Overheard a barista say the shop's water filter was 2 years overdue

I was grabbing a latte at Kickapoo Coffee in Madison last week and heard one of the baristas whisper that the reverse osmosis membrane was supposed to be swapped every 6 months, but it had been in for 2 years. That means every shot pulled there had mineral buildup messing with extraction, which explains why their espresso tasted flat and bitter at the same time. I checked my own home setup after that and found my carbon filter was 4 months past its date, and swapping it for a $15 replacement made a HUGE difference in my morning pour over. Anyone else ever neglect their filter schedule and blame the beans instead?

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nguyen.angela1mo ago

Bit the bullet and swapped my filters after reading this. I used to think the whole water chemistry thing was overblown, you know, something only snobs obsess over. But my old carbon block was way overdue and once I put a fresh one in, the difference was honestly wild. My coffee went from tasting kinda muddy to actually bright and clean, and I finally stopped blaming the roaster for beans that were never the problem.

8

felix4141mo ago

Wait, your coffee was THAT different after just swapping the carbon block? Now I'm side-eyeing my filter like it's been holding my beans hostage this whole time.

2