Watering Hole

oops, this page is under construction. It will go live once there are more user-submitted recipes. Perhaps what you’re here to find is my beginner’s recipe guide

Last updated: 3/15/2026

This is a page to go down the rabbit hole of making water. These recipes should suggest that there is no single, perfect water formulation.

Introduction to why water is important here.

Submit a recipe here

arabica.standard.error’s recipe (filter)

  • Brew method: Pourover/filter

    Suitable coffee types: Washed prioritizing florality, Washed prioritizing fruitier notes

    Less suitable for: Modern processes with synthetic flavor notes (e.g. thermalshock, yeasts, coferments, infused), Heavier, ferment-forward funky processes (e.g. anaerobic natural, carbonic maceration)

    Grinders/burrs used: 1Zpresso K-ultra, SSP 102mm HU, EK43 A pre-2015, maybe Timemore M01

    Recipe description: This is just water that I find works for coffees that appear to reward tryharding, but I also find it works well for most "clean washed" coffees within my window of roast preferences. Hydrangea, Moonwake, Sey, Norml, Datura, Shoebox, Big Sur, Memli, Robert Asami, Tanat, Clarimento, Lazy Schnauzer etc.

    Water recipe overview:
    15/04, (35ppm reported via EC) but I will dial up from there as I get familiar with this revision.

    I'm going to leave out the more in depth math for the component contributions because I still struggle with it myself, and IMHO better for me to stick to what I taste vs making up an a story that gives a misleading idea that I know what I'm doing. I'm not a water scientist, and it is not a priority for me to become one. But I do prioritize figuring out what makes for more fun cups

    In any case, the water and my workflow are heavily based off of the work of timas.jpg and terebat, with further curiosity driven by Robert and kimoi but dialed to what's fun for me right now.

    Concentrate workflow:
    1. I use small forceps to measure out 0.610g of MgCl on a cheap amazon "precision" scale and then add them to a dropper bottle on a separate tared scale (the one I use for pours).
    2. I use a small scoop (reused plastic ice cream spoon or mother of pearl works well for this) to measure out 0.584g of Spring Salt onto a weighing paper and then use the weighing paper as a funnel to add that to the dropper bottle
    3. I reuse the same paper to measure out 0.302g of Baking Soda and add that to the dropper bottle
    4. I then add distilled water to the dropper bottle so that it hits 100g
    5. I swirl that vigorously and let it sit at room temp for at least 30 min
    6. I store in the fridge

    Specific minerals used: 

    • Sodium Bicarbonate/Baking Soda - Pure Original Ingredents

    • Magnesium sulphate heptahydrate (epsom salt) - Sky Organics

    • Chloride (magnesium flakes): LA Salt Co.

    • Sea salt: Baja Gold Salt Co. and Vera Salt

    • Calcium Chloride: Pure Original Ingredents

    Brew water workflow:
    If just solo brewing, I add 500mL of distilled to my ambient temp kettle, then two squeezes from the dropper bottle (dropper says "1mL"). Swirl, then I measure EC and typically get to my target ppm without further work. I can easily dial up and down by either adding drops, or vibe splashing distilled and remeasuring EC.

    If this is for an extended brew session with more people. I pour 2L distilled into my Nalgene growler and add 8 squeezes from the dropper, swirl, check EC and adjust if needed. Doing it by the gram would be more precise, sure, but it's more work too.

    How to adjust this recipe: 
    My current approach to coffees that brew more brown than my preference is to post-min with bypass and/or APAX. For more process forward coffees that brew out of preference with this water, I swap to tap + blendier burrs or go for a specialty drink approach. I feel like I still have a way to go before I settle on a "good enough for me" approach for more brown coffees. I'm pretty happy with my approach to more process forward coffees though at this time.

