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The Bluewater Spirit purifier, part of the Cafe Station 1 package. All images courtesy of Bluewater.
Water purification equipment company Bluewater is hoping to make a splash in the coffee industry with the Bluewater Café Station 1, a purification and mineralization system specifically for specialty coffee shops.
Revealed last month at the World of Coffee expo in Copenhagen, Denmark, the Café Station includes the brand’s Spirit purifier, which applies the company’s proprietary SuperiorOsmosis Technology to remove PFAS, micro plastics, toxic metals and other contaminants to incoming water.
A mineralizer component then adds calcium and magnesium in a 2:1 ratio using the Sweden-based company’s proprietary Liquid Rock mineral solution. This raises the TDS of the water to a level benefitting coffee flavor without causing scaling in boilers, according to the company.
“The unique Bluewater formula is designed to be highly dissolved in water,” Bluewater Product Marketing Manager Maximillian Lundin told Daily Coffee News following the launch.
A dedicated app allows users to adjust the TDS on the fly, down to a drink-by-drink basis, depending on drink volume and the length of water lines. Users can choose one of the pre-programmed TDS levels or make adjustments using sliders on the app. Settings range from reverse-osmosis water with a TDS of 4, up to a maximum TDS of 300.
“This is where we get into the play area for baristas and beverage makers,” said Lundin. “It is real-time adjustments so the change is instant from one setting to another. During tests, our collaboration partners at Standout Coffee have prepared espressos and V60s back-to-back with different mineral dosing to precisely identify the setting that fits just the qualities of the specific bean that they want to enhance.”
The Spirit purifier and the mineralizer that comprise the Cafe Station 1 package will also be sold separately. Bluewater leases the equipment to customers on a monthly subscription basis while users purchase Liquid Rock replenishments.
Lundin said a five-year rental contract typically starts in the range of US$130-$150 per month. A 1,000-milliliter refill of Liquid Rock, enough for approximately 500-700 liters of mineralized water depending on the dosing, sells for $99.
Lundin estimated that costs for a shop selling 200-300 units of coffee per day land at about 3-5 cents per cup.
Bluewater Group was founded in 2013 in Stockholm, where it maintains its global headquarters. Offering a range of water purification solutions for consumer and home applications, the corporation also has offices in the United States, the UK and South Africa.
Products based on SuperiorOsmosis technology are designed by a team of Bluewater engineers under the direction of founder and CEO Bengt Rittri. The mineralizer unit was jointly developed by Bluewater and the scientific research team at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. The minerals used to create Liquid Rock are harvested from Swedish mountains, according to the company.
“We will be ready for the market launch of the Café Station later this year,” Lundin said. “In the U.S., Bluewater Inc has been active for years providing the purifiers all around the country. It’s great to be able to add the Café Station to the portfolio.”
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Howard Bryman Howard Bryman is the associate editor of Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine. He is based in Portland, Oregon.
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