Water: The Forgotten Ingredient in Great Tea

When Hans Baeten, founder of Tea Kulture, and I first sat down together, I expected our conversation to revolve around rare tea gardens, exceptional harvests and beautiful tea varieties. Instead, we spent a surprising amount of time talking about... water.

That immediately told me I had met someone who shares the same philosophy as Farmatuur.

Because true craftsmanship often reveals itself in the details that most people overlook.

Tea Is Almost Entirely Water

A cup of tea is approximately 99% water. The quality of the leaves is essential, but the quality of the water determines how much of their character ever reaches your cup.

When hot water meets the leaves, it extracts hundreds of naturally occurring compounds: aromatic oils, polyphenols, catechins, L-theanine and caffeine. Together, they create the sweetness, floral aromas, freshness and gentle energy that make exceptional tea so remarkable.

But water does not simply carry these compounds. It actively influences how well they are released.

Why Water Matters

Scientific research shows that minerals such as calcium and magnesium, responsible for what we call hard water, bind to delicate tea compounds, particularly polyphenols and catechins. The result is a flatter cup, reduced aroma and, especially with green and white teas, increased bitterness and astringency.

Water that is too alkaline can further accelerate the breakdown of catechins, while chlorine, commonly added to drinking water, easily masks the delicate floral notes found in many premium teas.

The tea hasn't changed. The water has.

Finding the Right Balance

Contrary to what many people believe, the purest possible water is not always the best. Tea needs a small amount of minerals to create body and texture, but not so many that they dominate the infusion.

Tea professionals therefore often prefer naturally soft spring waters with a low mineral content. Waters such as Montcalm, Mont Roucous and Spa Reine have long been favourites because they allow the tea itself to shine. A simple activated carbon filter can also make a remarkable difference by removing chlorine from tap water.

A Small Change, A Big Difference

One of the easiest experiments you can do at home is to brew the same tea twice: once with ordinary tap water and once with filtered or low-mineral spring water.

The difference can be astonishing.

Floral aromas become more expressive. Sweetness appears where bitterness once dominated. The tea suddenly tastes clearer, softer and far more vibrant.

It reminds us of something we believe deeply at Farmatuur.

Nature already provides extraordinary ingredients.

Our role is simply to treat them with enough care that they can reveal their full potential.

Sometimes, making a better cup of tea does not begin with buying rarer leaves.

Sometimes, it begins with paying a little more attention to the water.