Shun the expensive spring water If you want a better-tasting cup of green tea ― your water of choice should be from the tap. If it is health benefits you seek, choose bottled or deionized water for superior extraction of catechins, nearly double that of tap water.
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as a gardener I have always taken my tap water, left off a lid so that the chlorine could dissipate in the next 48 hours. Plants don’t care for it either! Have you heard about this? paula winchester
On the point of the US study with the consumer sensory panel, it is also worth noting that if they are used to drinking their tea with a particular water (most likely tap) then it is likely that they would naturally be biased towards the taste profile they are most familiar with – something that a professional sensory panel should be able to compensate for. It gets even more interesting when you consider studies that have shown that the microbiome of individuals is linked to taste preferences, which in turn the microbiome develops based on what is consumed, this too would lead non-professional sensory panels to have a bias towards what they are familiar with – because their microbiome is calling for it.
On the extraction of the catechins, water temperature will also have an impact so potentially drinkers could adjust brewing conditions (temp, quantity and time) to compensate for the water available depending on their desirable outcome – high catechin & health vs low catechin and smoother/sweeter taste.
Great article, thank you!
I’m glad you talked about chlorine. Maybe I am overly sensitive to it, but I cannot drink tea made with chlorinated water. We are fortunate because the water from our well, although high in dissolved minerals, makes nice tea.