Page 26 - BSA_Something's Brewing_MARAPR 2026 (2)

BSA Member

The balance that matters
The real key is ratio and balance, not
just hitting numbers.

High hardness + low alkalinity →
bright but structured

High alkalinity + low hardness →
dull and weak
Both high → heavy, flat, chalky
Both low → thin and sour

This balance is why standards like
those from the Specialty Coffee

Association (SCA) recommend:
Hardness: 50 ppm as CaCO₃ – 175
ppm as CaCO₃
Alkalinity: 40 ppm as CaCO₃ - 75
ppm as CaCO₃

This is a standard that is aimed at
the protection of expensive coffee
equipment, along with giving us a

framework to make excellent coffee.

There is no perfect water in a
commercial environment. A coffee
shop owner will always need to
make compromises between focusing
on great coffee or protecting their
equipment.

What UK coffee shops often get wrong

The UK has notoriously hard water in many regions (especially London and the South East),
and this leads to a few common mistakes:

1. Over-softening water
Many shops install filtration systems (e.g. from Brita or BWT) and:
Strip out hardness aggressively
End up with very low mineral content

Result:
Espresso tastes thin, sour, and inconsistent

Baristas compensate by over-extracting (finer grind), making things worse
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MAR/APR. 2026 | ISSUE 47