Question:
I'm about to have an RO (Reverse Osmosis) water filter installed for ourdrinking (and coffee) water. It will replace a small charcoal Pur filter wehad been using.

Any comments or experience on how RO filtered water affects the taste ofcoffee?

I usually use locally fresh roasted coffee, a Solis grinder, and a Melitapour over filter -- and sometimes a Bodum Santos.

Answer: As long as the ppm stays between about 90-110 you should be fine. Tolow a ppm will reduce colloidal action and reduce the body in the cup.Too high and the extraneous minerals will impart off tastes. I haverotten water so run it through a salt softner first to reduce the wearand tear on the RO membrane. Then it goes through 3 cartridge filtersand then to the RO membrane. At that point it is too low in ppm so itgoes through a trickle filter to add back some particulates to bring itup to 90-110ppm.

My NS Oscar will not sense the tank water if I use pure RO water.However, the addition of about a half-cup of mineral water per tank isenough to create conductivity.

The RO/distilled water and taste question really is a matter of taste. I know a lot of people in this group hate the taste of espresso madewith distilled water. I actually don't see a big difference. And issure does help reduce scale.

By the way, any suggestions for a good reverse osmosis set-up? Icould use one here in Hong Kong.

I hate to cause you trouble, but I ran an experiment which you caneasily duplicate. I pulled espresso shots, as I'd been doing for years,with RO water. I then took some tap water I'd run through two successiveBrita filters, and blended it with the RO to get an aggregate hardnessof about three grains (50 ppm or so); I could do this because our localtap water is 12-14 grains. The taste exploded, not even close. Try it,or not, depending on how much trouble you want.