Aged water?

Last Sunday night, Jason invited the local LATA group to have tea at his new place. During the 4 to 5 hours of drinking, a few of us brought our own tea and brewed with a different water had different results compare to brewing at home. We jokingly suggested from now on, we all bring our own water to future tasting events.

What we had experienced further stretch the importance of water, its impact on tea flavor. A classic novel of China "Dreams of the red chamber" had a chapter about tea activities in the compound, describing the extend of water which was used to make tea. A group of young girls (cousins), Bao Yu (a teenage boy) and Miao Yu - a young 17 years old nun having tea at a temple. After Miao Yu made tea for every one, she explained the water was a collection of snow flakes landed on blooming Prune flower petals from the first snow fall in January, stored in a sealed clay jar buried under ground for 3 years. Whether this is true or not, improve our tea or not, the poetic notion makes my tea taste better already.

Other one I heard is taking over night condensations on lotus leaves in early mornings to make tea, which has cooling property in addition to improving taste.

I think a trip up the mountain is necessary in near future. Perhaps after the first snow fall of the season, fill up some mountain fresh melted ice water through cracks of giant rocks sounds like fun. I might bring my stove and make a pot of tea right there and then. HA, that's a thought...

Wash your water

When I first heard of the concept of washing water, I was dumbfounded. The idea appears as controversially undoable, yet brilliantly genius!

Most of us "serious" tea drinkers are aware of water is the mother of tea. Without good water, even the 50's pu-erh would taste less than average. While there are many bottled water companies claim to be the purest or best spring water on earth, do we trust them enough to put our precious tea leaves on line? Especially when we are away from home without any idea what brand to trust, washing your water before brewing tea is the next to best solution although it takes some time and effort.

Obtain several spring waters by different makers and from different regions, mix them all in one large container, preferably clay or ceramic ware, let it rest for 6 hours, use only the top 3/4 without disturbing the bottom portion. Here you have "washed" clean water for your tea.

Minerals from each bottled water react to each other, also neutralize PH balance. In some cases, condensation of the residues is visible, noticeably cloudy and thick at the bottom 1/4.

Love your tea? You can love your tea even away from home!

Water test

Water test - Once again the topic of water. I selected 10 types of water to test which water is suitable for tea brewing.

Same amount of water was used and heated with microwave, some reached boiling sooner than others, mineral content plays the key role in this effect. Same amount of tea leaves was added quickly, so they were all infused at the same temperature relatively speaking. Tea leaves used is Jasmine Bi Luo Chun Green Tea .

I did not taste the tea, they were left out in the air over night, I just don't feel like tasting them. This might be the most important step left out of the test. Oh well...

Deposits are visible along the water line as a ring of residues after chemical reactions. Rating: 1 = most deposits, 10 = least deposits

1)
Crystal Geyser - natural alpine spring water
Source: California Sierra Nevada Mountain
Water taste: not sweet, heavy, hint of mineral taste, alkaline
Result: sign of reaction, slight deposit on side of cup
Rating: 5

2)
Aquafina - purified drinking water
Hydro-7 purification, reverse Osmosis
Water taste: crisp texture, lack of flavor
Result: no deposit, as pure as it can get
Rating: 10

3)
Fuji - natural artesian water from islands of Fiji
Silica 85 mg/litter
Calcium 17 mg/litter
Magnesium 13 mg/litter
PH 7.5
Bicarbonates 140 mg/litter
Total Dissolved Solids 210 mg/litter
This claim sounds like a hype to me.
Water taste: too smooth, mineral taste, alkaline
Result: a lot of deposit, reached boiling first among all samples, darker color tea soup
Rating: 3

4)
Refresh - spring water, safeway brand
Source: Baxter natural springs, California
Water taste: smooth, mineral, heavy in iron taste, slightly alkaline, hint of bitterness, slight sourness after taste
Result: medium amount of deposit
Rating: 6

5)
Trader Joe's natural mountain spring water
Source: Olancha, California
Water taste: smooth, no significant taste
Result: very little deposit
Rating: 4

6)
Arrowhead - mountain spring water
Source: natural mountain sources in the US and Canada, unspecified location
Water taste: between smooth and crisp, alkaline, sour tone
Result: a lot of deposits, darker tea soup
Rating: 2

7)
Glaceau smart water - vapor distilled water + electrolytes (calcium chloride, magnesium chloride and potassium bicarbonate)
http://glaceau.com/ Pure as the first drop of rain? Rain = pure???? Boy, marketing = you can say what ever you want???
Water taste: crisp, clean tongue feeling, no significant taste
Result: very little deposit, clean tea soup
Rating: 8

8)
Trader Joe's Pure New Zealand artesian water
Source: an ancient aquifer nearly 300 feet beneath the surface of the earth, rich in minerals, added nothing and taken nothing away.
Water taste: smooth, hint of sweetness, clean taste, sweet after taste as well
Result: very little deposit, clean tea soup
Rating: 9

9)
Glacier vending machine reverse osmosis purified water
http://www.glacierwater.com/quality.htm 6 filtering steps
Water taste: clean refreshing, between smooth and crisp, hint of sweetness
Result: very little deposit
Rating: 7

10)
Lovely Southern California tap water
Water taste: crisp, chlorine, lime, chemical *YUCK*
Result: the most deposits, darkest tea soup, signs of lotsa reaction of chemical in water and tea
Rating: 1

I find the best tasting water are Trader Joe's New Zealand artesian and Glacier vending machine water, also most suitable for tea brewing. New Zealand water is the winner in taste and being all natural, however expensive. Glacier is still my #1 choice for taste, availability and economical reason. Aquafina is the purest out of all, but lack of taste. I'd avoid Fiji, arrowhead and of course tap water for both drinking and making tea. The rest can be ignored.

Water tested are only a few that I can get out of one trip to 2 stores. Anything else that are left out, I'd encourage you to do the same test and share your results.

My perception of water

My perception of water:

Shrimp eyes: starting to bubble, small, mostly attach to the bottom, a few floating to top slowly

Crab eyes: medium bubbles, float to top in 1 to 2 seconds

Lobster eyes: large bubbles, float to top quickly, creates a hotspring effect on water surface

Boiling: well, boiling