Every coffee beverage is a combination of water and coffee. In fact, water makes up 90 – 99% of the most important ingredients in every espresso or filter coffee. Now, two major players in the water and coffee sector, BWT and Kaffeemacher, are entering into a partnership.
Benjamin Hohlmann, coffee expert and 2014 Swiss Brewers Cup champion, calls it a "water offensive." Otto Wyss, engineer and water expert at BWT, calls it a "coffee offensive." Both are connoisseurs in their fields and know full well that when water and coffee meet, things get interesting. Because coffee is where the quality of water truly shows. And it is only through water that coffee becomes a beverage.
Good water is a prerequisite
Basically, every coffee drink consists largely of water. Strictly speaking, an espresso is a solution of 10% coffee particles and 90% water. A filter coffee, on the other hand, consists of just 1.35% particles and, accordingly, a little more than 98.5% water. These figures alone illustrate just how significant a role water plays in coffee.
"The importance of water for coffee is often underestimated," says Philipp Meier, a judge at international coffee championships and sensory course instructor at Kaffeemacher. "On the one hand, water adds its own flavor to the coffee drink. On the other hand, the mineral and organic composition of water also strongly influences the extraction capability."
And it is at this point that it becomes clear that making coffee is, strictly speaking, a chemical process that depends on numerous factors. If water is highly mineralized, there is not only a risk of coffee machines scaling, but the water may also be too saturated to absorb coffee particles.
Coffee-water partnership
"This is exactly where we will start with our partnership," interjects Werner Salzmann, Division Manager water+more at BWT. In joint training sessions, private individuals, restaurateurs, and coffee technicians will be shown the influence water has on the extraction of coffee. "We are very pleased about the partnership with Kaffeemacher," says Werner Salzmann. "With their coffee academy, their numerous coffee training courses, and their sensory training, they are the perfect partner for us to demonstrate the importance of water."
Kaffeemacher Benjamin Hohlmann is also looking forward to the collaboration with optimism. "With its various filter systems, BWT offers the right tool for every water type to create the perfect water. The partnership is an absolute win-win situation. We can learn more about water and thus advance further with coffee. BWT learns from us when it comes to coffee—a perfect medium to test the quality of water."
The first training sessions of the alliance have already been announced. Three intensive six-hour training courses as well as several 1.5-hour evening sessions are being planned. More information about the course can be found here.
Water and coffee in the media
- Beobachter Natur: Water is as important as the coffee
- Coffee water – Results and recommendations