Aviary (filter, espresso)

  • Recipe breakdown: 58GH/27KH

    • 33ppm epsom salt

    • 25ppm calcium chloride

    • 27ppm sodium bicarbonate

    For 1gallon, mix

    • 0.300g epsom salt

    • 0.100g calcium chloride

    • 0.172g sodium bicarbonate

    For 1liter, mix

    • 0.081g epsom salt

    • 0.028g calcium chloride

    • 0.045g sodium bicarbonate

    Concentrate

    In 350mL distilled water at 99º, mix

    • 8.67g of epsom salt

    • 2.33g of calcium chloride

    • 3.97g of sodiumbicarbonate

    Use 4g of concentrate per liter, or 15g per gallon

  • Recipe breakdown: 20GH/60KH

    • 11.3ppm epsom salt

    • 8.7ppm calcium chloride

    • 60ppm sodium bicarbonate

    For 1gallon, mix

    • 0.100g epsom salt

    • 0.037g calcium chloride

    • 0.381g sodium bicarbonate

    For 1liter, mix

    • 0.028g epsom salt

    • 0.010g calcium chloride

    • 0.100g sodium bicarbonate

Fam’s recipes (espresso)

  • 20GH/90KH

    For 1 gallon, mix

    • 0.560g epsom salt

    • 0.174g potassium bicarbonate

    For 1 liter, mix,

    • 0.152g epsom salt

    • 0.046g potassium bicarbonate

  • Description text goes here

Hendon water recipe (espresso-ish)

  • Supposedly designed for longer espresso ratios.

  • Robert’s opinion: Not ideal for lighter roasts, perhaps better off with longer ratio espresso shots with medium roasts where you’re trying to increase perception of acidity.

Recipe breakdown: 99GH/31KH

  • 99ppm epsom salt

  • 31ppm potassium bicarbonate

For 1 gallon, mix

  • 0.920g epsom salt

  • 0.235g potassium bicarbonate

For 1 liter, mix,

  • 0.243g epsom salt

  • 0.062g potassium bicarbonate

Related links:

Holy water recipe (filter)

A recipe from strivefortone

62GH/23KH

For 1 gallon, mix

  • 0.560g epsom salt

  • 0.174g potassium bicarbonate

For 1 liter, mix,

  • 0.152g epsom salt

  • 0.046g potassium bicarbonate

Related links:

HustinJam’s (filter) - WIP

Explorations with bottled waters as a starting point

    • Mix X mL of Vichy water into Y mL of distilled water

    • Flavor expectations: This is good for highlighting florals on something like washed Ethiopians.

    • Rough GH/KH

    • Minerals involved: A, B, C

    • San pellegrino

    • 14.7ml added to 250ml of water will give you 32/10 and 70/30 Ca/Mg split.

    • 32GH/10KH

      • 1.59 ppm of sodium

      • 3.24 ppm of chloride

      • 25.29 ppm of sulfate

    • It’s sulfate forward, highly recommend adding a good amount of sodium chloride to soften it up.

Kimoi.coffee (filter)

    • 25 GH MgCl2 (from Mg Flakes, MgCl2*6H20)

    • 10 GH Calcium Sulphate (from Gypsum)

    • 5 GH CaCl2 (from CaCl2 Anhydrous)

    • 5 KH Sodium bicarbonate

    • 5 KH Potassium bicarbonate

    • 10 ppm Vera salt 2 drops of silica per gallon

    Note: I would let the water sit for 24 hours so the Cacl2 can settle

    • 20 GH MgCl2 (from Mg Flakes/MgCl2*6H20)

    • 5 GH Calcium Sulphate (from Gypsum)

    • 10 GH & KH Calcium Carbonate (will require carbonation) (this provides both GH and KH at a 1:1 ratio)

    • 12 ppm Vera salt

    • 3 ppm Potassium chloride

    • 2 drops of silica per gallon

Lotus recipes

  • Description text goes here

  • 60GH/25KH

    • Calcium chloride

    • Potassium bicarbonate

  • Item description

  • Description text goes here

  • Item description

  • 72GH/18KH

Related links:

“Melbourne” water recipe (filter)

  • This is an approximation of Melbourne’s water, which has plenty more mineral variety.

  • 50GH/20KH

  • 0.460g epsom salt

  • 0.130g sodium bicarbonate

  • Robert’s opinion: If I had this as my tap, I’d be lazy. But if I really cared, the buffer is a bit high and I’d want to dilute it and add back hardness, at which point I’d take control of the whole thing anyway. I would not bother crafting these parameters.

