Reverse Osmosis and Coffee

Question: "How will using reverse osmosis water in my coffee maker affect the flavor? Is it a bad choice?" - TinaAnswer: I'm hearing more and more about water filtration and purification systems in the home, and reverse osmosis continues to come up.  I'm by no stretch a chemist, but I've made a valiant attempt to understand how RO works and will do my best to explain it, leading to how that would affect the taste of your coffee.

[ad#Google Adsense - use me]
RO works by creating two "chambers" separated by a membrane.  The membrane acts as a filter that removes unwanted chemicals and particles from the water in the first chamber, which (along with some waste water) is flushed into sewage, while the second chamber contains a purified water that pours from your tap for cooking and drinking.So, the short answer to your question is that not only will it not affect the flavor of your coffee adversely, but it will likely make it taste even better.  Water is one of the most underrated ingredients in making good coffee at home.  Fresh roasted whole bean coffee and unfiltered water still make only a mediocre coffee.  When I use my drip brewer, I only pour filtered water from the Brita in my fridge, or I use one of two methods that involve boiling water - the French Press or the pourover method.  So, I did further research comparing RO to boiling water as purification methods.While RO is certainly more convenient than having to boil water each time you want to use it, it ALSO appears to be a better system for purifying water.  The membrane in RO will stop many unwanted particles from ending up in the water that you drink.  While boiling water will kill bacteria, it will only move unwanted particles around in the water which will end up in your cup.So enjoy your new RO system!  I think you will find that it has a very favorable effect on your coffee.  Thank you for the question.