I got the Lelit Bianca a couple weeks ago and decided to hook up the machine to its ‘mains’ line. The thing is, we drink reverse osmosis water and I wasn’t about to downgrade back to tap water for my coffee. That pursuit sent me down a rabbit hole that ultimately lead to what you see here — purified, then remineralized water on tap. I looked high and low for others attempting to accomplish this same goal and found nothing so I came up with this system from scratch. Here’s a summary on how it works:
Purified water moves from the reverse osmosis system to the mineralizing cartridges. Each cartridge adds around 12ppm (my goal is to be north of 60ppm of TDS with an ideal 80ppm target). That then fills the reservoir with pure, adequately mineralized water. My target pressure is 60psi to account for vertical head pressure. The pump is activated by a pressure switch that is set to turn on when pressure drops below 60psi and turn off when it hits 80psi. The large black tank is called an accumulator tank. It serves not only as a hammer arrestor but retains a couple liters of water, adding volume to the system which smooths out the water pressure and reduces pump cycling as water is being used. There are two branches, one for the faucet and the other for the espresso machine. The accumulator tank is positioned in the center to serve both. The psi stays between 60-80 on the pump’s outlet side at all times. There’s a pressure regulator valve on the espresso branch so I never get deviations in psi on the espresso machine branch (which I can confirm on the machine’s dial which always hovers at 3 bars). There’s carbon filters as the final ‘taste polishing’ stage before it reaches the machine/faucet as well.
I think that covers it! I know I could’ve just filled my reservoir tank and avoided all this effort but I don’t care. It’s awesome and I’m happy with the results.
Has anyone else done this? Thought about doing it? The water we start with is crucial for the perfect cup of coffee and it’s one of those things I refuse to compromise on.
by wasnow-willbe
45 Comments
https://preview.redd.it/ytmg4fe336eg1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3cea2c9dd473f56d7c3241ac6cba8ae60cbb0e9c
I do this. Fill a 5 gallon holding tank with RO water and dose to my specifications. That ties into a pump and accumulator which goes to my 2 espresso machines. I tried RO direct but the remineralizing never got the TDS high enough, was never a stable level and caused much higher pH than desirable.
With this method I have control over all parameters and can change them instantly. All I have to do is refill the holding tank about once a month and dose the water. Takes about 5 minutes. And once a year I remake the concentrated dosing chemicals.
Tap water round here is about 62ppm TDS and tastes f*ckin’ delicious.
If I ever move (eg to London where they get chalky piss from the tap) then I may cry and abandon espresso as a drink 😭
I wanted to say this belongs in circlejerk but I respect the hustle
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I just buy a 5 gallon container of water of my favorite brand and use it for everything. It tastes pretty good and consistent
So be honest. If you do a blind test with two shots one with water from this system and one straight from tap, you’d be able to tell the difference and you’re certain that this will be better tasting, and if yes, so much better that’s worth the effort and cost? (I am not counting the nerdiness pleasure/satisfaction which could apply with anything)
RO causes too much waste water for me. Dope set up though
While scrolling by I thought the tank was a urinal, and thought “wow, the attention to detail is intense”
Spending all that money for an RO just to make it less effective in the long run is crazy lmao
Jesus Christ, I filter w a Berkey (white British filters) and send it.
Seems like similar output with way less effort lol. Respect the hustle, just damn bro.
I only use water from melted glaciers of Antartica.
I put my destiny into Mother Nature and the water work guys
Water here is 220+ ppm, basically mineral water. Tasty though.
A few months ago I upgraded from a Dedica to a quite nice (by my standards) dual thermoblock Hibrew H13, and while descaling the Dedica (preparing it for sale/storage), I decided to take care of the new machine better.
So I also went down the rabbit hole quite hard for a few days, and realised that I would hate using filters (have to be replaced, it’s a hassle and also a recurring cost).
So I bought a distilled water maker for like 70 bucks, along with epsom salt and baking soda (3 bucks each? Will last forever). And just remineralize the distilled water. Works perfectly, hardness and composition can be easily customized… there is zero waste, and it only costs some tap water, power, and my time of occasionally measuring and mixing stuff together. And the initial ~$75 of course.
This is perfection for me (only using it for the coffee machine), but of course, a RO system is much more practical when the whole house needs the clearer water.
Lelit says the max pressure for Bianca is 2.5 bar I think.
I use the filtered water from my fridge dispenser
Idk what’s happening here but I’m happy for you. If you have any suggestions as to how I can do better than a Brita for under $100 lmk!
