I've read Jim Schulman's Insanely Long Water FAQ, and I have a much better understanding of water quality now, but I'm no expert, so I just wanted to verify some conclusions about my local municipal water supply and its suitability for use in a double boiler machine. From reading my local water quality report for Cambridge, MA (PDF), it seems like the municipal water here is actually decent for espresso and shouldn't cause much/any scaling, unless I'm totally misinterpreting it. Some of the data from the report:

• Alkalinity (CaCO3): 33 mg/L
• Calcium: 20.6 mg/L
• Chloride: 131 mg/L
• Magnesium: 4.4 mg/L
• Sodium: 83.4 mg/L
• Color: 0 color units
• Turbidity: 0.053 NTU
• pH: 8.88
• Total Dissolved Solids (TDS): 330 mg/L
• Harness (CaCO3): 51 mg/L, 3 grains/gallon

The TDS seems high, but it's probably due to the inorganics that don't contribute to harness like chlorine, sodium, etc., right? I think a standard Brita pitcher would remove enough of that. From what I've read, the hardness is in the acceptable range. The water FAQ indicated that even if the water doesn't cause scale in the brew boiler, it still might cause scale in the steam boiler at higher temperatures. Am I in the safe range for both boilers?

So I have 3 plans I'm considering right now for the water supply to a dual boiler machine:

• 1. Bottles of Poland Springs
  2. Tap water filtered through a Brita pitcher
  3. 1:1 or 2:1 mixture of distilled water to Brita-filtered (or unfiltered?) tap water

I don't want to plumb in to my home water supply right now, so I'm not thinking about under-the-sink filtering/softening solutions. I am considering hooking up a Flojet to a 3-5 gallon jug of either Poland Springs or the distilled/tap mixture I described above.

Given all this, what's my best option to get water with acceptable taste without causing scale?

Thanks,
James

I think you should be pretty good. Water is certainly a very complicated component of espresso, especially if you have an expensive double boiler machine. One option I always tell people about is using RO water and then adding a product from Cirqua (formulator--the best deal I have found is from China Mist). This takes all the guess work out. I have had my GS3 for almost 3 years and have had no issues. Rob

I'd use a water hardness test kit to doublecheck what the hardness levels are, just incase.
You can get them cheap online (on ebay) or from aqarium stores.

Ben

I agree that you should get a hardness/alkalinity test kit. The API test kits are very inexpensive and fairly accurate. If you want more precision, you can go with Hach test kits.

If your water tests according to the municipal specs, it should be safe for your espresso machine. The hardness is a tad below what Jim recommends for optimum taste, but I wouldn't worry too much about that. You don't need to worry about the TDS. It's the hardness and alkalinity that affect scaling.

How does alkalinity affect it? I have a General Hardness and Carbonate hardness test kit (which relates to alkalinity, but not sure I totally understand it).

jbaldassari wrote: I think a standard Brita pitcher would remove enough of that. The water FAQ indicated that even if the water doesn't cause scale in the brew boiler, it still might cause scale in the steam boiler at higher temperatures.

So I have 3 plans I'm considering right now for the water supply to a dual boiler machine:

• 1. Bottles of Poland Springs
  2. Tap water filtered through a Brita pitcher
  3. 1:1 or 2:1 mixture of distilled water to Brita-filtered (or unfiltered?) tap water

Given all this, what's my best option to get water with acceptable taste without causing scale?

Thanks,
James

Well, I tried the Brita pitcher route and wouldn't want to go back to it. Much better tasting results with a large 12x2.5" carbon block filtration unit attached to the kitchen faucet. Assuming taste is objectionable, which is where I found the impetus. Cooking water, drinking, the teas I also enjoy brewing before mixing variously with fruits for chilling, between shots, of course. Although I do still have some espresso boiler scale occasionally to flush with a solution of citric acid. Main advantage to this larger filtration unit, after a couple years use, it's simplicity in motion compared to a Brita package. At about the same price, too, $20 -- one filter included, although I bought a case of 12 to change every 3, 6, or 12 months. According to however that aspect is posed. Where is a ton of it on Ebay, at the 12" cartridge level, multi-staged, or not, according to locale, circumstances and application. For the price of a Brita and subsequent "granulated carbon" cartridges, though, I'll take a big 12", solid carbon block, any day, in discounted cases of 12 at some $30+.

As simply an FYI - the SCAA Water Quality Standards:

Benjammer wrote:How does alkalinity affect it? I have a General Hardness and Carbonate hardness test kit (which relates to alkalinity, but not sure I totally understand it).

Go back go the OP and click on the link to Jim's water FAQ. It's explained there how alkalinity affects the rate of scaling.

erics wrote:As simply an FYI - the SCAA Water Quality Standards:

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Strange that they have a specific fixed number for the acceptable alkalinity range. How many shops can hit that target on the nose?

My problem with all this water stuff is that no one has definitively shown which minerals actually have an impact on extraction and what flavors those chemicals may or may not add to the brew. For example, it's not at all clear that water with zero hardness but high alkalinity and TDS, such as that produced from hard water by a cation system, produces inferior coffee to, say, water with the exact target concentrations. People even argue over whether or not you can taste the salt ions in cation filtered water.

Another problem with this "standard" is that the acceptable pH range allows the water to be acidic. I know of one major manufacturer who recommends pH no lower than 6.75 to avoid corrosion.

Finally, I recall that Ken Fox (where is he?) had a real problem with the SCAA water standard committee including certain vendors with products that just happen to meet the spec approved by the committee.