- #1
curiousCofeeWaterGuy
- 2
- 2
- TL;DR Summary
- Trying to formulate the perfect water for espresso brewing.
Hey all,
I've come here to seek out some help creating the perfect espresso brewing water. I've done some research, and I think I've reduced it down to a chemistry problem. I'll be starting with distilled water and adding minerals, some 'hardness' and an 'alkalinity buffer.'First, here's the target:
https://scanews.coffee/2013/07/08/dissecting-scaas-water-quality-standard/
target summary:
150 mg/L of total dissolved solids
approximately 50-70 mg/L of hardness, they mention calcium here but that causes scale build up in espresso machine. Magnesium sulfate seems to be a good substitute
40 mg/L alkalinity
pH of 7
10 mg/L of sodiumThis video has served as a good 'baseline' for me to start at:
I immediately notice that this is water has 237 mg/L of TDS, and it has a little too much sodium:
(.185 L of alk buffer added to gallon) * (1400 mg/L concentration of alk buffer) * (.27 percent sodium by mass of NaHCO3) * (1 Gal / 3.78 L) = 18.5 mg sodiumA couple things I've learned while researching:
Sodium bicarbonate breaks down around 50C/122F, whereas potassium bicarbonate does not break down until 212F. Espresso brewing temperature is between 195F - 205F. The boiler stays 200F for long periods of time. I've read online, from not *necessarily* credible sources, that as sodium bicarbonate breaks down it can cause damage to the boiler of the espresso machine.
Magnesium sulfate might be better for the hardness of the water, as calcium leads to more scale build up in the espresso machine.
My thought is that I can use a dominantly potassium bicarbonate alkalinity buffer with a touch of sodium bicarbonate (maybe for 5 mg/L - 10 mg/L concentration), and I can use magnesium sulfate for hardness. My concern now though is to have the total dissolved solids equal 150 mg/L and keep the pH at 7 (and while worrying about 40 mg/L alkalinity? though perhaps this is intrinsic to keeping the pH at 7).
It's been literally 10 years since I've taken Chemistry. I vaguely recall that I'll need a balanced chemical equation and to do some conversions between molar mass and mass; however, I wouldn't really know where to start with the balanced equation..
NaHCO3 + KHCO3 + MgSO4 + H2O --> ?
And I'm not sure how to find the resulting hydrogen and hydroxide ion concentrations in order to balance pH.
Any help is much appreciated!
I've come here to seek out some help creating the perfect espresso brewing water. I've done some research, and I think I've reduced it down to a chemistry problem. I'll be starting with distilled water and adding minerals, some 'hardness' and an 'alkalinity buffer.'First, here's the target:
https://scanews.coffee/2013/07/08/dissecting-scaas-water-quality-standard/
target summary:
150 mg/L of total dissolved solids
approximately 50-70 mg/L of hardness, they mention calcium here but that causes scale build up in espresso machine. Magnesium sulfate seems to be a good substitute
40 mg/L alkalinity
pH of 7
10 mg/L of sodiumThis video has served as a good 'baseline' for me to start at:
I immediately notice that this is water has 237 mg/L of TDS, and it has a little too much sodium:
(.185 L of alk buffer added to gallon) * (1400 mg/L concentration of alk buffer) * (.27 percent sodium by mass of NaHCO3) * (1 Gal / 3.78 L) = 18.5 mg sodiumA couple things I've learned while researching:
Sodium bicarbonate breaks down around 50C/122F, whereas potassium bicarbonate does not break down until 212F. Espresso brewing temperature is between 195F - 205F. The boiler stays 200F for long periods of time. I've read online, from not *necessarily* credible sources, that as sodium bicarbonate breaks down it can cause damage to the boiler of the espresso machine.
Magnesium sulfate might be better for the hardness of the water, as calcium leads to more scale build up in the espresso machine.
My thought is that I can use a dominantly potassium bicarbonate alkalinity buffer with a touch of sodium bicarbonate (maybe for 5 mg/L - 10 mg/L concentration), and I can use magnesium sulfate for hardness. My concern now though is to have the total dissolved solids equal 150 mg/L and keep the pH at 7 (and while worrying about 40 mg/L alkalinity? though perhaps this is intrinsic to keeping the pH at 7).
It's been literally 10 years since I've taken Chemistry. I vaguely recall that I'll need a balanced chemical equation and to do some conversions between molar mass and mass; however, I wouldn't really know where to start with the balanced equation..
NaHCO3 + KHCO3 + MgSO4 + H2O --> ?
And I'm not sure how to find the resulting hydrogen and hydroxide ion concentrations in order to balance pH.
Any help is much appreciated!