That’s too much for me, I run a BWT espresso cartridge with a bypass tuned for the correct minerality on the output side.
I’d almost want to do a side by side comparison, but I really don’t have space so it’s probably best I don’t
Yeah, I use reverse osmosis and a 5 gallon that I bring up to 155 TDS you should look up the recommended TDS because 60 is not enough.
I run a 200 gallon saltwater aquarium that requires very specialized water parameters to replicate the ocean precisely.
It is less complex than this.
Goodness gracious. Does the extra tds help? I’m prob around 15 ppm
https://preview.redd.it/x37h762pf6eg1.jpeg?width=5184&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=73edd3d8811ea2e46db552a1be86bbe52b173905
I’m running a 7 gallon tote that I fill with R.O. and remineralize. I have been refilling at the local co-op, but am in the process of building an R.O. and possibly D.I. filtration system for the house. Unfortunately that means I’ll still need to use the tote, but I am not sure I want to use remineralization filters.
I only use water from the faucets of Atlantis.
This looks like you deconstructed and customized an iSpring kit. Is that right? I just installed one myself and had been curious about how much the remin process adds.
I just use Tesco bottles water £1.60 for 5l am I doing it wrong 😂 I thought that was overkill out tap water is pretty good. I’m an Evian guy at heart but that is too expensive to be pulling blank shots with heating the machine and steaming milk terribly.
Seems like a lot of canisters that could’ve single reactors with media. Are you changing partial membranes/media in rotation or why the multiples
I don’t think it’s generally recommended for people to drink straight RO water unless it’s remineralized. Something about it leaching nutrients from your body.
Thankful to live in Maine. I use tap water for my machine (between 35-45ppm, very soft).
Occasionally I think about adding some filtration/minteralization but I’m not interested in improvement at the margins when I’m already happy.
Good for you!
I’m new to this and bought a Profitec Ride for xmas but haven’t even used it yet. Reading the manual got me on the water topic.
We’re on a well and the water softener is quite old, so I got tests done and definitely needed an upgrade.
The water guy comes tomorrow to get me dialed in.
I won a $1000 gift card from my employer for the holidays but can’t decide on a grinder. I’m willing to blow it all. I’m thinking Eureka Atom 65.
Have RO water, add a little potassium bicarbonate when I fill the water tank in my espresso machine.
Deeply respect what you’ve done here btw!
Just curious.
Are you guys able to pass a blind test on the final coffee product using different water?
I’m on a well, so my for looks like RO -> BWT Bestmin -> Stenner dosing pump to increase Mg -> direct plumbed machine. Perfectly hit SCA targets.
https://preview.redd.it/lc8rgqncd7eg1.jpeg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c223d0083e093ae11a43cf5a1dd0e5453eaf6ef0
I love the sheer insanity of it all. Hero of the day in my view.
What are the 2x canisters in the lower left, with the labels turned away?
Impressive setup but uhhhh what happens when you need to change membranes? Do you just need to plumb everything back in from scratch?
Is this circlejerk
I want to make you a coffee with your water and then mine, and see if you can taste the difference. This is psycho level obsession IMO.
Why would you re introduce minerals?
Awesome project, I’m sure it wasnt easy to plan or setup. Truly pioneering in the hobby.
I have an Rao and just started mixing in a Barista Hustle concentrate mix of epsom salts and baking soda. There is clear improvement in espresso shot taste. I just make a litre at a time and add it manually.
I think your system might be a bit inconsistent. Those remineralization cartridges continually leach into the water that’s in them. So the first bit through them comes out very brackish and then quickly drops to barely mineralized. It’s why most people who do this top up a tank of purified water manually.
Have you tested a few batches of water to see how the system is actually performing?
What do those remin cartridges contain? Calcite, Corosex, magnesium or calcium oxide media or a combination of a few of those? What’s the resulting oH of the water?
Bro. You’re a bit of a l0ser lol
I’ve been interested in water ever since living in the desert and being introduced to a water softener. What am I looking at here?
That better produce a coffee that’s 200% gooder.
Heck yeah I do. Got me that PUR water pitcher that matches the capacity of my machine just right. Makes my espresso taste like it was cleansed in the waters of Lake Minnetonka..
awesome work on this!
goals, for sure
sharing this link in case you haven’t already seen it. lots of customization from here!
I mean, yes. But I just use a 50€ RO appliance and put it and some minerals in a 5L tank.
Super cheap and consistent.