Water as an Ingredient
So far, we have looked exclusively into water as a liquid for drinking. We have moved water away from just being water into the territory of terroir, enjoying different waters for their unique character and taste. Water is also an essential ingredient of many things we consume and paying attention to which water is used can result in great discoveries.
In the classic Le Petit Larousse Illustré from, a French-language encyclopedic dictionary from 1905, is a vegetable recipe called Vichy carrots. It is one of the classic examples of cooking with water.
For decades, the classic teaching for ganache making was "never mix water and chocolate." All traditional French and Belgium filled-chocolates, ganaches, and pralines, are based on butter and cream as a foundation.
Similar to tea, experiments have shown the significant influence water has on coffee. The wide range of coffee from species, terroir, roasting, and brewing makes it hard to generalize.
As a rule of thumb, there is one teaspoon of tea per cup (250 ml) of water in tea and, therefore, the quality of the water plays a significant role. I think focusing not only on tea leaves but also on considering the water should lead to new and improved experiences with tea.
The American fascination with ice in soft drinks and water is one of the first to strike many visitors to the U.S. Even sparkling water isn't spared this cruel treatment. I may not be able to change the use of ice in soft drinks, but I hope there is a chance of saving bottled water from the same fate. Ice is the natural enemy of bottled water. If you must have it cold, bottled water should be cooled to the proper temperature, without ice.
Water is not Just Water
"Fine Water is a natural product with terroi that holds experiences and creates wellness."
Dr. Michael Mascha