I think it’s safe to say that most people recognize that coffee is comprised of 98% water. So if what makes up most of your coffee is water, don’t you think you should care as much about it as you do about the coffee you choose to brew?
If you’re like me, and you live in a part of the world with incredibly hard water, then using mineral packs that are added to Reverse Osmosis (RO) or Distilled Water can make a HUGE difference in the quality of the water, that directly impacts the quality of your coffee.
So basically, the formula is (BETTER WATER = BETTER TASTING COFFEE).
One company looking to help people to understand this better is Perfect Coffee Water. Based out of Kirkland, Washington, this company founded by Courtland & Garrett King seeks to help all coffee drinkers brew their coffee in the best possible way. Courtland has over 10 years’ experience in the coffee industry and Garrett graduated last June with his M.S. in Entrepreneurship from UW Foster School of Business.
I reached out to these two to get to know their story a bit more since what is the most exciting thing is that now they have a distribution partner here in Canada so if you’re looking to get your hands on some you now can through their partnership with Rogue Wave Coffee out of Edmonton, Alberta and soon as well from Rabbit Hole Roasters in Montreal, Quebec.
Q: So who is the team behind Perfect Coffee Water? How did you end up calling Kirkland, WA home?
So our story starts a bit before the business partnership began because, well, we’re brothers. We knew the ups and downs with each other long before we understood business. We grew up in a few places, but some of our first memories were during the 5 years our family lived in Surrey, B.C., Canada. Eventually we made our way down to Everett, WA and that is primarily where we grew up. Garrett spent time going to college at the University of Washington and Courtland at Bellevue College and the city of Kirkland is a great centrally located suburb of Seattle.
[CC] Oh wow. I grew up 15 minutes away from Surrey, BC. Can’t argue about growing up in the Pacific Northwest. Definitely an amazing place to call home.
Q: Tell us a bit about the history of Perfect Coffee Water? How did this all begin?
Cortland has been working in the coffee industry for over 10 years now. He went from barista to barista trainer, cafe technician, roaster, and coffee consultant. Along the way, Courtland was teaching Garrett how to brew delicious coffee and helped him uncover the impact and importance of water for coffee. There was a day a few years back, in the kitchen where many delicious cups of coffee were shared, after experimenting with water for coffee recipes, Garrett turned to Courtland and said, “Let’s do this for other people!”. That’s when Perfect Coffee Water was born.
Many years of working with coffee professionals and chemists followed, along with getting accepted to and completing the University of Washington, Jones + Foster Accelerator program for graduating students. We are very grateful for the many wonderful people in the coffee community we have been able to work with and the mentors at University of Washington who helped us make this dream a reality.
[CC] I love that you two are brothers and in this together. There is definitely something pretty incredible about family-run businesses, especially in the coffee community.
Q: Why is having great water so important for brewing great coffee?
Great question! So when you get down to the nitty gritty, there is a whole science of coffee and many things we can talk about within the realm of extracting coffee into a finished brewed solution. As far as the water goes, the fact is that water will always impact brewing.
Luckily, these are exciting times because coffee research has caught on to the water conversation. Many chemicals or natural organisms other than H20 are already in the water out of your tap. Because of this, the water chemistry has a direct and profound impact on the flavour of your coffee. Untreated tap water and filtered water can have a negative impact on how your coffee tastes. By adding a Perfect Coffee Water packet to distilled or reverse osmosis water, you create a solution to ensure the water you brew with will help you get the best results with the most flavour in your finished cup.
[CC] I get asked a lot if I use mineral packs. Living in Calgary our water here is VERY hard. The moment I switched from using just tap water, to using mineral packs dissolved in Distilled Water it was night-and-day. I can definitely taste the difference it makes.
Q: Why should people consider avoiding using their tap water for brewing coffee?
There are many aspects of your tap water that negatively impact the taste of your brewed coffee. Chlorine, fluoride, and almost always an unbalanced mineral composition may all potentially lead to a less than desirable cup of coffee. That’s why we always recommend at least filtering your tap water before using the water to brew coffee with. This will, at a minimum, take out compounds such as chlorine or fluoride that have been added for sanitation. However, you are still left with a mineral profile in your water that will be unbalanced for the specific use of brewing tasty coffee.
[CC] Yup, I can’t stress this enough…BETTER WATER = BETTER TASTNG COFFEE!
Q: So speaking of coffee, what are you drinking/enjoying right now?
All of our wholesale partners we work with roast delicious coffee, so we always have a tough time choosing between them. What’s currently on our coffee shelf are some tasty coffees from Rogue Wave Coffee, Mikava Coffee, and some from Steady State Coffee Roasters. We recognize we are very privileged to be drinking the most delicious coffee in the world.
[CC] Those are some incredible roasters. I love that Rogue Wave is now your Canadian supplier, and I had the chance to visit Steady State a few years ago on holidays in California. So great to see their support of your work.
Q: Tell the readers of Commonly Coffee a bit more about how Perfect Coffee Water works.
We try to keep it fairly simple. Add. Shake. Brew. Enjoy this clip from our YouTube channel.
Q: How can readers of Commonly Coffee find your product (USA/CANADA)?
You can always purchase directly from us at perfectcoffeewater.com. If you are in Canada, it’s going to be a bit easier to pick it up from Rogue Wave Coffee (our Canadian distributor), or one of their partners carrying Perfect Coffee Water like Rabbit Hole Roasters. We also have so many great wholesale partners in the USA. If you purchase coffee from Luminous or Mikava Coffee, it’s going to come with a packet of Perfect Coffee Water for your brew.
[CC] It’s awesome to see so many ways where people can get their hands on your product! I know that my first sample packet came from my order of coffee from Luminous months ago! So cool to see companies including a packet into their orders so that customers can experience the difference this stuff really does make!
Q: Anything else you’d like to share?
Perfect Coffee Water is a blend of our passion for good coffee, people, and creating regenerative systems. It’s an honour to share it with you!
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Huge thanks to Garrett & Courtland for sharing the story of Perfect Coffee Water! I have been so impressed with them in all the conversations I have had, and I am thrilled to see their expansion into the Canadian market.
As a way to celebrate their entrance into the Canadian market, I am thrilled to announce (since you read this whole article) that we will be launching a giveaway [tomorrow…April 23rd] where you’ll get the chance to win some of their mineral packs, along with some swag/gear and a couple of bags of coffee.
So check my Instagram feed tomorrow for full contest details!
Happy Brewing,
Tyler
commonly coffee 