For 1gallon, mix

  • 0.460g epsom salt

  • 0.130g sodium bicarbonate

For 1liter, mix

  • 0.122g epsom salt

  • 0.034-g sodium bicarbonate

RAsami’s Week 1 recipe (espresso)

—Placeholder—

RAsami’s Week 1 recipes (filter)

If you take “famous” recipes, it might taste good, but you likely miss building the fundamentals. This is a set of recipes to start you out through that journey.

    • This recipe is intended to be closest to getting you started with materials you may already have at home. It should NOT be considered an end point.

    • This recipe is based off of Holy Water but with more common household minerals.

    • If you go out of order and jump straight to the end, you’ve done this wrong and haven’t learned anything.

    60GH/15KH

    • 60ppm epsom salt

    • 15ppm sodium bicarbonate (baking soda)

    For 1 gallon, mix

    • 0.560g epsom salt

    • 0.1g sodium bicarbonate

    For 1 liter, mix

    • 0.148g (ehh, call it 0.15g) epsom salt

    • 0.025g sodium bicarbonate

    • This recipe is intended to create contrast with the Day 1 recipe. It should NOT be considered an end point.

    • It is intended for lighter washed coffees, but is flexible to work with most light roasts.

    • There is a lot of calcium to dissolve, you will likely need to stir it up quite well overnight.

    40GH/15KH

    • 40ppm calcium chloride

    • 15ppm sodium bicarbonate (baking soda)

    For 1 gallon, mix

    • 0.170g calcium chloride

    • 0.100g sodium bicarbonate

    For 1 liter, mix,

    • 0.044g calcium chloride

    • 0.025g sodium bicarbonate


    • This recipe starts to touch on blending minerals

    • Consider how you like this water vs. the day 2 recipe, this recipe gauges how you feel about magnesium.

    60GH/15KH

    • 40ppm epsom salt

    • 20ppm calcium chloride

    • 15ppm sodium bicarbonate (baking soda)

    For 1 gallon, mix

    • 0.373 epsom salt

    • 0.084g calcium chloride

    • 0.100g sodium bicarbonate

    For 1 liter, mix,

    • 0.100g epsom salt

    • 0.022g calcium chloride

    • 0.025g sodium bicarbonate

    • Compared to the Day 3 recipe, we’ve flipped the primary GH mineral and leaning heavier towards calcium.

    • At this point, consider which way you lean - preferring calcium or magnesium.

    60GH/15KH

    • 20ppm epsom salt

    • 40ppm calcium chloride

    • 15ppm sodium bicarbonate (baking soda)

    For 1 gallon, mix

    • 0.186g epsom salt

    • 0.168g calcium chloride

    • 0.100g sodium bicarbonate

    For 1 liter, mix,

    • 0.050g epsom salt

    • 0.044g calcium chloride

    • 0.025g sodium bicarbonate

    • Now we’re playing with alternative buffer (KH) sources.

    • The recipe has 1:1 magnesium and calcium, but feel free to use the GH breakdown from any previous day you preferred so far.

    60GH/15KH

    • 30ppm epsom salt

    • 30ppm calcium chloride

    • 15ppm potassium bicarbonate

    For 1 gallon, mix

    • 0.280 epsom salt

    • 0.126g calcium chloride

    • 0.114g potassium bicarbonate

    For 1 liter, mix,

    • 0.074g epsom salt

    • 0.033g calcium chloride

    • 0.030g potassium bicarbonate

    • We’re adding more complexity, and starting to introduce minerals that don’t quite fit the GH/KH paradigm so far.

    40GH/15KH, 15ppm NaCl

    • 15ppm magnesium chloride

    • 15ppm epsom salt

    • 15ppm calcium chloride

    • 10ppm sodium bicarbonate

    • 5ppm potassium bicarbonate

    • 15ppm sodium chloride

    For 1 gallon, mix

    • 0.115g magnesium chloride

    • 0.140g epsom salt

    • 0.064g calcium chloride

    • 0.064g sodium bicarbonate

    • 0.038g potassium bicarbonate

    • 0.057g sodium chloride

    For 1 liter, mix (good luck measuring these tiny doses)

    • 0.030g magnesium chloride

    • 0.037g epsom salt

    • 0.017g calcium chloride

    • 0.017g sodium bicarbonate

    • 0.010g potassium bicarbonate

    • 0.015g sodium chloride

  • If you skipped the first 6 days and expect this to be the best recipe, that is not the goal of this sequence.

    • Now we’re going for different effects from Day 6.

    • This recipe remains complicated. More complexity doesn’t guarantee better flavor outcomes.

    • Take these 7 recipes to find the sweet spot between laborious concoctions and working your way backwards towards what you like, or is easy enough to replicate for regular use.

    • From here on, your path forward is to find balances you enjoy and introduce additional mineral types for further effect.

    30GH/10KH, 20ppm NaCl

    • 15ppm epsom salt

    • 15ppm calcium chloride

    • 5ppm sodium bicarbonate

    • 5ppm potassium bicarbonate

    • 20ppm sodium chloride

    For 1 gallon, mix

    • 0.140g epsom salt

    • 0.063g calcium chloride

    • 0.032g sodium bicarbonate

    • 0.038g potassium bicarbonate

    • 0.076g sodium chloride

    For 1 liter, mix (good luck measuring these tiny doses)

    • 0.037g epsom salt

    • 0.017g calcium chloride

    • 0.008g sodium bicarbonate

    • 0.010g potassium bicarbonate

    • 0.020g sodium chloride

  • After going through the above recipes, you may have some opinions such as:

    • “I liked epsom salt more than CaCl2”

    • “I can/’t see myself regularly working with recipes using many mineral sources”

    • “I had a clear favorite recipe for my beans + grinder"

    Some things to try from here:

    • Take your favorite recipe and iterate on it.

      • Raise or lower buffer (KH). We mostly stuck to 15KH, but you could go as low as 5 (perhaps very sharp), or 25 (maybe duller).

      • Add more or less hardness (GH). Get a feel for what’s too low and what’s too high.

    • Try similar but alternative minerals. For example, we used epsom salt as the Mg source. You could swap it for magnesium chloride flakes. Note that this requires different calculations, and this specific example introduces more chlorides (when used with CaCl2).

    • Find the acceptable limits of certain minerals. For example, some find potassium unpleasant past a certain concentration.

    • Try varying sources. You may find a certain brand/source of sea salt tastes different.

    • Find a “base” recipe for different bean types. For example, if you like your naturals to express juicy and fruity, you may seek a base water for that style, compared to a bright and floral base water for washed coffees.

  • Noob-friendly, non-scaling water recipe for espresso machines with boilers. By design, there is no hardness.

  • Consider replacing potassium bicarbonate with sodium bicarbonate

  • Robert’s opinion: This is a boring water recipe made for short-ratio espresso and darker roasts. It’s popular with owners of big, fancy metal box machines with immense fear of scaling their equipment. I would not suggest this for modern espresso with light roasts, but this could be a great candidate to post-mineralize with dropper concentrates. Speculatively, the amount of KH to lines up with a convenient 0.1g to 1L, perhaps for perceptual ease than taste-based, which this fundamentally doesn’t optimize for anyway.

Recipe breakdown: 0GH/50KH

  • 50ppm potassium bicarbonate

For 1gallon, mix

  • 0.380g potassium bicarbonate

For 1liter, mix

  • 0.100g potassium bicarbonate

RPavalis water recipe (espresso)

  • The SCA guideline water for their tasting protocols.

  • Robert’s opinion: This is a water recipe that is a standard, not a good standard. Realistically nobody in the industry is using this for regular consumption, and even in professional contexts this guideline is not adhered to and overlooked. It may work okay for certain scenarios like cupping medium-dark, poorly roasted sample roasts for an audience that de-prioritizes acidity, but I would not consider these parameters for excellence with light roasts; the SCA did not formulate it for that.

