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sorry if this is a stupid question because we don't have chlorinated water in Germany, but do people brew green tea or good coffee with tap water? Doesn't it ta

sorry if this is a stupid question because we don't have chlorinated water in Germany, but do people brew green tea or good coffee with tap water? Doesn't it taste god awful? One of the things which I remember from my holidays in Spain as a kid, which is one of the few countries which adds it here, is that the water tasted like pool water.

shigawire 1y ago
If you drink it all the time you are used to the taste. At least that's how it is for me
donnachangstein 1y ago
> but do people brew green tea or good coffee with tap water? I use filtered tap water (under-sink type) which removes most of it. A lot of the higher end coffee makers like Keurig have built-in filter cartridges in the water tank. Most commercial coffee maker setups I've seen (hard-plumbed) in offices have a filter attached to the plumbing behind the appliance. Water can be safe/potable and taste terrible, and vice versa.
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
justincormack 1y ago
Water is chlorinated in Germany [1]. There may be less as ozone may be used as primary disinfectant. [1] https://www.lenntech.com/processes/disinfection/regulation-eu/eu-water-disinfection-regulation.htm https://www.lenntech.com/processes/disinfection/regulation-e...
- lxgr 1y ago
  At imperceptible levels. Compared to that, in New York, I can definitely taste it and it took some getting used to. (Ironically, at this point my senses seem to have been rewired to associate the taste of chlorine with fresh, i.e. non-stale tap water.)
  - LargoLasskhyfv 1y ago
    Depends on where in .de it is sourced. "Uferfiltrat" meaning from deep wells next to, or near a river, deep wells reaching into other groundwater sources, and dammed reservoirs. Uferfiltrat=shitty, deep well=depends, dammed reservoirs=mostly good/usually soft water. Can even vary within larger cities, where different parts get water from different sources.
mousethatroared 1y ago
Its extremely unlikely that German water isn't chlorinated. Perhaps you are thinking about fluorinated? Chlorine in water is actually fine and tasteless at the concentrations it reaches at the taps - it's basically extremely diluted stomach acid. The problem is chloramines caused by chlorinated organics. These give water the swimming pool smell and are bad for you. The solution is easy - reduce the organics in the water before chlorination, and oxygenate (aerate) the water before delivery. But systems can get overwhelmed by too much rain and runoff.
- lxgr 1y ago
  Chlorination of drinking water is indeed uncommon in Germany. If it’s done, the level is often imperceptible, contrary to the US (I actually had to look this up – I’ve never tasted it in German drinking water in various cities myself).
  - mousethatroared 1y ago
    How do they sterilize it?
    - ianburrell 1y ago
      Hydrogen peroxide and ozone.
- amluto 1y ago
  > Chlorine in water is actually fine and tasteless at the concentrations it reaches at the taps - it's basically extremely diluted stomach acid. No. The chlorine in tap water is HOCl + OCl- (it’s a weak acid/base equilibrium). Stomach acid is HCl. And chlorine has both a noticeable smell and odor even at low concentrations (e.g. 1ppm in water). The smell is much worse if any of the chlorine has reacted with organic crud to turn into NCl3. More enlightened cities in the US use monochloramine (NH2Cl), which is a rather weak disinfectant but is barely noticeable at normal concentrations.
an_aparallel 1y ago
My general experience in Australia when i talk about drinking RO water is that im looked at like a crazed madman who drinks "holy water"... So atleast hear i daresay its safe to say the average persons taste and smell must be piss poor
- rincebrain 1y ago
  You can get inured to just about anything with enough exposure, barring exceptional circumstances where you have difficulty learning to ignore things. Visiting friends recently, they have well water which smells like sulfur from their tap. Visiting them for a few days, I do not get inured to it, but my friend cannot tell it's there.
tomatotomato37 1y ago
Yes, water quality matters a lot in coffee enthusiast land. They actually make little mineral packets that you add to a gallon of distilled water to get a "perfect" brewing water - I know since I actually use them for my espresso machine to fight scale buildup from my +10 grain tap water. Note this excessiveness is really needed for espresso though; a regular Brita jug handles more tolerant methods of brewing perfectly well (and to be honest most people murder coffee enough that the water is the least of their concerns)
- laex 1y ago
  Do you have a brand name or amazon link for the mineral packets ?
  - tomatotomato37 1y ago
    I use "Third Wave Water" but there are other brands out there
  - miladyincontrol 1y ago
    Just a suggestion as well, theres countless 'water recipes' that let you easily do the same thing for a fraction the price. They arent doing anything complicated. Some mixes are simple two ingredients, some go up to several, but all are pretty dead simple. Lets you fiddle and fine tune things more for your own preferences too.
  - throwaway81523 1y ago
    Third Wave Water is a well known one. There is a whole book on the topic (2015, with a new edition supposedly coming soon): https://collectedcoffee.com/products/water-for-coffee https://collectedcoffee.com/products/water-for-coffee
broken-kebab 1y ago
Chlorine solubility in water decreases rather quickly with raising temperature. This fact causes me to believe that if one doesn't like his hot-brewed tea made with tap water it's not because of chlorine exactly. I'd suspect calcium or iron instead.

