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While my testing and brewing device was being build I was thinking about the methodology and tests and then it dawned on me… how do I standardize the water? Which water is the best water to use?

I started searching around and the internet is full of “junk” really. Some sites will say you need a low ppm tds for coffee, and say you need to filter this or that, but I could find no real published empirical tests. I searched and searched until I found what I was looking… I found Dr. Herndon’s research and it was eye opening.

I read his white paper over and over again and started thinking about how to apply his findings to my work and I quickly realized he had pointed out the ratios of ions needed but he left out many details. I was very excited to find these hard facts and it let me easily plow through the internet fodder as a little knowledge of the true mineral content needed for coffee made it easy to spot the imposters.

I reached out to Dr. Herndon and was happily surprised when he quickly responded with a few calculations, clarifications, and mentioned he was just about to publish a book detailing the specifics I needed.

I told him a bit about my water issues and he recommended I purchase the red reef testing kit which was a relief as I was pouring over quantitative chem books looking for the indicators, methods, and calculations. He also linked me to a video where he went over the ion calculations based on the specific kit which made it easy for me to verify my results H(CO3)2 bicarbonate levels which were off the chart.

testing grid layout