Different water to make coffee

Using different water sources for my coffee


In the past couple of weeks we have gotten major storms. Inches of rain in a very short time (flooding, streets closed - all that fun stuff). I got the idea to collect rainwater and see how that would taste in my coffee. Our normal water is well water (hard water). I wanted to see if there was a noticeable difference in the taste. I also decided to use water from my brothers' house. They live about a half hour away in a semi rural area.

I collected the rainwater by putting out a clean coffee carafe and waited. We had a couple of waves of storms pass but it still took a lot of the afternoon and all night to even collect enough to make 3/4 of a pot. Patience is rewarded - right? (A joke to those who know me - I am not always the most patient person).

I made three batches of coffee (using Armeno Coffee's Costa Rica LaMinita for all three (http://www.roaste.com/product/Armeno-Coffee/Costa-Rica-LaMinita).

I did notice subtle differences in the three. I knew which was which but I had my dad try all three without knowing. He also picked up on the differences. The "rainwater" coffee tasted slightly less harsh. More mellow. The aftertaste was even a bit...crisper perhaps? Both of us chose that as the one we liked best. Just something about it. The "country" water came in second but neither of us could really give a reason why.

I did a similar experiment a while back using city water and well water. In that case the well water tasted better. Going to have to try it again and see. Going to put out the carafe the next time it rains again too!!!

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