Before diving into the various brewing styles, it is important that we briefly talk about water quality. Besides the obvious of using good quality coffee that is at or close to its peak date, do not neglect the water quality! After all, water accounts for some 98% of your brewed coffee’s volume. While typical household water filtering systems (e.g., Brita filters) will do a decent to good job, you might want to switch to bottled water to really get the most out of your coffee (especially if you just picked up a premium single origin coffee for which you most likely had to pay a little bit more!). In short, the ideal water for coffee brewing should have the right levels of hardness and mineral content, which, you might be happy to learn, also keeps your machine healthier for the long run. The water that La Marzocco, a high-end Italian espresso machine manufacturer, recommends to retail consumers located on the East Coast is Poland Spring, a mineral water that is readily available in most grocery stores. By the way, if you want to perform a small test to see how regular tap water compares to Poland Spring, brew the same coffee with the two types of water. The difference in flavor and taste might surprise you!