shigawire 1y ago

If you drink it all the time you are used to the taste. At least that's how it is for me

donnachangstein 1y ago

> but do people brew green tea or good coffee with tap water? I use filtered tap water (under-sink type) which removes most of it. A lot of the higher end coffee makers like Keurig have built-in filter cartridges in the water tank. Most commercial coffee maker setups I've seen (hard-plumbed) in offices have a filter attached to the plumbing behind the appliance. Water can be safe/potable and taste terrible, and vice versa.

deleted 1y ago

[deleted]

justincormack 1y ago

Water is chlorinated in Germany [1]. There may be less as ozone may be used as primary disinfectant. [1] https://www.lenntech.com/processes/disinfection/regulation-eu/eu-water-disinfection-regulation.htm https://www.lenntech.com/processes/disinfection/regulation-e...

lxgr 1y ago
At imperceptible levels. Compared to that, in New York, I can definitely taste it and it took some getting used to. (Ironically, at this point my senses seem to have been rewired to associate the taste of chlorine with fresh, i.e. non-stale tap water.)
- LargoLasskhyfv 1y ago
  Depends on where in .de it is sourced. "Uferfiltrat" meaning from deep wells next to, or near a river, deep wells reaching into other groundwater sources, and dammed reservoirs. Uferfiltrat=shitty, deep well=depends, dammed reservoirs=mostly good/usually soft water. Can even vary within larger cities, where different parts get water from different sources.

mousethatroared 1y ago

Its extremely unlikely that German water isn't chlorinated. Perhaps you are thinking about fluorinated? Chlorine in water is actually fine and tasteless at the concentrations it reaches at the taps - it's basically extremely diluted stomach acid. The problem is chloramines caused by chlorinated organics. These give water the swimming pool smell and are bad for you. The solution is easy - reduce the organics in the water before chlorination, and oxygenate (aerate) the water before delivery. But systems can get overwhelmed by too much rain and runoff.

lxgr 1y ago
Chlorination of drinking water is indeed uncommon in Germany. If it’s done, the level is often imperceptible, contrary to the US (I actually had to look this up – I’ve never tasted it in German drinking water in various cities myself).
- mousethatroared 1y ago
  How do they sterilize it?
  - ianburrell 1y ago
    Hydrogen peroxide and ozone.
amluto 1y ago
> Chlorine in water is actually fine and tasteless at the concentrations it reaches at the taps - it's basically extremely diluted stomach acid. No. The chlorine in tap water is HOCl + OCl- (it’s a weak acid/base equilibrium). Stomach acid is HCl. And chlorine has both a noticeable smell and odor even at low concentrations (e.g. 1ppm in water). The smell is much worse if any of the chlorine has reacted with organic crud to turn into NCl3. More enlightened cities in the US use monochloramine (NH2Cl), which is a rather weak disinfectant but is barely noticeable at normal concentrations.

an_aparallel 1y ago

My general experience in Australia when i talk about drinking RO water is that im looked at like a crazed madman who drinks "holy water"... So atleast hear i daresay its safe to say the average persons taste and smell must be piss poor

rincebrain 1y ago
You can get inured to just about anything with enough exposure, barring exceptional circumstances where you have difficulty learning to ignore things. Visiting friends recently, they have well water which smells like sulfur from their tap. Visiting them for a few days, I do not get inured to it, but my friend cannot tell it's there.

tomatotomato37 1y ago

Yes, water quality matters a lot in coffee enthusiast land. They actually make little mineral packets that you add to a gallon of distilled water to get a "perfect" brewing water - I know since I actually use them for my espresso machine to fight scale buildup from my +10 grain tap water. Note this excessiveness is really needed for espresso though; a regular Brita jug handles more tolerant methods of brewing perfectly well (and to be honest most people murder coffee enough that the water is the least of their concerns)

laex 1y ago
Do you have a brand name or amazon link for the mineral packets ?
- tomatotomato37 1y ago
  I use "Third Wave Water" but there are other brands out there
- miladyincontrol 1y ago
  Just a suggestion as well, theres countless 'water recipes' that let you easily do the same thing for a fraction the price. They arent doing anything complicated. Some mixes are simple two ingredients, some go up to several, but all are pretty dead simple. Lets you fiddle and fine tune things more for your own preferences too.
- throwaway81523 1y ago
  Third Wave Water is a well known one. There is a whole book on the topic (2015, with a new edition supposedly coming soon): https://collectedcoffee.com/products/water-for-coffee https://collectedcoffee.com/products/water-for-coffee

broken-kebab 1y ago

Chlorine solubility in water decreases rather quickly with raising temperature. This fact causes me to believe that if one doesn't like his hot-brewed tea made with tap water it's not because of chlorine exactly. I'd suspect calcium or iron instead.