The Critical Role of Water in Brewing Exceptional Coffee
When people talk about great coffee, they usually start with the beans: origin, processing, roast profile, and brew method. At Beanlytics Roasters, a Vancouver specialty roastery, those details matter a lot—but there is another variable that quietly decides whether your cup tastes flat or phenomenal: water.
For anyone searching for the best specialty coffee roasters in Vancouver, understanding water chemistry is one of the fastest ways to unlock better flavor at home, using the beans you already love. Beanlytics roasts for clarity, sweetness, and balance; the right water is what allows those characteristics to actually show up in your cup instead of getting muted or muddied.
Why Water Matters More Than You Think
Coffee is between 98–99% water. That means the water in your kettle is not just a neutral medium—it is the main ingredient in your drink. The mineral content, pH level, and total dissolved solids (TDS) in your brewing water determine how effectively flavorful compounds extract from the coffee grounds.
Extraction is a chemical process: hot water dissolves acids, sugars, oils, and aromatic compounds. If your water is poorly balanced, this process either stalls (leading to sour, thin coffee) or goes too far (bitter, chalky coffee). For premium coffee roasters in Vancouver like Beanlytics, water chemistry can account for up to 30% of the final perceived flavor, which is why it deserves as much attention as grind size and brew temperature.
The Key Minerals Shaping Your Cup
Four primary minerals play leading roles in coffee extraction: magnesium, calcium, bicarbonate, and sodium. Each one changes the way your coffee tastes and feels.
- Magnesium (Mg²⁺): The Brightness Enhancer
Magnesium highlights fruity, floral, and bright notes, especially in high-quality single-origin coffees. When present in the 8–12 ppm range, it can make a washed Ethiopian or a complex Kenyan taste sweeter and more aromatic, instead of dull or hollow. - Calcium (Ca²⁺): The Body Builder
Calcium boosts mouthfeel and emphasizes chocolatey, nutty, and sweet flavors. However, too much calcium—above about 120 ppm—can drive over‑extraction, leaving harsh, dry, or chalky bitterness and causing scale build‑up in brewers and espresso machines. - Bicarbonate (HCO₃⁻): The Acid Modulator
Bicarbonate acts as a buffer, moderating coffee’s natural acidity. In the right range, it smooths sharp edges without making the cup taste flat. Too little and your coffee can taste aggressively sour; too much and the brightness disappears into a bland, cardboard-like profile. - Sodium (Na⁺): The Sweetness Amplifier
In small amounts (around 5–30 ppm), sodium subtly enhances sweetness and overall flavor perception without making the coffee taste salty. This is one reason some “coffee-specific” mineral recipes include just a touch of sodium.
Research in specialty coffee has shown that a roughly 2:1 ratio of magnesium to calcium often produces optimal extraction—magnesium lifts the high notes, while calcium fills in the body—creating a more balanced and complex cup.
TDS, Hardness, and Alkalinity: The Numbers That Matter
To make water practical for everyday brewing, it helps to think in terms of a few measurable parameters: TDS, hardness, and alkalinity.
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)
TDS measures the total concentration of minerals in your water (in ppm). It is one of the best quick indicators of whether your water is likely to under‑ or over‑extract coffee.
- Below 75 ppm: Flat, thin, often sour—there are not enough minerals to grab flavor compounds.
- 100–150 ppm: Balanced, sweet, and full-bodied—this is the sweet spot for most specialty coffees.
- Above 250 ppm: Bitter, chalky, muddy, and prone to scale build‑up in equipment.
The Specialty Coffee Association recommends 75–250 ppm with an ideal target around 150 ppm, which aligns with what many leading roasters and water researchers use.
Hardness (Calcium + Magnesium)
Hardness specifically measures calcium and magnesium, often expressed as ppm of calcium carbonate (CaCO₃). It is different from TDS, which includes all dissolved minerals.
- Soft water (0–60 ppm): Under‑extraction, sour and weak cups.
- Optimal hardness (50–100 ppm): Balanced sweetness, clarity, and body.
- Hard water (>175 ppm): Over‑extraction, pronounced bitterness, and significant scale inside kettles and espresso machines.
Alkalinity and pH
Alkalinity measures how strongly your water resists changes in pH when acids (like coffee) are introduced. For flavor, alkalinity is often more important than pH itself.
- Optimal alkalinity: 40–70 ppm (as CaCO₃), with around 40 ppm often being ideal.
