All images courtesy of Empirical Water.
A new product aimed at improving and controlling the mineral content of water called Empirical Water swims somewhat against the current, drawing inspiration more from nature than from the chemistry lab.
The California company offers two water profiles, called Glacial and Spring, with two more soon to join them called Snowmelt and Aquifer. The flagship product is Glacial, a water of “medium-low” TDS of 70 that aims for versatility while emphasizing clarity and complexity in a wide range of coffees and teas.
“It’s the profile I’ve put thousands of hours into fine-tuning over the years, and in my personal opinion, it is pretty much impossible to improve on it,” Empirical Water Founder Arby Avanesian told Daily Coffee News. “There’s just nothing left to adjust. It’s brew water taken to its logical limit.”
The Spring water features a higher TDS of 157 composed of minerals aimed at enhancing body and richness. Snowmelt, the lowest TDS recipe, is designed to promote delicate “top notes” of coffee, while Aquifer, the highest TDS, focuses on deep “undertones” of flavor.
“It is an overarching goal of mine to present coffee through vastly differing lenses, these lenses being the brew water,” said Avanesian. “I want people to understand what brew water can really do to coffee, and I want people to understand fully what coffee has in store for us. Specialty coffee is wasted without specialty water.”
Empirical Water Founder Arby Avanesian.
Beyond its bucolic recipe names, Empirical Water also turns to nature for its star ingredient, calcium carbonate, derived directly from limestone. Avanesian considers calcium carbonate superior to the calcium chloride or calcium sulfate found in other brew solutions. To get it, he manually dissolves the sedimentary rock inside kegs using carbonic acid.
“It could be faster with an automated machine that would turn the kegs constantly, but I have to shake the kegs manually at regular intervals over two days,” Avanesian told Daily Coffee News. “Every step of every process is done by hand, by me, with no assistance.”
Calcium carbonate is used to amplify sweetness while emphasizing the clarity and depth of flavor in the cup. The mineral also helps mask roast defects according to Avanesian, who insists that he is “not a chemist or scientist of any sort” and has “no formal qualifications,” after withdrawing from pursuit of a biochemistry degree in his sixth university year to pursue Empirical Water.
Said Avanesian, “I just love coffee and will do everything in my power to do justice to the incredible work that producers and roasters do.”
Empirical Water is designed for adding to zero-TDS water prior to brewing. All profiles are non-corrosive and will not damage kettles. Products include 1-liter bottles of either ready-to-brew water or concentrate, as well as droppers of acidity-reducing Buffer and flavor note-enhancing Extraction Booster formulas.
Avanesian said the products are aimed at all drinkers and brewers of coffee, whether they are professionals, enthusiasts or casual consumers.
“We as human beings are all united in having the capacity for sensory appreciation, regardless of how serious we are about it,” said Avanesian. “The notion that you have to have X years of tasting experience, or Y level of enthusiasm, or Z amount of brewing equipment, or W amount of theoretical knowledge to enjoy a higher quality beverage actually makes my blood boil.”
Empirical Water currently sells online a la carte, or in bundles that include multiple recipes of water and concentrate along with Buffer and Extraction Booster droplets and accessories. As Avanesian’s full-time venture, the current plan is to stay afloat long enough to develop more products and solutions for anyone seeking a better cup of coffee.
“I’ve only scratched the surface of what’s possible,” said Avanesian. “Every coffee that has ever been brewed has been at the mercy of its brew water. So when you improve the brew water, you actually raise the potential level of quality for all coffee in existence.”
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Howard Bryman
Howard Bryman is the associate editor of Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine. He is based in Portland, Oregon.
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