Water Boiling / Filtering
I’ve heard a lot about how tea ought to be made with filtered water and that once it has been boiled, you shouldn’t use that water again, because it’s been deoxygenated, or something like that.
I use a Brita to filter my water. Often, after I’ve poured a cup of tea, there’s just a little bit of water left at the bottom of the kettle. If I pour this water through the Brita, is it okay to boil again?
I wouldn’t use it again, at least, not for tea. The filter doesn’t put stuff back in to the water, it filters it out, so all the icky tastes in tap water are removed. But, boiled water remains boiled, even if you refilter it, and the water needs to be freshly boiled to get the most from your tea.
Yes, but you might want to re-oxygenate it first. Fortunately, this is easy! Put it in a bottle and shake it, or use a blender on it, or just pour it from a high height – anything that stirs up the water and introduces some air will aerate it. It’s the same process involved in aerating a fish tank :P
Pouring my hot water from a high height is one of my favorite techniques for green & white teas (when I don’t have to worry about splatter); it cools the water and adds some extra oxygenation just before steeping!
Teabird: I really appreciate what you posted here! I am researching getting a water filter (again), and ran across this post. Thanks!
Can someone tell me how this is supposed to affect the tea? Right now I just use water from the tap, and will reboil the water in my electric kettle until I’ve used it up. I don’t own a filter of any kind except from my fridge.
… Should I just start using fridge water?
Also, how long can the water just sit in the kettle before it’s considered bad?
As LiberTEAS said – it’s purely about flavor. If you can’t taste a difference, it doesn’t matter.
How long the water sits in your kettle shouldn’t matter either, unless you think it’s going to pick up sediment (mine has a bit of rust, so that’s another reason I don’t leave water sitting in it).
I had no idea that there was a such thing as overboiling water….you learn something new every day. Is it just after you boil it that you should throw the remaining out? Say if I heat some in my kettle to 175 and theres some left is it ok to then boil or reheat the rest to the same or a hight temp?
I think teabird was right in an earlier comment when she said all you need to do is shake up the water to get some oxygen back in it. Even if you don’t, its just a personal matter of taste. If you don’t notice an affect in the taste of your tea with reboiled water it’s not “wrong” to continue to do so.
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