Soft Water Makes Better Tea

A good cup of tea is undeniably one of the greatest joys of being British. But did you know the water you use has just as big an impact on your enjoyment of the perfect cuppa as the actual tea you choose? The evidence all points to the fact you should use soft water for better tea…

If you live in a hard water area you’ll be only too familiar with that nasty scum that ends up floating on the top of your brew. Particularly if you like a stronger flavour, as the longer you leave the tea bag in, the worse the scum becomes. It’s those intrusive minerals in hard water again which cause the problem. The same ones that clog up your taps, fur up your kettle and leave limescale deposits all over your bathroom. That’s what’s floating on top of your tea. Not a nice thought, is it?

Many people claim the answer to the perfect cuppa is to use soft water, as it has less of ‘taste’ than hard. Scientists have worked out that much of the taste issue is attributable to the “chalky mouthfeel” of hard water, as reported in this article from the BBC. Ad you have to reckon any institution as quintessentially British as the BBC would know a thing or two about tea!

Of course, hard water doesn’t just ruin tea; it has a similar effect on coffee. So much so, in fact, that a champion barista has written a book devoted to the effects of different types on water on creating the perfect cup of coffee! It’s a fascinating read and one which could definitely help improve the quality of your daily pick-me-up. So popular has this book been amongst coffee afficionados, it completely sold out its first print run and is now being revised and updated ready for a new release in 2018.

Whatever the science behind it all, whether it’s the more appealing look of a scum-free cuppa or the softer, silkier “mouthfeel” of a soft-water brew, tea companies acknowledge the quandary themselves.

Various tea manufacturers, including the famous Yorkshire Tea, produce specific tea blends for use in hard water areas; so clearly they think there’s something not right with a drop of the hard stuff.

Although do you really want to be limited to one choice of tea? Wouldn’t it be better to get rid of hard water at the source and enjoy your favourite blend all the time?

So should you really use soft water for better tea? We’ll leave the last word to the folks over at Tetley – surely one of the greatest authorities in the world of tea and one to whose superior knowledge we tea-lovers all bow down. They tell us that the “perfect cuppa” should be made with “once-boiled water with a low mineral content.” There are those pesky minerals again!

So if your Monday morning cuppa isn’t setting you up for the week in the way you’d like, get in touch with us today to find out how a water softener could put the zing back in your morning!