144.2 Coffee: Why Cold Water

The first time I drained a water heater, I understood why I needed to use cold water -- not only for coffee, but for tea, hot chocolate, spaghetti, rice, steamed vegetables, and anything else I would be putting in my mouth. Water heaters get coated with a white film that drains out with the water. It is thick. Our water drained out into the gutter, and the white film made up about a third of what came out. That film is the reason you are supposed to drain your water heater every few years. I don't think ours had ever been drained. It was gross.

If you use hot water from the tap to make anything you will be drinking or eating, then you are ingesting this thick white film. Ew! Turns out, this coating on the inside of water heaters is mostly salt. I don't know about you, but I don't want salt in my coffee!

Not only do I use cold water for coffee and cooking, I let the cold water run for a few seconds before I start collecting it into the coffee pot or pan. The farther I am from the water source, the longer I let it run first. This clears out any water that has been sitting in the pipes for any length of time, and is more likely to have sediment in it. I have lived my whole life drinking tap water rather than bottled water, but I know to run it a few seconds before I collect it. If you want to conserve water, then just rinse out some dirty dishes as you let the water run before collecting it. Or, let the water run into a container that you use to water plants.

I am still sick with this cold, coughing now as well as sneezing. The runny nose has slowed down, thank God. Because I am sick, I am not exercising. My body seems to be burning up all the calories I eat just to combat the sickness.

Here is what I ate yesterday and lost 1.4 pounds, just from fighting illness:

Small bowl of Special K, strawberries and organic soy milk
Cup of Healthy Choice chicken and rice soup
One bean and cheese burrito with 3 tablespoons of salsa
Cup of corn tortilla chips

I am back to drinking coffee today, so I know I am getting over my illness. That is how I can tell. It should be noted that I drink my coffee black, without any sweetener. I have ever since I read Dr Tarnower's book in high school in the late 1970s. Do you know that a typical cup of doctored coffee at Starbucks has 450 calories? Yes, it does. I bet Starbucks uses cold water to make that coffee, though.