the tap.

Too hard, too pure, too chlorinated

The minerals dissolved in water are not a flaw. They are what bind aromatic compounds and carry them into the cup. Completely demineralised water, like distilled water, gives a coffee that tastes oddly hollow and flat.

The problem is excess. Very hard water dampens acidity, flattens aromas and leaves a chalky feel in the mouth. It also deposits scale everywhere it can.

Then there is chlorine, normal and useful in mains water but noticeable in coffee. Leaving water to stand uncovered for a few hours, or using a filter jug, is enough for the smell to go.

There is no need to chase a precise figure. What matters is avoiding both extremes.

Limescale works quietly

The trouble with limescale is that nothing breaks suddenly. It settles on heating elements and inside pipes, insulates, and the machine slowly stops reaching the temperature it should.

The coffee gets slightly worse from one week to the next. Nobody notices, because the comparison is always with yesterday's cup.

The warning usually arrives late: the flow slows, the crema turns paler and thinner, the machine gets noisy. By then the deposit is already substantial.

This is why we suggest descaling by the calendar rather than by symptom. Where the water is harder it is worth doing more often, and a filter cuts the frequency considerably.

What to do in practice

The simplest test costs nothing. Brew the same coffee twice, once with tap water and once with a lightly mineralised bottled water. If you can taste the difference, you already know where to start.

Then consider a filter, which is the most convenient answer because it works on its own and protects the machine as well. Our descalers and filters section covers both filters and the products for periodic cleaning.

One last thing that applies to everyone: use fresh water, not what has been sitting in the tank for days. Standing water loses oxygen, and coffee shows it.

If you are not sure what your machine needs, contact us. The Maracatú team will gladly point you in the right direction.

Image: espresso crema, HSwaff, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons).