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Best Bottled Water for Coffee

When we make coffee, we don’t always think about the water we use to make it with. The impact that water chemistry has on the flavor of the coffee during brewing is significant. Nowadays, more and more people are using bottled water to make coffee as it delivers the best tasting results. There are various brands of bottled water on the market, so how do you choose? What is the best bottled water for coffee?

There are various great brands of bottled water to use to brew coffee. The list includes;

  • Evian Natural Spring Water
  • Crystal Geyser Alpine Spring Water
  • Volvic Spring Water
  • Saratoga Natural Spring Water
  • Mountain Valley Spring Water
  • Icelandic Glacial Natural Spring Water

When you use tap water to make coffee, you will find that the taste of the coffee changes. The level of mineral content determines the softness or hardness of the water. A higher mineral content hardens water, and fewer minerals soften the water. This article will discuss the best bottled water to use when brewing the perfect cup of coffee.

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Best Bottled Water for Coffee

Why Is Tap Water Not Recommended For Brewing Coffee?

For most people, making coffee with tap water is good enough. But if you stop to think about it, if the water has flavors of its own, it will compromise the taste of the coffee. The tap water that we use comes from groundwater, rivers, or even nearby lakes; therefore, all taste different and are of varying quality.

So, if you have purchased an expensive coffee, using tap water will ruin the taste, and it will be a complete waste of money.

Trace minerals bind with the flavor compounds in tap water during the extraction of the coffee. The pH levels in the water can turn the coffee into a bitter or sour result, but luckily there are ways to correct this.

If the pH level is too high, you can distill the water or reverse osmosis. This process extracts almost everything out of the water, leaving it in its purest form. Although this may sound like a good thing, it produces a tasteless and flat coffee.

The perfectly balanced brewing water for coffee contains just the correct levels of calcium and magnesium. Calcium brings out the dark and creamy notes in the beans, whereas magnesium extracts the brighter, aromatic flavors.

The best pH level in brewing coffee is +/-7 (neutral). If the water is more alkaline, it could suppress the flavor of the coffee, and if it is too acidic, it causes weaker extraction. So, it is best to stay close to a pH of 7.

Why Is It Better To Use Bottled Water To Brew Coffee?

Many people will agree that using distilled water to brew coffee is the best option for achieving the ultimate balance between the richness and aroma of the selected coffee beans.

Surely everyone knows that tap water has a distinct taste, and when you add it to your coffee maker, it affects not only the taste but also the aroma of the coffee. The chlorine that is added to purify tap water also has a significant impact on the taste of the coffee.

The water used to make coffee should contain the correct concentration of minerals. To achieve this perfect balance, you could use distilled water and add minerals (calcium and magnesium) to it. You can use products like Epsom salt or baking soda to add to the water.

But the best option for the best results is using bottled water to brew coffee. The Ph levels and mineral content in natural bottled spring water are close to perfect balance and will ensure that the desired taste of the coffee is not affected too much, if at all.

The table below contains some of the best, most trusted bottled spring water brands recommended to give you that perfectly brewed cup of coffee every time!

Brand Name
Origin
PH Level
Mineral Content
TDS Range (Total Dissolved Solids)  
Evian Natural Spring Water
Bottled at several natural springs on the south shore of Lake Geneva since 1859. Owned by Danone since 1970.
7.8
3 x More calcium than magnesium content (brings out a darker, creamier flavor during brewing).
300 Milligrams per liter.
Crystal Geyser Alpine Spring Water
Bottled at seven protected natural springs around the United States. Founded in 1990.  
7
Low – equal magnesium to calcium ratio (depending on which spring the water comes from).  
90-110 Milligrams per liter.  
Volvic Spring Water
Bottled in France, Clairvic Springs, north of Puy de Dome (dormant volcano).
7
Low – equal magnesium to calcium ratio. Contains other trace minerals (balances the acidity).
109 Milligrams per liter.
Saratoga Natural Spring Water
Bottled at Saratoga Springs, NY. Founded in 1872.
7
Higher calcium content than magnesium. Soft and best suited for slower brewing methods.
73 Milligrams per liter.
Mountain Valley Spring Water
Bottled in Hot Springs, Ark, since 1871. “a conscientious guardian of the pristine landscape that surrounds the spring”
7.7
Harder-Higher in magnesium than calcium. Best used for brewing methods such as espresso and Aeropress.
221 Milligrams per liter.
Icelandic Glacial Natural Spring Water
Bottled at Olfus Spring, Iceland.
8.4 (naturally alkaline)
Low-filtered through layers of lava rock and does not overwhelm the palate with silica, minerals, and heavy metals.
62 Milligrams per liter.
Arrowhead Natural Spring Water
Bottled at naturally occurring mountain springs in Canada, Colorado, and California.
6.9
Equal calcium to magnesium ratio.
39-250 Milligrams per liter.
Voss Natural Spring Water
Bottled at the artisan source in the wilderness of Southern Norway.
5.9 (Best for brewing espresso)
3 x More calcium than magnesium.
44 Milligrams per liter.
Ozarka Natural Spring Water
Bottled at three different springs in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, since 1905.
6.5-8.5
3 x More calcium than magnesium.
30-110 Milligrams per liter.

3 Benefits Of Using Bottled Spring Water To Make Coffee

  1. Coffee tastes better if you use bottled water because it is free of chalk and limestone.
  2. Bottled spring water is taste-neutral and purer than tap water, so the only thing you will taste is the aroma of the coffee, not all the other flavors present in tap water.
  3. Descaling your coffee machine will be minimal because there won’t be any lime-scale build-up.

Coffee is a day starter, a pick-me-up, a keep-on-keeping-on boost when you need it most. For a product that is such a big part of the lives of millions of Americans, it should be a pleasurable experience. We should not only enjoy the great effect it has on our mood and energy levels, but we should drift away in its tasty, rich, creamy aroma.

The only way we can reach this level of taste is by brewing our coffee with bottled spring water. Water that is balanced by nature and brings out the best flavors of any coffee bean blend!