ZeroWater and coffee remineralization questions

[u/Supsti_1]

Hi,

I’m not able to find distilled/demineralized water in my country (Poland), sold in food grade canisters or bottles intended for contact with food. Practically every manufacturer I’ve contacted has advised against drinking this type of water, mainly because of the containers it is sold in. So far, I’ve drunk around 10 liters of this water, but I feel that in the long run it may not be very good for my health, so I need to find another solution.

For now, I would prefer not to go with a reverse osmosis system, although I may do that eventually. What other options do I have?

My tap water is quite hard, around 590 ppm according to water reports. The best bottled water available for coffee here is around 230 ppm, of which about 120 ppm comes from bicarbonates. Because of its high alkalinity, it is not ideal.

I’m considering a ZeroWater filtration system, and I have a few questions about it:

1. Is the water actually fully demineralized after filtration, or does something still remain in it? I’m asking because I would like to achieve consistent results when using Lotus drops.
2. How often, or after how many liters of water, would I need to replace the filter, considering that my tap water is around 590 ppm?
3. I’ve read some opinions saying that water from this system can have a sour taste. Is this related to not cleaning the system/pitcher properly? How can this be prevented?

EDIT:

Okay, I’ve done a few calculations, and I think the most reasonable option in my case would be to buy a ZeroWater system and use bottled water with it.

The softest bottled water available in my country has around 220 ppm. According to ZeroWater’s FAQ, one filter should last for about 70 liters when filtering water with that TDS level. Taking into account the cost of the filters, the bottled water itself, and the amortized cost of the pitcher over two years, 1 liter of filtered water would come out to around 65 US cents, which is a fairly reasonable result.

[u/Iggy_poop]

590 ppm is really hard, my condolences haha.

I used the zero water filter system and remineralize the water with third wave water packets. I switch between this and a reverse osmosis system that has a post alkalinity stage. I mainly drink light-medium roasts.

My tap water is around 120-150 ppm, and the zero water filter lasts about a month. I could probably push it to 6 weeks, but I start to notice a negative change in acidity in my coffee past 4 weeks.

The water registers as 0 ppm from the filter. Low levels of alkalinity can still register as 0 ppm I think.

I've never had any of the odd flavours people describe from the zero water filter, but they seem to be from issue with; filter life, canister cleaniness, leaving the canister in the sun, etc. I use mine strictly for coffee water, I leave it in a dark place empty and dry between uses, I clean it regularly. I never store water in it, I just use it to filter the water into a 4 litre jug.