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Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Brackish water
I heard about this phenomenon at a shop in Harvard Sq. where a filter problem led to some salty spro. The other day, I got to taste this first hand.
At first, I was lost on why the espresso was coming out so off at this one shop. Acrid and bile sours. Just horrible compared to the lab results.
The problem was not immediately obvious but after a series of tests and diagnosis issues, we finally found out what had happened. The water softener leaked into the espresso machine and brackish water was making for some nasty shots. What other damage may follow from this remains to be seen but at least we are aware of what happened.
Salty. If you ever heard the bit about putting a dash of salt into a bitter cup of coffee, it doesn't do good things for espresso. All the roast note vanished and sours became quite prominent.
The problem is being resolved but that was a weird experience trying to find out what was going on. You don't forget something like that.
I heard about this phenomenon at a shop in Harvard Sq. where a filter problem led to some salty spro. The other day, I got to taste this first hand.
At first, I was lost on why the espresso was coming out so off at this one shop. Acrid and bile sours. Just horrible compared to the lab results.
The problem was not immediately obvious but after a series of tests and diagnosis issues, we finally found out what had happened. The water softener leaked into the espresso machine and brackish water was making for some nasty shots. What other damage may follow from this remains to be seen but at least we are aware of what happened.
Salty. If you ever heard the bit about putting a dash of salt into a bitter cup of coffee, it doesn't do good things for espresso. All the roast note vanished and sours became quite prominent.
The problem is being resolved but that was a weird experience trying to find out what was going on. You don't forget something like that.
Labels: water quality
¶ Jaime van Schyndel 6:35 PM
Comments:
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Uh- also, all the crap that has ever gone through that filter was in the coffee too, in extra-strong concentrations. NOT cool!
Amusingly enough, the word verification for this: puratie
Amusingly enough, the word verification for this: puratie
# posted by 
: 19/11/08 9:09 PM
: 19/11/08 9:09 PM
Ron- It's all over the place right now, actually. We're mobilizing to fix the problem (at least where our coffee is being served). That water kills coffee.
For Ron and the Hub people, the shop that I was sampling at was not in the Square and the problem is fixed. The shop in the Square that had the problem was rumored a few months ago.
I think some people read a little too deeply into our notes. Point is 'water is important.'
I think some people read a little too deeply into our notes. Point is 'water is important.'
Related but different: Years ago I was told that filtering everything out of the water for espresso was a bad thing and that someone had figured out a way to introduce certain minerals back in after filtering out the bad stuff. Anything to that?
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# posted by : 21/11/08 1:01 PM
: 21/11/08 1:01 PM<< Home