The Specialty Coffee Association recommends the following for water quality:

Characteristic Target Acceptable Range

Odor 1

Clean Fresh / Odor Free

Chlorine

None

None

Calcium Hardness

 50-175 ppm CaCO3

50-175 ppm CaCO3

Alkalinity

40 ppm

At or near 40-70 ppm CaCO3

pH

 7.0

 6 - 8

 

One way to achieve this standard is to add a packet of 3rd Wave Water to one gallon of distilled water.