550 million years ago, earth was perfect. We had perfect water for coffee AND we were living in a vegetarian paradise!

 

But then Earth changed—violently. The planet shifted from a peaceful, plant-eating paradise to a darker, more brutal world. And in this new world, the chemistry of water was forever altered.

 

This is the wild story of how earth-shaking forces and the spirits of long-dead critters ruin your coffees today.

 

This story will help you remember the two invisible ingredients in your water that have a huge impact on coffee flavour and your brewing equipment: calcium and hydrogen carbonate.

 

Read Marcia Bjonerud’s amazing book, Reading the Rocks

 

 

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Season 3 of The Science of Coffee is made possible by these leading coffee organisations:

 

The Coffee Quest | BWT | TODDY | Algrano | Probat

 

Note: this is a reworked version of my 2022 episode Water for Brewing Coffee.

 

Check out Standart, the award-winning coffee magazine. Get a free magazine and a free bag of coffee by clicking here.

How does Perfect Moose detect what kind of milk is in the pitcher? Click here to find out.
 
Visiting World of Coffee San Diego? Pull a shot on the gorgeous Slayer Steam Single

What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here.