My familly has recently installed a reverse osmosis system to purify
the water. Immediately after installation, of course I was curious
about how tea would taste with this water -- which tasted totally
different from the tap water I usually use. I live in Toronto, Canada,
which has moderately hard water. It's not as extreme as other parts of
Ontario, but I often see scum on top of my tea. When I'm just drinking
the water by itself, I notice a distinct chlorinated taste, but when
I'm making tea the chlorine is unnoticable.

I made tea with the new water from the system, and to my surprise the
color of the black tea I was brewing became much brighter than before.
The aroma of the tea seemed sweeter and slightly more intense. But the
color was a good indication of how the tea would be like -- much, much
milder than usual. With my Torontonian hard water the tea was usually
quite robust and astringent -- even robust after adding milk. With RO
purified water, it was so mild that I thought I was using a different
tea.

My question is if using RO purified water for tea desirable over hard,
tap water. I'm accustomed to the tap water, so I can't really say if
its better or not. What is the general consensus on purified water? The
main reason my family got the system was to stop paying as much for
bottled water and have better tasting water. Since bottled water is no
longer an option for me what should I do? City water? RO purified
water? Half n' half?

Thanks for your feedback =)