Salt in Coffee? It really works.

Coffee is an essential part of life.  It's also a fairly expensive part of life.  That's why, when operating under an extreme food budget, it's necessary to find this essential at the lowest price possible.  Occasionally, I splurge and have one pound of extravagantly good coffee.  More often, I am buying what is on sale, or worse, what can be had the cheapest.  This last shopping trip, I ended up with some Brazilian espresso that is so dark and bitter, you could unclog drains with it.

So, I decided to try a suggestion once made to me many years ago.
I added a little salt. A friend told me that salt makes coffee less bitter and more flavorful, but was this anecdotal brewing tip really true?

Surprisingly, it is.  And there's a good scientific reason for it.  The  sodium (Na⁺  ion) interferes with the transduction mechanism of the bitter flavor - whatever that means.  And espresso is particularly bitter.  Percolated coffee can also be more bitter because it is brewed with water near its boiling point.  In fact, the hotter the water in the brewing process, the greater the extraction and the more bitter the coffee will be.  Just imagine the coffee made out on the trail in the Old West. They boiled it in a pan right over the fire. Wow.  Those cowboys were made of tougher stuff than I if they could drink that coffee.  I wonder if Wishbone put a pinch of salt in the coffee to make it palatable for Rowdy Yates and the rest of the Rawhide crew?

So, I added something like a pinch of salt to the coffee grounds before brewing (I haven't found an exact measurement requirement).  It was really more like a shake or two of the salt shaker.  How did it taste?  Well, that's a good question.

It does neutralize the bitterness - but, as bitterness is an integral part of the taste of coffee, is that a good thing?  It's hard to say.  I am not sure it tastes exactly like coffee anymore, but not exactly unlike coffee.  It's smooth and it's hot and it's brown and it tastes fine with the all-important caffeine still intact.  But, without the bitterness, something is missing. Of course, I started with some cheap and nearly undrinkable coffee, maybe bitter was its only flavor?

I am going to experiment with varying amounts of salt per pot of coffee.  It may be that one needs just enough salt to neutralize the excess bitterness, but not enough to remove the bitterness entirely.

In any case, it does work.  Salt in the coffee will make the coffee less bitter and that's a good thing if you dislike the bitter taste of the brew or if, like me, you bought cheap, disgusting coffee.  Give it a try.  Let me know if you discover the exact proportion of salt to coffee to produce the perfect cuppa. 

I am an Espresso

I don't usually think that these online personality quizzes are the path to self-enlightenment or deep revelation - in fact, most of the time they get it completely wrong. Maybe that's because on about half the multiple choice questions, I can't find an answer that sounds anything like me. How can they measure my personality when it isn't even on file? I spend a lot of time shaking my head and thinking "I wouldn't do any of those things, are those the only things that normal people would do in that situation"?

Yet I found a quiz that nailed me completely. Of course, it's about coffee, so I knew all the answers - that is, I know what I would do about coffee. And, I am happy to say that the quiz recognized my special relationship to coffee. Et Voila, my results:

You Are an Espresso

At your best, you are: straight shooting, ambitious, and energetic At your worst, you are: anxious and high strung You drink coffee when: anytime you're not sleeping Your caffeine addiction level: high

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

I Love Coffee

First let me say, I love coffee. I have an unnatural affection for coffee. Over the years I have gone from cream and 2 sugars to half-and-half with saccharine and thence all the way - yes, I drink it black.

I savor every bitter drop. I like every kind of coffee, from the most mundane store brand to the richest espresso. Each has its place in the day. For me, coffee is more than just a way to keep alert, although with a full-time job and two kids, I can use all the alertness I can get. Coffee is more than just a way to keep going, it's a comforting, warm companion.

It's 10:17pm and I am drinking a cup of coffee as I write this. Yes, that is probably far too late in the evening to be drinking coffee, but you see, I am an addict.

I am more than an addict - I actually proselytize. I preach coffee to others. I have heard so many say to me "oh, drinking coffee is so bad for you". But is it? What major diseases, other than acid stomach, are directly related to coffee drinking? None that I know of. I even read of a study in the Lancet that recommended it for cardiovascular health.

In fact, I know of several ways coffee is good for you. It's been shown to reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes, Parkinson's disease, colon cancer and even cavities. The best part is, you need to drink lots of it, not just that tiny teacupful in the morning. These are the facts I quote to all who question my devotion to my java.

Today I read that a review of 10 studies seems to prove that coffee also prevents liver cancer. Coffee drinkers were 41% less likely to get liver cancer than those who abstain from coffee. Just another good thing to come from coffee. And another great statistic to throw at those who sneer at my addiction.