Recipe breakdown: 60-80GH / 40-50KH

  • 70GH epsom salt (average of above)

  • 45KH sodium bicarbonate (average of above)

For 1gallon, mix

  • 0.750g epsom salt

  • 0.254g sodium bicarbonate

For 1liter, mix

  • 0.185g epsom salt

  • 0.067g sodium bicarbonate

SCA water recipe

Scenery (filter)

From their Scenery filter recipe page:

“We use very soft water in the roastery for our filter - double filtered.

For the water nerds: 45-60ppm and 1-2 dGH (=~36GH) and 1dKH (=~18KH).

London inbound tap water is very high in calcium but low in magnesium - that ratio is preserved via the filtering, and we do no post remineralisation.”

Recipe breakdown:

  • 36GH, assuming CaCl2

  • 18KH, assuming sodium bicarbonate (baking soda)

For 1gallon, mix

  • 0.151g CaCl2

  • 0.114g sodium bicarbonate (baking soda)

For 1liter, mix

  • 0.040g CaCl2

  • 0.030g sodium bicarbonate (baking soda)

Sey (filter)

Mg - 15ppm Ca - 20ppm Bicarbonate (kh) - 15ppm

Terebat’s water recipes

  • Brew method: Pourover/filter

    Suitable coffee types: Washed prioritizing florality, Washed prioritizing fruitier notes, Traditional naturals (e.g. berry, fruit-forward notes)

    Less suitable for: Modern processes with synthetic flavor notes (e.g. thermalshock, yeasts, coferments, infused), Heavier, ferment-forward funky processes (e.g. anaerobic natural, carbonic maceration)

    Grinders/burrs used: This works on heptagonal conicals, and flat burrs that make nice modern filter (e.g. pietro pro brew, m01, q2, 80 brew, 98 scr, 102 hu, etc.). It's not suitable for conicals or flat burrs designed for thick texture espresso shots.

    Recipe overview:

    This recipe is a great baseline recipe with few components that someone can easily build upon and adjust to their liking. It's designed for light roasts like Sey in mind, but can work with Ultralight roasts as well, especially with adjustments to preference. It's also designed for washed coffees and cleaner naturals/honeys. For funk, may not work great. 

    Flavor presentation: 
    When brewing roasts of washed coffees with acidic characteristics, I get a lot of citrus, stonefruit, malic. Presentation typically leans acidic and is dynamic with different acidities and layers. There's usually some effervescence and a linger which alters based on dial/burr.

    Roasts:
    Use for light to ultralight. For ultralight, bumping tds of the whole thing can help (just 1.5x or double comp). This varies on the roaster though ofc.

    Direct dose recipe for 1 liter:

    • 0.04g MgCl flake

    • 0.01g sodium bicarb or baking soda

    • 0.02g salt

    Direct dose recipe for 1 gallon:

    • 0.15g MgCl flake

    • 0.04g sodium bicarb or baking soda

    • 0.07g salt

    Optional: 5 ppm silica

    Recipe for concentratres:

    10kppm concentrates of each: 

    • Mg flake: 1.01g added to 50 mL

    • Baking soda: 0.84g added to 50 mL

    • Spring salt: 0.587g added to 50 mL

    Then add the following to 1L when making a batch:

    • 2g Mg flake concentrate

    • 0.7g Baking soda concentrate (adjust to desired strength)

    • 1.5g spring salt concentrate

    Or for 1gallon,

    • 7.6g Mg flake concentrate

    • 2.6g Baking soda concentrate (adjust to desired strength)

    • 5.7g spring salt concentrate

    Specific mineral sources used: Spring salt (variety of sources), different ones taste different. I prefer Spain.

    How to adjust this recipe: 

    This water enjoys lower contact time brews with coarser grounds, but there are a variety of dials that work for it. 

    When adjusting the water look for first how acidic it is. 

    If too acidic -> bump baking soda up by 1.5x. Also if it's too one noted or "blown out" baking soda can help. 

    On the other hand, if too mellow, bump mgcl up. This will only help to a certain amount, if you're lacking layering and brightness, then we need to add epsom to the mix. 

    0.05g to the gallon is a good start

    Or a 10k concentrate with 1.23g/50mL of epsom, and then adding 0.5g to the liter. 

    This will add more lift and brightness if that is lacking.

Third Wave Water (TWW) light profile

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