Water is something we take so much for granted. We buy it in plastic bottles, we take endless showers, or just let it run for much longer than needed while we wash our dishes, or tea-ware.
Everyone heard (or saw that video on youtube) of the Japanese Dr. Masaru‘s research on water, and his theory that human consciousness has an effect on the molecular structure of water. There is also a documentary on water called “Water, The Great Mystery” pretty interesting.
Since water and tea go together, I could not skip this major element. Nowadays water is victim of pollution as much as everything else around us, and we just adapted to it, so much that we can’t tell the difference from what is “pure” and the bad things we actually absorb. If you go hiking in altitude, in the mountains, you might get a chance to taste a water somewhat purer, even though, even there the environnement is victim of our pollution from down there in the cities.
Here few tips I gather that might help enhance the quality of your tea.
How to purify your water?
1-Filter your water
They are many filters out there, and more and more people buy them because people are more and more aware of the effect of pollution on the human body. I personally use Brita filters (One on my water faucet and a pitcher), but are other brands as good I think, like PUR, or Aquasana. This summer I tried the nicely designed water Bobble bottle, now they also sell pitchers.
2-Put silver coins in your water pitcher
As far as I remember, back when I was little I always saw silver coins or silver “things” in water pitchers in several houses. My mother explained to me that it is good for the water. And it does taste different if you keep them in it all the time. The silver coins need to be entirely in silver though.
According to the Canadian drinking water website:
“Silver-based water purification units for the home have been in use in Europe for more than 50 years. Royal Doulton ceramic candles combine silver within the ceramic during manufacturing to take advantage of the outstanding bacterial disinfecting properties of silver. These units meet the National Sanitation Foundation Standards covering bacteriostatic efficacy, the reduction of lead, copper and particulates and the reduction of taste and odor. They also have the approval of the US Environmental Protection Agency as a bactericidal unit.”
Their website has actually a lot of interesting information.
3-Store your water in glass or non-plastic containers if possible.
Plastic is so common nowadays, that we don’t question anything related to this material. But if you think about it, it’s made from petrochemicals, (“petro” and “chemicals”…I don’t know about you but it’s not really something I would want to be in contact with my water and even less my great tea leaves. I am kind of exaggerating here but well).
But the idea is, you can re-use glass, it’s more natural, even though it’s heavier and breakable, it’s 100% safe, which is not the case for plastic bottle. Who knows how much this BPA leachs into it, etc…
“According to several recent studies, polycarbonate plastic gradually leaches a chemical called bisphenol-A (BPA) into foods and liquids that are stored in containers made from this material. BPA has been identified as an endocrine disrupting chemical, or a chemical that easily mimics hormones when absorbed by the human body.” (Read more ➫ “Glass Water Storage Bottles vs. Plastic”)
A last tip I haven’t tried yet but am really eager to:
4-The bamboo charcoal water purifier
The websites selling tea, also sell them. One of them as all these miraculous explanations about this bamboo and I admit, I want to try that:
“Researchers and users alike call it a miracle filter because it can eliminate the residual chlorine and other chemicals in your water and replace it with healthy minerals like calcium, potassium, sodium and iron, transforming ordinary water into mineral water that leaves the drinker refreshed. “
Apparently it works as an air purifier as well. According to wikipedia “Bamboo charcoal has a long history in China and has been documented as early as 1486 AD during the Ming Dynasty”. I am sure they had good reasons to use this great plant for all sorts of things!
5-Demineralize/ distille your Water.
This process is pretty radical, but maybe the best one to have the purest water possible. (Plus say positive, kind and nice words to your water 😉 I am sure Dr. Masaru will approve). This method exists already in nature. I heard that the taste of distilled water is really great though. If you’re interested, I recommend reading this or buy a water distiller on amazon. They’re a little pricy, but it’s probably worth it.
If anyone has other tips, or does it some other way, please feel free to share in the comments. Thanks!
Here the video I mentioned at the beginning of this post:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7rgHfbUkFM]
I’ll finish this post with this great quote, if you watched the whole documentary you might understand better why I share it here:
“The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of true art and true science. Whoever does not know it and can no longer wonder, no longer marvel, is as good as dead, and his eyes are dimmed.”
– Albert Einstein
Reblogged this on Stars, like Sand.