Damn, that herb is pretty spectacular, Steve.
Also drinking water now before and after my brew sessions, hard to stomach, the water here is not great, even through the filter I've added to the kitchen tap.
You mention the water not being great, and in terms of that, I'm worried about microplastics these days. [
1], [
2]
Microplastics of course are produced from the natural breakdown of a variety of plastics and fossil fuels; even stuff like the clothing we wear (polyesters, etc). The tiny particles get in to the soil and the air, but for whatever reason, seem to accumulate most abundantly in our water supplies. Unfortunately, I understand the particles are too small for standard municipal water filtration to catch. Which presents a problem, as a commonly-quoted current estimate is that we're now absorbing around 5g of plastic every week, enough to constitute a credit card's worth. How much of that is safely excreted out seems unknown for now.
The health consequences of microplastics are poorly studied so far, but like I say, I'm worried. Because we already know that plastic containers commonly leach chemicals (like BPA) in to stored beverages that can mess with our hormone levels. Also, because plastics that are heated tend to produce carcinogens, so I fear that simply boiling water may up our cancer risk(!)
If I get organised sufficiently, I'm thinking about trying out some kind of filtering remedy, such as carbon blocks, reverse osmosis or distillation filters. Either way, it's obviously a confusing hassle on the consumer level.
Ideally this issue gets lots of rapid attention & study, such that most govts revamp their water-processing plants, so that the consumer doesn't have to worry so much. Guess we'll just have to see.