The Lemon Fool

I like to make myself a natural lemon juice drink to take away the poor taste of my tapwater.

Into a jug of tapwater I add:

- 1 sliced lemon
- 1 sliced lime

But this is often a bit strong, so in a second jug I add a sprig of mint to water.

It all goes in the fridge. Then I mix to taste.

Normally it tastes great - lovely and lemony. But sometimes it tastes very bitter. I'm not really sure why I get this inconsistency. Would I be better juicing the lemon instead of slicing it? Any other ideas? I haven't really experimented. Thanks.

Try buying a £10 jug filter.

Is the mint on its own an option for the job?

For what it's worth, I sometimes flavour tapwater with lemon, and I find the squeezy lemon-lookalike juice bottles do an acceptable job[1] and offer a longer shelf-life than real lemon. But I don't keep the water in the fridge: that can to lead to less-pleasant flavours over time. Rather I'll chill it with ice cubes: although they too start life as tap water, they don't ever seem to acquire an unpleasant taste.

[1] Though I once tried a somewhat larger non-lemon-shaped version and found it an inferior product.

UncleEbenezer wrote:Is the mint on its own an option for the job?

For what it's worth, I sometimes flavour tapwater with lemon, and I find the squeezy lemon-lookalike juice bottles do an acceptable job[1] and offer a longer shelf-life than real lemon. But I don't keep the water in the fridge: that can to lead to less-pleasant flavours over time. Rather I'll chill it with ice cubes: although they too start life as tap water, they don't ever seem to acquire an unpleasant taste.

[1] Though I once tried a somewhat larger non-lemon-shaped version and found it an inferior product.

I might try the plastic lemon idea. Just thought the real thing should give better results - if I can get the consistency. It works most of the time.

UncleEbenezer wrote:Is the mint on its own an option for the job?

For what it's worth, I sometimes flavour tapwater with lemon, and I find the squeezy lemon-lookalike juice bottles do an acceptable job[1] and offer a longer shelf-life than real lemon. But I don't keep the water in the fridge: that can to lead to less-pleasant flavours over time. Rather I'll chill it with ice cubes: although they too start life as tap water, they don't ever seem to acquire an unpleasant taste.

[1] Though I once tried a somewhat larger non-lemon-shaped version and found it an inferior product.

Try freezing the lemon juice rather than the water. Self chilling lemon drink using only the freshest tap water.

BobbyD wrote:

UncleEbenezer wrote:Is the mint on its own an option for the job?

For what it's worth, I sometimes flavour tapwater with lemon, and I find the squeezy lemon-lookalike juice bottles do an acceptable job[1] and offer a longer shelf-life than real lemon. But I don't keep the water in the fridge: that can to lead to less-pleasant flavours over time. Rather I'll chill it with ice cubes: although they too start life as tap water, they don't ever seem to acquire an unpleasant taste.

[1] Though I once tried a somewhat larger non-lemon-shaped version and found it an inferior product.

Try freezing the lemon juice rather than the water. Self chilling lemon drink using only the freshest tap water.

Some people say chilling tapwater in the fridge improves the taste because the chlorine dissipates. But I'm not entirely convinced. I've been tempted to buy a Brita jug but have been a bit put off by the need to keep buying replacement filters.

The jug water filters do an excellent job of removing the chlorine/metallic taste. We buy universal filters from Aqua Optima which fit the Brita jugs.

https://www.aqua-optima.com/water-filte ... lters.html

The filters are available from amazon and cost £22 for 12 (£1.83 per).

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Aqua-Optima-RU ... B004ZKA1RI

In the past we've also bought filters in a 3 pack from Tesco but I guess all the big supermarkets sell filters.

monabri wrote:The jug water filters do an excellent job of removing the chlorine/metallic taste. We buy universal filters from Aqua Optima which fit the Brita jugs.

https://www.aqua-optima.com/water-filte ... lters.html

The filters are available from amazon and cost £22 for 12 (£1.83 per).

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Aqua-Optima-RU ... B004ZKA1RI

In the past we've also bought filters in a 3 pack from Tesco but I guess all the big supermarkets sell filters.

Thanks. How many jugfulls can you put through a filter?

The blurb says 170 litres but we do more..we probably change the filter every 2 months

monabri wrote:The blurb says 170 litres but we do more..we probably change the filter every 2 months

OK, so we are talking just a few pence per litre? I might have guessed a lot more, so I'm definitely interested now.

I believe when you get a fridge-freezer plumbed in to supply chilled water and ice, it incorporates a filter. No idea what the maintenance requirements for that may be.

BobbyD wrote:

UncleEbenezer wrote:Is the mint on its own an option for the job?

For what it's worth, I sometimes flavour tapwater with lemon, and I find the squeezy lemon-lookalike juice bottles do an acceptable job[1] and offer a longer shelf-life than real lemon. But I don't keep the water in the fridge: that can to lead to less-pleasant flavours over time. Rather I'll chill it with ice cubes: although they too start life as tap water, they don't ever seem to acquire an unpleasant taste.

[1] Though I once tried a somewhat larger non-lemon-shaped version and found it an inferior product.

Try freezing the lemon juice rather than the water. Self chilling lemon drink using only the freshest tap water.

you can freeze lemons & limes themselves
once frozen they cut easily using a bread knife (without losing juice on the board)
- and help lower the temperature of the gin and tonic water

-sd

Radical solution move to Wales lovely tapwater

Do be a tad wary the acid in the lemon is not good for your teeth.

Mint makes a lovely tissane, hot for the digestion, chilled for refreshment.

todthedog wrote:Do be a tad wary the acid in the lemon is not good for your teeth.

Thanks v much
was going to give it a try but not now

todthedog wrote:Radical solution move to Wales lovely tapwater

Do be a tad wary the acid in the lemon is not good for your teeth.

Mint makes a lovely tissane, hot for the digestion, chilled for refreshment.

Um, it might be. If your mouth tends to alkaline (likely dental problems will be plaque and yellowing teeth, not cavities) then a hint of acid will do nicely.

But a slice of lemon as described by the OP - or my variant of a little squeeze - is negligible compared to - say - the acid in fresh fruit.