- Below 40 ppm: Coffee can taste overly acidic, sharp, or even salty.
- Above 70 ppm: Coffee loses brightness and becomes dull and lifeless.
Brewing water pH should generally sit around 7.0 (neutral), within a workable range of 6.5–7.5. Below 6.5, the water is too acidic; above 7.5, it can suppress acidity and nuance.
How Water Chemistry Changes the Way Beanlytics Tastes
Beanlytics Roasters focuses on single‑origin, organic coffees roasted for clarity, sweetness, and balance. That means every roast profile is tuned so that, with good brewing water, you taste layered sweetness, distinct origin character, and a clean finish, rather than just generic “coffee flavor.”
With soft water (very low minerals), a Beanlytics Ethiopian can taste thin and sour, no matter how carefully you brew. With very hard water rich in bicarbonate, the same coffee can become heavy, bitter, and muddy, losing the citrus and floral notes the roaster worked hard to highlight. When you bring your water into the recommended ranges—TDS around 150 ppm, hardness 50–100 ppm, alkalinity around 40 ppm—the results are dramatic: more sweetness, more clarity, and more repeatability in every pour-over or espresso shot.
This is one of the reasons Beanlytics is quickly becoming part of the conversation around the best specialty coffee roasters in Vancouver. The focus is not only on sourcing and roasting, but also on helping you recreate café-quality cups at home through education on water chemistry and brew parameters.
Simple Steps to Improve Your Brewing Water at Home
You do not need a lab to start optimizing your brewing water. A few low-cost tools and techniques can make a huge difference.
- Test Your Current Water
- Use an inexpensive TDS meter to measure total dissolved solids.
- Use water test strips to check hardness and alkalinity.
- Record your baseline for tap water in your area.
- Compare to Specialty Targets
Aim for roughly:
- TDS: 150 ppm
- Hardness: 50–100 ppm
- Alkalinity: ~40 ppm
- pH: around 7.0
- Adjust When Necessary
- If your water is too hard or high in alkalinity, a home reverse osmosis (RO) system plus remineralization can help.
- If your water is very soft, you can add minerals through pre‑formulated packets like Third Wave Water or a simple DIY recipe using magnesium sulfate and calcium chloride.
- Remove Chlorine and Off‑Flavors
- Use activated carbon filters on your tap or kettle.
- Avoid chlorinated water, which can create chemical off‑notes in delicate coffees.
Even small adjustments—like moving from 300 ppm tap water to a 150 ppm filtered and remineralized profile—can transform a cup from harsh and bitter to sweet and layered.
A Practical DIY Water Recipe
For home brewers who want a repeatable, café‑quality water profile, the guide in your attached PDF suggests a straightforward recipe:
- Start with distilled or reverse osmosis water.
- Add 1.4 g of magnesium sulfate (Epsom salt) per gallon.
- Add 0.5 g of calcium chloride per gallon.
- Mix thoroughly and test with strips or a meter.
This recipe lands close to 150 ppm TDS with an optimal balance of magnesium and calcium, giving you a sweet, structured extraction that works beautifully for modern light‑to‑medium roasts.
Try It With Beanlytics “Sumatrabyte”
If you want a tangible way to taste the impact of water chemistry, experiment with one of Beanlytics’ offerings, such as Sumatrabyte – North Sumatra Ateng, wet‑hulled. This coffee showcases earthy sweetness, citrus brightness, and a gentle smoky depth that really come alive when brewed with optimized water.
You can link directly to the product here:SUMATRABYTE | Beanlytics Coffee Roasters in Vancouver
Brew it once with untreated tap water and again with a targeted water profile. Pay attention to how the citrus lifts, how the sweetness rounds out, and how the finish cleans up when the minerals are in the right place.
Why Water Chemistry Belongs in Every Coffee Conversation
Great coffee is never an accident. It is the result of thoughtful sourcing, skillful roasting, and intentional brewing. For a roastery like Beanlytics Roasters in Vancouver, water chemistry is part of that craft. It is the bridge between what the roaster designs in the cupping lab and what you experience in your mug at home.
If you are exploring premium coffee roasters in Vancouver and want to get the most out of every bag you buy, treating your brewing water as seriously as your beans is one of the smartest upgrades you can make. With a basic understanding of minerals, TDS, hardness, and alkalinity, you can turn “pretty good” coffee into something truly exceptional—cup after cup.