How A Dash Of Salt Can Save A Bitter Cup Of Coffee
A little bit of bitterness is to be expected from any cup of coffee. But when it gets so strong that it tastes downright acrid? Well, that's no good. Especially if you've spent a lot of money and time finding that specialty coffee blend that got rave reviews everywhere and is supposed to taste like heaven.
Unfortunately, even with top-notch equipment and premium beans, a bad brew can happen. Freshly brewed coffee can taste bad for a variety of reasons. Roasting the coffee for too long, oversteeping, or brewing with water that's too hot ... all of that can result in a burnt-tasting cuppa.
There's one trick you can use to fix this problem instead of dumping it down the drain: Add a touch of salt. As counterintuitive as it may sound, this technique has been around for a long time and you can find it used in coffee recipes from many cultures. From the coastal areas of Europe to Vietnam, people have been using salt to help temper the flavor of a strong cup of coffee for a long time. So if your coffee isn't tasting all too great today, it's always a good time to put this decade-old hack to the test!
How salt can counteract the bitter taste of over-brewed coffee
The secret to salt's ability to tame bitterness in coffee lies in the way our taste buds perceive different flavors. Our tongues have specific receptors for sweet, salty, sour, and bitter tastes. When we consume something bitter, like coffee, the bitter compounds activate the corresponding receptors, sending a signal to our brain that we're tasting bitterness. However, when salt is introduced, the sodium ions interact with both the salt and bitter receptors on our tongue. This interaction essentially blocks some of the bitter compounds from binding to the bitter receptors, effectively reducing our perception of bitterness.
At the same time, a study published in the CHIMIA International Journal for Chemistry found that salt also enhances our perception of other flavors, including sweetness. This makes the coffee taste more balanced and flavorful, especially if you like to drink your coffee with a little bit of sweetener such as milk, creamer, or sugar.
Here's how much salt you need to add
The key is to start small and adjust to taste. If you're dealing with a single cup of espresso, take a small pinch and sprinkle it directly into your cup. Give it a taste, and if it's still a bit too strong, add a tiny pinch more.
If you're making filter coffee and are prepping a full six-cup pot, try the Alton Brown method. During a 2009 Food Network segment, he revealed that ¼ teaspoon of Kosher salt for every 12 tablespoons of ground coffee should do the trick nicely in leeching the bitterness out of the brew. Alton preferred adding salt directly to the grounds before brewing to temper the coffee's flavor before it is brewed, but don't worry, it'll work just as well if you stir it into your cup later.
The only thing to keep in mind is that you aren't aiming to make coffee salty here. The salt should be just barely noticeable — ideally, you shouldn't even taste it at all. If your coffee starts to taste briny, you've added a bit too much. Unfortunately, since there's no way to filter out excess salt, you might have to reluctantly sip or dump the cup. That's why it pays to go slow when you're salting!