3FE IS ONE of Dublin’s most popular coffee shops. In fact, it’s a bit of an institution.

Last week, it launched a new tasting menu for coffee connoisseurs who “want to take the time to have a more taste-oriented experience at 3fe”.

But one item on the tasting menu has raised a few eyebrows.

The Water Tasting.

As you can see, it’s four shots of water for €3.50. A pretty hefty price for water, no doubt.

People aren’t one bit impressed.

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So, what’s the story?

Colin Harmon of 3FE tells DailyEdge.ie that the water tasting menu is intended to raise awareness of how the quality of your water affects the taste of your coffee.

What we’re trying to achieve is an awareness of water and how it affects the taste of coffee. If you drink a cup of coffee, it’s 98.5% water.

Harmon says that the quality of your water — whether it’s soft or hard, for instance — has a “massive effect on how the coffee extracts and how it tastes”.

The water tasting menu offers customers the chance to try four samples of water – standard bottled water, soft water, boiled water and 3FE’s own water – and then learn about which water makes the best coffee.

For example, bottled water may taste best, but it’s terrible for brewing coffee. The more you know, eh?

Harmon tells us that “not a huge amount” of people have tried the water tasting menu yet.

And on Twitter, 3FE reassured people that they usually “comp” it anyhow.

In short, Harmon says that it’s “not for everybody” and probably only of interest to “real coffee nerds”.

It’s not about making a buck selling water.

So now.

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