How to brew tasty tea with hard water
At our new home, we have hard water. I had thought that the teabags I was buying were just weak, but the internet seems to indicate that the hard water will actually change the taste of the tea to a more chalky taste with some residue.
Two suggestions I have come across are either brewing with bottled water (I try to reduce the amount of packaging I buy so don't want to do this), or brewing the tea double strength (this makes it a little bitter).
What is the best way to get a tasty brew using hard water?
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I took chemistry and I got this: just add a few drops of lemon juice.
Your water probably has a high pH, and a few drops of lemon juice will neutralize the bitterness that is characteristic of something basic (something with a high pH).
Tea will brew better when the pH is slightly acidic. I could go on, but the chemistry from here can get complicated.
If your tea is bitter, you might be steeping it too long. Try a shorter steep time. If you're adding extra tea, it should be plenty strong anyway.
In the UK you can buy loose tea/tea bags specifically for hard water. I don't drink tea, but my wife swears by them.
You can also get a water filter that is meant to help with this sort of thing.
Here in the UK one of the most common brands is Brita, you simply put a couple of litres in a jug which has a filter in it, after filtration use it to make your tea.
I've not used it myself however so can't comment on its effectiveness.
You can also get these filters built into your taps.
Put a pinch (a tiny tiny bit--see how little you can pinch) of baking soda in the cup when you put the bag in. It will make your tea strong, and you won't taste the baking soda. It also works with soft water if you are a cheapskate and want to get more tea out of your bags! :)
I found that the horrible taste with unfiltered water was because of using tea bags. I started using loose tea, and the taste is much better.
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