When people talk about tea, the conversation usually centres on the leaves, their origin, style, and flavour. But the truth is, tea makes up only a few grams of your cup. The rest, over 95%, is water. And water’s chemistry quietly shapes everything: how your tea tastes, how it feels on the palate, and even how long its aroma lingers.
The same leaves, brewed in different waters, can taste like entirely different teas. Here’s why.
1. Minerals: Calcium and magnesium - the main contributors to water hardness - can mute delicate aromas and highlight bitterness. Softer water, with fewer minerals, draws out more floral and sweet notes (Komes et al., 2011). That’s why a Sencha brewed in Tokyo may taste brighter than the very same leaves steeped in hard London water.
2. pH: Slightly acidic water brings out vibrancy and clarity, while alkaline water can flatten flavour (Astill et al., 2001). If your green tea ever tastes dull or “muddy,” the pH of your water might be part of the reason.
3. Treatment: Chlorination keeps municipal water safe, but it can mask tea’s natural aromas. Even a simple carbon filter jug often makes a noticeable difference. At home, filtered tap water is often the simplest way to get closer to a balanced, flavourful brew.
What the Pros Use
In tea competitions and sommelier circles, a few bottled waters are often recommended for their balance and clarity:
- Volvic (France): Soft, slightly alkaline, excellent for green and oolong teas.
- Icelandic Glacial (Iceland): Very low in dissolved solids, clean and neutral.
- Fiji (Fiji Islands): Higher silica, giving a rounder, softer mouthfeel.
- Evian (France): Higher mineral content, best for bold black teas.
- Mountain Valley Spring (USA): Balanced profile, widely used for oolongs and blacks.
General rule: under 100 mg/L total dissolved solids (TDS) works best for green and white teas, while 100–150 mg/L suits black teas.
Brewing at Home
You don’t need rare bottles to brew well. A few simple steps can make a big difference:
- Use a carbon filter jug to reduce chlorine and soften water slightly.
- Always boil fresh water once. Re-boiling drives off oxygen and flattens flavour.
- If you use distilled or reverse osmosis water, blend in a splash of tap water or add minerals back. A little hardness is needed to support flavour extraction.
- Try a side-by-side test: brew the same tea with tap, filtered, and bottled water. You may discover new layers in your favourite cup.
At a.muse, we believe tea is always about harmony: of leaf, water, and moment. The next time you steep, notice how your water shapes the story in your cup. Sometimes, a better brew isn’t about changing the tea but about changing the water.
References:
- Astill, C., Birch, M. R., Dacombe, C., Humphrey, P. G., & Martin, P. T. (2001). Factors affecting the caffeine and polyphenol contents of black and green tea infusions. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 49(11), 5340–5347. https://doi.org/10.1021/jf010759+
- Komes, D., Horžić, D., Belščak, A., Ganić, K. K., & Vulić, I. (2011). Green tea preparation and its influence on the content of bioactive compounds. Food Research International, 44(9), 3107–3118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2011.08.012
- Karak, T., & Bhagat, R. M. (2010). Trace elements in tea leaves, made tea and tea infusion: A review. Food Research International, 43(9), 2234–2252. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2010.08.010
- Wang, H., & Helliwell, K. (2000). Epimerisation of catechins in green tea infusions. Food Chemistry, 70(3), 337–344. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0308-8146(00)00108-4