Purifying your Tea water with Bamboo Charcoal

 A few weeks ago I shared a post on using Maifan "Medicine Stones" to purify and improve your tea water. Today we are going to talk about another little "trick" by using Bamboo Charcoal. I picked up a package of this from e-bay to test it out. From day one I was hooked on using it for my tea water.

     Some municipalities and cities treat their water with chlorine, it is a safe amount but it can effect the taste of your tea. If this is the case for where you live pop a small piece of bamboo charcoal into your kettle and it will remove that little bit that remains in your water. It works especially well for older cities where the water pipes may not have been replaced in the last 10-30 years.

    In the area I lived previously , in Toronto, there was a bit of a coppery or rust taste to the water straight from the tap. Even after a run through a Brita filter there was a hint. With using this charcoal it removed that taste, any smells. Leaving purified water fitting for tea.

     Since buying the packet of this little gem Bamboo Charcoal has gained popularity for all sorts of uses. Two of my favorite are purifying drinking water of impurities and the other is using it to control humidity. The last being perfect for teas that can not take drastic temperature changes.

Over all it is a handy little thing to keep around as a tea lover or even for day to day uses (according to this website it is also great in a bath). Try it out with your tea. Brew the same tea with charcoal-less water and again with it. Or even test it out with different teas. Some like Charcoal-water more than others after all.

  Have you tried Bamboo Charcoal before? Did you like it? Share your experiences in the comments below. Happy Steeping!