"Alton B. Wilson" wrote in news:47cf628c$0$1085
:

I have a general question about water quality and what impact it
has on the taste of tea. I'm thinking of pH, mineral content etc.

...

Thanks in advance,

Alton

Well, pretty much all I know about the subject is that alikilne hard
water (pH8.5) doesn't tend to disssolve stuff nearly as well as softer,
more acidic water. Stuff like theanine, caffeine, tanic acid, and all
the other flavorful componsents of tea leaves.

Wasn't the whole idea behind Scottish Breakfast tea choosing a blend of
Assam which would be ordinarily be too strong for most palates, but just
right for the hard water of the Scotland?

Ozzy

Scotland in the main has very soft water (lots of granite rock) and a
tendency to slight acidity (pH 5.5 is the minimum allowable standard
of the Scottish Water Authority). Water supplies drawn off the peat
moors can be very acidic and indeed look, though not taste, like weak
tea.

Nigel at Teacraft

On Mar 6, 6:29*am, Ozzy please.answer@NG wrote:
"Alton B. Wilson" wrote in news:47cf628c$0$1085

Well, pretty much all I know about the subject is that alikilne hard
water (pH8.5) doesn't tend to disssolve stuff nearly as well as softer,
more acidic water. Stuff like theanine, caffeine, tanic acid, and all
the other flavorful componsents of tea leaves.

Wasn't the whole idea behind Scottish Breakfast tea choosing a blend of
Assam which would be ordinarily be too strong for most palates, but just
right for the hard water of the Scotland? *

Ozzy

On Mar 5, 11:29*pm, Ozzy please.answer@NG wrote:
Wasn't the whole idea behind Scottish Breakfast tea choosing a blend of
Assam which would be ordinarily be too strong for most palates, but just
right for the hard water of the Scotland? *

Ozzy

Scottish Breakfast tea is made to counteract the dulling effect of
Scotland's soft water. At least, that's what it says on the Taylor's
of Harrogate web site.

To answer the OP: water with some mineral content is best (in general)
for tea.

Oh, and oxygen content. Water that lacks oxygen (from being boiled too
long, for example) tends to make a flat-tasting tea. Oxygen is to tea
as salt is to food, in that salt can enhance the flavor of food. And
it can do this without making it taste salty; notice how often salt is
included in sweet dishes.

Alan

Alan wrote in news:e38a6e32-db2d-4936-8d2c-
:

Scottish Breakfast tea is made to counteract the dulling effect of
Scotland's soft water. At least, that's what it says on the Taylor's
of Harrogate web site.

To answer the OP: water with some mineral content is best (in general)
for tea.

Oh, and oxygen content. Water that lacks oxygen (from being boiled too
long, for example) tends to make a flat-tasting tea. Oxygen is to tea
as salt is to food, in that salt can enhance the flavor of food. And
it can do this without making it taste salty; notice how often salt is
included in sweet dishes.

Alan

I stand corrected, Alan, thank you. (BTW, my source was a box of SB from
a snobby store in Greenwich Village, I forget the brand.)

Ozzy

On Thu, 6 Mar 2008 20:06:32 -0800 (PST), Alan
wrote:

On Mar 5, 11:29*pm, Ozzy please.answer@NG wrote:
Wasn't the whole idea behind Scottish Breakfast tea choosing a blend of
Assam which would be ordinarily be too strong for most palates, but just
right for the hard water of the Scotland? *

Ozzy

Scottish Breakfast tea is made to counteract the dulling effect of
Scotland's soft water. At least, that's what it says on the Taylor's
of Harrogate web site.

To answer the OP: water with some mineral content is best (in general)
for tea.

Oh, and oxygen content. Water that lacks oxygen (from being boiled too
long, for example) tends to make a flat-tasting tea. Oxygen is to tea
as salt is to food, in that salt can enhance the flavor of food. And
it can do this without making it taste salty; notice how often salt is
included in sweet dishes.

Alan

In that case, my water distiller, a counter-top stainless steel model,
no doubt robs water of oxygen. The manufacturer supplies charcoal
filters that are supposed to help the taste, but I'm not sure if it
corrects for oxygen loss. Seems like letting distilled water stand
for a while will re-oxygenate it some. Maybe you could get fanatical
about the oxygen and put your distilled water in a food processor for
half an hour? bookburn

On Mar 7, 9:06*am, Alan wrote:
On Mar 5, 11:29*pm, Ozzy please.answer@NG wrote:

Wasn't the whole idea behind Scottish Breakfast tea choosing a blend of
Assam which would be ordinarily be too strong for most palates, but just
right for the hard water of the Scotland? *

Ozzy

Scottish Breakfast tea is made to counteract the dulling effect of
Scotland's soft water. At least, that's what it says on the Taylor's
of Harrogate web site.

To answer the OP: water with some mineral content is best (in general)
for tea.

Oh, and oxygen content. Water that lacks oxygen (from being boiled too
long, for example) tends to make a flat-tasting tea. Oxygen is to tea
as salt is to food, in that salt can enhance the flavor of food. And
it can do this without making it taste salty; notice how often salt is
included in sweet dishes.

Alan

I will be obliged if the following is answered in the light of
science.
Question 1- What is the contribution of Oxygen in tea brew from
Quality angle ?
Question 2- Is it correct to say that the solubility of oxygen is more
in cold water than hot water?
question 3- no one drinks tea boiling hot. will the tera brewed with
boiling water will absorb Oxygen from atmosphere during the
intervening period while we drink tea.
S. M. Changoiwala
Gopaldhara tea company PVT Ltd.
Kolkota
Gardens-soongachi, New Glencoe
Darjeeling- Gopaldhara, Rohini