Also, I have a 6 pack of Crystal Geyser being shipped to store at dollar tree. $6 so I thought I'd take a chance and see where it comes from. Hopefully not the same as Office Depot, but I'll use it for pour overs I guess if so.

If you have access to water that is too hard, but otherwise has a good mineral balance - just dilute it with RO or distilled water.

I make a concentrated calcium bicarbonate solution with a Soda Stream carbonator and some food grade calcium carbonate. Just put 0.5g of calcium carbonate powder into a 1L soda-stream bottle, shake it up and carbonate it, then leave it in the fridge over night. All the calcium carbonate will convert to bicarbonate and the milky water will be bright and clear. I then just add a bit of it to my RO water to reach the desired PPM hardness. Easy and cheap. The pH will be low due to the carbonation. But once it is in the boiler, the excess CO2 is driven off and it goes to the desired alkalinity and hardness.

gophish wrote:I recently went through this same challenge, surprised by how difficult it was to determine what water treatment is needed to achieve X result when starting with Y water. Thankfully, with help from @homeburrero I settled on this system that is now supplying water with 30-60mg/l tds, near 7 pH, and target GH and KH values: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Home-Master ... /301285948

I had originally planned on using the inline filters and softener from Chris' Coffee but learned my water supply also has very high chloride levels, so I went with and RO system that has a remineralization cartridge.

what are the cost for replacement filters, and how long do they last?

Looks like replacement filters are about $70 - 80 and they recommend replacing annually. I plan on testing after a year and seeing where the values are at and seeing if this holds true, or if I will be able to stretch it since my system is only using a few gallons a week.

At the grocery store or Target you can buy water for making baby formula for about $1/gallon. It's RO water with "minerals" added back in. I've used this sometimes and I'm guessing it would be a decent choice for many. If anyone has some more detailed chemical information about this type of water, I'd be interested. Usually I've been using the Global Water mixtures added to my RO water.

Also, BTW, I found an RO system online from US Water Systems which I installed (also put in a whole house carbon filter). They are extremely high quality, have unbelievable customer service/technical support, use standard cartridges, and are very reasonable.

I have some third wave water espresso coming tomorrow and the machine coming Wednesday! I had trouble finding anything but TN & NY Crystal Geyser and no poland spring here...
I'm still working through the best setup for remineralization on RO.

I could just use TWW with RO, but I'd like to plumb in eventually

SilentDoom wrote:I'm still working through the best setup for remineralization on RO.

RO + remineralization seems like a reasonable strategy for you because I think will allow you to choose a conventional system that works out of the box, like the simple inexpensive one gophish recommended at the beginning of this thread. Going with that solution may save you a lot of consternation. Be aware that even the more effective remin cartridges will add only 30 - 60 mg/L TDS, maybe less if the pH is high or the flowrate is fast. But when you consider that all of that TDS is due to calcium and magnesium carbonates, I think your coffee should taste fine.

Having said that, from what I see in that water report that you linked, you appear to have other options. Your water is reasonably low in chloride, and not too high in sulfate, so you could rig up an RO with a bypass rather than using a remin cartridge. Many folks who do that use a DIY solution - for example: Blending RO Water on a Plumbed In Espresso Machine . That would allow you to dial in your hardness, and would reduce your chloride and sulfate along with your hardness and alkalinity.

That water report indicates a total alkalinity of 39 - 230 mg/L, which is not very useful. But I suspect it's actually high (you may need to test or contact the water authority for clearer information) and that means you could also consider a system like the Mavea Purity softener that reduces hardness and alkalinity, and has an adjustable bypass. It would reduce hardness and alkalinity, but not the chloride and sulfate.



Note -
That water report is very confusing. They use odd terminology and have numbers from different dates, and I suspect different samples and probably different testing labs, so the numbers don't add up exactly. Their 'alkalinity caco3 stability' is not the same as total alkalinity -- it has to do with a calculated saturation index alkalinity, so ignore that number. They do list the total alkalinity, but give a range of 39 - 230 mg/L, which is an unusually wide range, perhaps even a typo. Their 'hardness, carbonate' is, I think, supposed to be their total hardness value, at 121 - 135 mg/L. If you calculate total hardness from the Mg and Ca numbers, you get a calcium hardness of 88 mg/L and a total hardness of 119 mg/L - close enough given the different dates for those measurements. The chloride, at 21 mg/L is below the LaMarzocco recommended max, but above the 15 mg/L recommended by Synesso. Not a concern in my opinion with that high pH and alkalinity. The pH is unusually high, probably due to CO2 removal in the treatment processes, and it would probably go down if the water is exposed to air.

Water can be very frustrating. My water is very soft, like <30 ppm on a TDS meter right out of the tap. It has some slight chlorine taste, but a charcoal filter makes it taste perfect.

The test strips from my LMLM showed me that I had really high chloride levels, though. It was pretty disappointing because I have near perfect tasting water out of a $10 filter setup that I now have going through an RO system. I let others pave the way on the chemistry and add back sodium and potassium bicarb solution and magnesium sulfate solution. I mix up a 10L solution about once a week for my machine. Not a huge hassle, but it could be easier.

I think Pat's comments are spot on about the municipal water report. Oddly spotty numbers from a range of dates and unusual reporting format. I think the water department is pretty much focused on the minimum required EPA tests and probably lead because it can get them in trouble and not so much on the rest of the water quality. All in all, it doesn't look bad though, perhaps blending with water from an RO system would dial it in pretty well.

Some other comments about other posts:

"Baby water" is purified, RO, or distilled water with various minerals added to it depending on the brand and even Walmart has its own brand. It really doesn't have the ideal formulation for espresso, mostly it is too soft. However, the Nursery Water brand tastes fantastic over ice!

Also the chloride test strips that are included with the Lamarzocco machines are not very good. There are better test strips available albeit you'll have to buy a whole bottle of them and they're a bit expensive.