WHY DOES
WATER QUALITY
MATTER?
INTRODUCTION WHICH COFFEE?
SPECIALITY COFFEE DEPENDS ON Two freshly roasted coffees were chosen for the research
A COMBINATION OF FACTORS THAT experiment:
INFLUENCES OVERALL FLAVOUR PROFILE.
1) Colombian washed-process caturra and castillo from
VARIABLES SUCH AS PROCESSING METHOD, La Argelia farm, grown at an altitude 1580-1900 m.
ROAST DEGREE, GRIND SIZE, TEMPERATURE,
PRESSURE, AND EXTRACTION TIME ALL 2) Brazilian natural-process yellow bourbon, tupi, icatu,
PLAY A VITAL ROLE IN THE SENSORY RESULT and yellow catuai from Lagoa Formosa grown in the
IN THE CUP. Minas Gerais region at an altitude of 1000-1200 m.
But there is one factor that is becoming an increasingly
important consideration for the industry as a whole – and
WHICH WATER?
that is water. Or to be more exact, water quality. Given
that the main constituent of brewed coffee is somewhere Three types of water were chosen for the analysis. Based
between 98 to 99% water, the rest being the mass of soluble on the SCAE/SCAA target standard water recommendation
brewed solids extracted, the quality of H2O in the brew range, a low (soft), medium and high (hard) mineral content
can truly mean the difference between a ‘good’ and water type were used.
‘great’ coffee.
160
While there is overwhelming anecdotal evidence that
supports this view, there is little published scientific research 140 Zurich
in the area so far. So, how do we begin to quantify the tap water
impact of water quality from a sensory perspective?
120
In a bid to address this question, the Speciality Coffee
Association of Europe (SCAE) brought together a team of 100
experts at the Centre for Analytical and Physical Chemistry in High
Calcium hardness / mg CaCO3 eq * L-1
Zurich, Switzerland, to provide some scientific clarity on how 80
differing water compositions had an impact on the coffee’s Medium
perceived quality on the cupping table. The experiments 60
were designed, conducted and the results analysed by Dr. Low
Marco Wellinger from Zurich University of Applied Sciences. Filter at zero bypass
40
20
0
20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160
Alkalinity / mg CaCO3 eq * L-1
All three waters used were within the SCAE/SCAA recommended range.
WHAT IS THE WATER STANDARD?
The coffee industry uses guidelines on the ideal extraction for The different water compositions were obtained using an
coffee. SCAE/SCAA’s water standard outlines the acceptable ion exchange filter which reduces the total hardness and
range of mineral content, alkalinity, total dissolved solids alkalinity in equal amounts. Since alkalinity is considered
(TDS), pH value, calcium/sodium content and odour/colour to be critical to the perception of acidity in coffee, it
qualities that are recommended for brewing speciality coffee. was decided to limit the variation of it to +/- 50% of the
recommended SCAE/SCAA target.
Characteristic Target Acceptable range
Odour1 Clean/Fresh, odour free
Colour2 Clear colour
Total chlorine 0 mg/L
TDS3 150 mg/L 75 - 250 mg/L
Calcium hardness 4 grains or 68 mg/L 1 - 5 grains or 17 mg/L - 85 mg/L
Total alkalinity 40 mg/L At or near 40 mg/L
pH 7.0 6.5 to 7.5
Sodium 10 mg/L At or near 10 mg/L
1. Odour is based on sensory olfactory determination
2. Colour is based on sensory visual determination
3. TDS measure based on a 4-4-2 conversion: 1 µS *cm-1 EC = 0.7 mg*L-1 TDS
WHO WAS INVOLVED?
