‘Great-tasting’ coffee starts with the water, Taza Agua founders say

19-Jun-2016 - Last updated on 22-Jun-2016 at 14:02 GMT

The water makes the difference. Taza Agua's premium bottled water is specifically for brewing tea and coffee.

Don Nesbit and Francini Retana Rodriquez have launched Taza Agua to provide consumers with a premium bottled water specifically made for brewing tea and drip coffee.

Originally from the US, Nesbit has been living in Costa Rica full-time for 10 years with his wife Francini Retana, and the idea for the water came from people visiting the couple.

Nesbit and Retana told BeverageDaily that when friends would visit from the US, they enjoyed Costa Rican espresso and drip coffee so much that they were disappointed when they could not replicate the same taste back in the US even using the same beans from the tropical island.

“Routinely they would get back to us with, ‘It is good but not the same as when we were in Costa Rica with you',” Retana said.

What’s the difference?

With the help of water research experts, Nesbit and Rodriquez concluded that the way coffee and tea tasted had less to do with the beans or tea leaves and more to do with the type of water being used.

“Like a lot of people I used to think: water is water,” Nesbit said.

According to Nesbit, Costa Rica's water consistently ranks as some of the cleanest drinking water in the world.

"And that's just the tap water," he said.

Volcanic spring water

Bottled right at the source, the only treatment the company uses is filtration for bacterial purposes.

Taza Agua bottles its volcanic spring water from the Juan Castro Blanco region in northern Costa Rica. Nesbit says that coffee is 98% water, making the type of water used to brew the beverage crucial to its taste.

CR-lvalin — Taza Agua uses its tropical location to its advantage by bottling its water from the Juan Castro Blanco region of Costa Rica. Photo: iStock-Ivalin

“We take the guess work out of it by offering a really great-tasting water,” Nesbit added.

Taking advantage of coffee sales

With specialty coffee sales comprising 8% of the $18bn industry in the US alone, Taza Agua is keen to accelerate the company’s potential in the marketplace, the company said.

“The message that we’re trying to send is that this is a coffee water that will create an excellent brew and is user friendly with your machine,” Nesbit said.

Taza Agua comes in 12-ounce plastic bottles with a black label, and is expected to be available for purchase by the third quarter of 2016 in the US.

Targeting the premium water consumer

Taza Agua’s primary target audience is the premium bottled water consumer who is used to shopping at Whole Foods and other specialty stores.

“The price of the water will not be any different than what they’re used to paying now,” Nesbit said.

The company wants to keep its focus small and build brand recognition among a smaller market base.

“We have no interest in competing with the big corporations in the water market. We’re a water company that’s focussed on a niche market,” Nesbit said.