The Secret to Improving Your Coffee Machine With Water Filters

Does Your Coffee Machine Already Have a Filter?

Only if you have a high end coffee machine. But you should still filter the water you put into your coffee machine and here’s why.

The Secret to Improving Your Coffee Machine With Water Filters

High-end coffee makers have built-in filters that contain both carbon and organic compounds that eliminate both taste and impurities.

However, pouring purified water into your coffee maker will reduce the amount of work that your machine has to do.

This will increase the lifespan of your expensive coffee filter machine water filter. And it will make the water that your coffee machine filter taste even better.

Finally, just because the coffee machine has it’s own filter doesn’t mean that it will be powerful enough to deal with your water. The installed filters in a coffee machine are usually very basic.

The Best Water Filter For Coffee

AquaTru Water Filter	Berkey Water Filter
- Arsenic: Approx 90% (unspecified). - Fluoride by 91.8% (WITHOUT extra filters). - Lead 97.5% - Benzene 99.9% - Chlorine 96.6% - Cysts 99.99%	- Arsenic by 99.9% (special filters required). - Fluoride by 99.9% (special filters required). - Lead 97.5% - Benzene 99.8%
Available in 1-size only.	Available in various sizes.
Plastic materials.	Metal & plastic materials.
Number of filters: 3	Number of filters: 2 - 4
Filter methods: Mechanical, Reverse Osmosis & Activated Carbon filters.	Filter methods: Black microporous-filters & white fluoride Filters
4-stage filter process.	2-stage filter process.
Holds a maximum water capacity of 3-quarts.	2.25 Gallons
45.7 x 45.7 x 38.1 cm	19" High x 8.5" Diameter
System: 1 year limited warranty.	Filters: 2 years; System: 1 year.
Full Performance Data Sheet (AquaTru).	Berkey Contaminants List NSF/ANSI test results
SPECIAL OFFER? Yes, use code MRWATERGEEK	SPECIAL OFFER? Yes, Big Berkey bundle sale

 Is Soft or Hard Water Best For Coffee?

Neither.

You should not drink soft water as it’s better for keeping your appliances lasting longer and stops limescale appearing in your water.

Hard water does not taste good.

If you drink tap water that is hard, then you can expect a slightly pungent metallic taste.

The best thing is to drink delicious crunchy purified water by using a high quality water filter.

Why Hard Water is a Total Disaster For Coffee

There seems to be a debate on the subject, but I think the use of hard water is a better cup of coffee than soft water with a home-made water softener.

Water hardness is a measure of the amount of magnesium and calcium that dissolves in water.

Water that is rich in these two minerals (especially magnesium) is not great for making the most of coffee flavorings.

Replacing these minerals with sodium (i.e. creating soft water) results in coffee that is flat in comparison.

Very hard water can destroy an espresso machine with flakes and is therefore a major concern of the pressure coffee set. It also has some impact on the equipment of a manual coffee brewer.

A recommended resource for analyzing water hardness is a comprehensive water hardness test kit.In fact, it is almost impossible to make coffee with water that is too hard, since raising it to 95 ° C will lower the hardness from over 90 mg / l to 100 mg / l as a scale.

If you have a water softener at home you’ll know that it’s not best for drinking. However, it’s best to decide for yourself. Try using both types of water (soft and hard water) and make a comparison test between both to see what I’m talking about.

Using Reverse Osmosis Water For Coffee

Reverse osmosis (RO) is a process in which all minerals are extracted from water. What remains is water that contains next to nothing.

When processing with pure reverse osmosis water (unlike coffee made from soft water) a flat cup of coffee is produced.

While reverse osmosis lacks all magnesium and calcium minerals that enhance the taste of coffee.

However, there are reverse osmosis systems that mix in mineral-rich water. Some of these systems can adjust the total dissolved solids content in your water.

A reverse osmosis water mix is ​​a viable option for obtaining highly purified water. The SCAA recommends a total of 150 mg / L dissolved solids.

If you do not have a reverse osmosis system with mixing features (also called “re-mineralisation”), you can mix the water yourself.

Try different amounts of RO water for tap water and see if it improves the taste of your coffee (20 to 25% tap water is a good start).

Reverse Osmosis Drinking System Under-Sink Filter	Aquasana Undersink Reverse Osmosis System
Removes Arsenic by 88%	Removes Arsenic by 97%
Removes Fluoride by 93.6%	Removes Fluoride by 95%
- Reduces 80%+ of over 70 contaminants (reduces Chlorine by 99.5%, Arsenic 88%, Cysts by 99.99%, Fluoride 93.6%, Lead by 98.6%, Chromium by 96.4%) - 6 to 24 month life cartridges. - 3.2 gallon tank capacity. - Leak protection seal. - 1 year warranty and a 6 month money back guarantee.	- Effectively remove fluoride plus 87 additional contaminants. - Multi-stage filter INCLUDES ReverseOsmosis + ActivatedCarbon + CatalyticCarbon + IonExchange + Remineralization. - Filters 5x more contaminants than other RO systems. - Removes 97% of chlorine and arsenic. - 99% of lead and asbestos. - 2 year warranty and 90 day guarantee.
$$	$

Use Bottled Water For Coffee?

Maybe but it depends on the quality of the bottled water.

Using bottled water is a problem because not all bottled waters are the same so it’s hard to get a consistent outcome if you don’t stick with the same brand.

In fact they can vary enormously in terms of mineral content, pH and coffee suitability. (Read: 8 Best Bottled Water and Why They are ALL Bad for You).

Bottom Line: Don’t Rely on Coffee Machine Filters, Get A High Quality Filter Water Instead

The good news is that most basic water issues have quick fixes and simple solutions.

If you already like the coffee you prepare at home then you just have to deal with the quality of your water to make things better.

If you can not understand why your coffee doesn’t taste as nice as it should, then the water may be worth investigating.

This article really only scratches the surface of the water chemistry and getting the best quality coffee machine water filters.

Still don’t know what to do? Ask your barista.

If there is a particular coffee shop that prepares coffee that you admire and you can not repeat the experience at home, ask the cafeteria if they use a water filter.

If they don’t then you should ask them what brand of coffee machine they use.

Otherwise, I highly recommend using a high quality water filter system like the Big Berkey or AquaTru, which produces the best quality water you can use.

AquaTru Water Filter	Berkey Water Filter
- Arsenic: Approx 90% (unspecified). - Fluoride by 91.8% (WITHOUT extra filters). - Lead 97.5% - Benzene 99.9% - Chlorine 96.6% - Cysts 99.99%	- Arsenic by 99.9% (special filters required). - Fluoride by 99.9% (special filters required). - Lead 97.5% - Benzene 99.8%
Available in 1-size only.	Available in various sizes.
Plastic materials.	Metal & plastic materials.
Number of filters: 3	Number of filters: 2 - 4
Filter methods: Mechanical, Reverse Osmosis & Activated Carbon filters.	Filter methods: Black microporous-filters & white fluoride Filters
4-stage filter process.	2-stage filter process.
Holds a maximum water capacity of 3-quarts.	2.25 Gallons
45.7 x 45.7 x 38.1 cm	19" High x 8.5" Diameter
System: 1 year limited warranty.	Filters: 2 years; System: 1 year.
Full Performance Data Sheet (AquaTru).	Berkey Contaminants List NSF/ANSI test results
SPECIAL OFFER? Yes, use code MRWATERGEEK	SPECIAL OFFER? Yes, Big Berkey bundle sale