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Writing as a semi-experienced Starbuck's barista for several months now, I can definitely say that filtered water has a large and positive effect on the taste of tea, or at least the types of tea we use at Starbuck's.

Obviously, working for Starbuck's should give my opinion validity on the topics of coffee and tea especially. Starbuck's has been advocating the use of Tazo tea successfully for long enough to show that it knows what it's doing with it, and how to do so.

People, I suppose, just misunderstand what exactly tea is. Basically, it's a bunch of herbs and plants inside a small filtered bag designed to "bleed" the flavor of its contents into whatever it is in. Normally, the bag should be submerged in hot water. This makes it take less time for the water to absorb the benefits of the tea, and give the water its flavor.

Of course, to most of us, the answer seems obvious. Does filtered water taste different from unfiltered water? This is arguable, but in this argument, we will assume that the filtered and unfiltered waters in question do have a significant difference in taste. However, whether or not the filtered water's taste is better than the unfiltered is impossible to say; it's a matter of opinion. In my opinion, the filtered water would taste better, which is why I can say that filtered water would make better tea, and thus, coffee(really only drip and espresso, though). The contents of the coffee and tea will be absorbed all the same in both types of water, but unfiltered may give it another small change in taste, adding another "flavor"(it being the coffee and/or tea), possibly a negative addition, possibly a positive.

However, my opinion remains based on fact that filtered water makes better tea and coffee, retaining a more original and pure flavor of the coffee or tea in question. It is up to you, the consumer, to decide whether or not you want only the intentional flavors of the product, and not the addition the unfiltered water may add.

Learn more about this author, Nate Feinberg.
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