Discovery Loop
Issue 1 · 27 July 2026
Your water Chemistry is more important than your beans
Most shops spend thousands on high-end beans and precision grinders, only to brew with tap or improperly filtered water. Coffee is roughly 98% water, meaning your water profile dictates how flavor compounds dissolve out of the coffee grounds. Hard water chalks up machine boilers and mutes' acidity, while ultra-pure distilled water leaves shots tasting sour and flat.
Invest in a Reverse Osmosis (RO) system with remineralization so you can dial in target SCAA standards (around 75–150 ppm Total Dissolved Solids with balanced Calcium and Magnesium). Getting your mineral levels right elevates brightness, rounds out body, and prevents costly emergency tech calls
What the counter said this week
Customers noticed a distinctly cleaner finish in espresso milk drinks this week, with several noting less lingering bitterness in batch brew.
Try this week
Test your coffee water today using a simple TDS meter or water hardness kit. If your TDS falls outside the 75–150 ppm range, adjust your bypass valve or order a fresh remineralization cartridge.
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