An expert panel of four coffee professionals evaluated two The coffee was evaluated against the following attributes:
coffees and three different water types. The coffees were
prepared in a blind cupping session according to an amended • Aroma: Orthonasal odour of the coffee during the
SCAA cupping protocol. Fragrance, uniformity and clean break and, to a minor extent, after removing the foam
cup scores were not evaluated but sweetness was added • Flavour: Combined perception of taste and retronasal
and evaluated on a scale of 1-10. The cuppers each evaluated odour of a coffee, making up its principal character
the coffee extracted with the three different waters, and • Aftertaste: Duration, intensity and quality of the
repeated three times. Significance differences were based flavour from the back of the palate after swallowing
on 95% confidence intervals. In order to ensure that the • Acidity: Combination of quality and intensity of the
cup profile was interpreted consistently, only cuppers with sensory perception of acids – one of the quickest
a relative standard deviation of less than 5%, for three blind sensory impressions during tasting
repetitions of the same sample would be included in the • Body: Sensory perception of mouthfeel determined
analysis. This led to the elimination of one cupper. by viscosity and texture of the brew (e.g. fats/oils and
very fine particles)
• Balance: Degree of harmony between flavour,
aftertaste, acidity and body - especially at high
attribute intensities, small differences result in strong
imbalance
• Sweetness: Sensory perception of a sweet taste or
the degree of roundness and fullness
• Overall: Integrated score reflecting how pleasant
the sensory impression was, and in respect of origin,
varietal and processing method
HOW DID THE COFFEES AND DIFFERENT WATER
TYPES COMPARE?
In all cases where a significant difference in scores was
observed, the highest was attributed to the coffee samples
brewed using low mineral content water, with the lowest
hardness. Beside significant differences, there was also Low
a trend for low mineral content water scoring highest for Medium
the majority of sensory attributes. Across the spectrum, High
the Colombian scored higher than the Brazilian coffee.
SIGNIFICANT SIGNIFICANT SIGNIFICANT
9.00
8.50
8.00
7.50
7.00
6.50
6.00
5.50
5.00
Aroma Flavour Aftertaste Acidity Body Balance Sweetness Overall
Brazilian coffee: Cupping scores and significant differences observed.
The three attributes of flavour, aftertaste and acidity show a significant difference.
SIGNIFICANT SIGNIFICANT SIGNIFICANT SIGNIFICANT
9.00
8.50
8.00
7.50
7.00
6.50
6.00
5.50
5.00
Aroma Flavour Aftertaste Acidity Body Balance Sweetness Overall
Colombian coffee: Cupping scores and significant differences observed.
The four attributes of flavour, acidity, balance and overall show a significant difference.
CONCLUSION “THE RESULTS
THE RESULTS SHOW THE IMPACT THAT INDICATE HOW
WATER QUALITY HAS ON A COFFEE’S
FLAVOUR PROFILE. OF ALL THE ATTRIBUTES DIFFERENCES IN
EVALUATED; FLAVOUR, ACIDITY, BALANCE
AND OVERALL SCORING WERE THE MOST WATER TYPE ALONE
SIGNIFICANTLY AFFECTED.
The water with the lowest values for hardness, alkalinity,
CAN MOVE A COFFEE’S
consistently gave the highest scores - suggesting that this
type of water leads to a better cup quality overall. The
CUPPING SCORES
Colombian coffee that scored higher across all attributes
also shows that the higher the score, the more significant INTO, OR OUT OF, THE
the difference there is. This highlights how the type of
water used in speciality coffee is even more important
in sensory evaluations.
‘SPECIALITY’ BRACKET.
Head of the Centre for Analytical and Physical Chemistry,
FROM A SCIENTIFIC
Prof. Chahan Yeretzian, says that the research underlines
how important water type is for the coffee industry and PERSPECTIVE, THESE
its role in ensuring that speciality coffee can achieve its full
potential when complemented by a range of other factors. FINDINGS STRENGTHEN
The research findings add further weight to the discussion
in the speciality coffee community about why water
OUR UNDERSTANDING
quality matters.
OF THE IMPORTANT
ROLE THAT WATER
QUALITY CAN PLAY
IN INFLUENCING A
PARTICULAR COFFEE’S
FLAVOUR PROFILE.”
Prof. Chahan Yeretzian
Head of SCAE Research Committee
WWW.SCAE.COM Source: Marco Wellinger and Chahan Yeretzian of the Zurich University
of Applied Sciences in Wädenswil, Switzerland.
