Why You Should Always Salt Your Coffee Grounds Before Brewing

Coffee keeps us running, but when your morning cup of Joe starts to taste bitter, you may begin to rethink your wake-me-up breakfast beverage. But before you go switching to a matcha latte with almond milk or a skinny chai tea latte, you may want to break out the salt shaker. Just a little sprinkle of this sodium can transform a sharp cup of coffee into a smooth brew by simply adding a pinch to your coffee grounds before brewing.

Salt is a flavor enhancer, and when you add it to coffee grounds before you let your coffee percolate, it works its magic in a way your mouth can appreciate. Coffee is inherently a little bitter, but adding a long brew time, a fine ground, or an old and stale coffee to the mix, and it's a recipe for an overly bitter-tasting cup of coffee. A dash of salt is going to suppress the bitter taste when it hits your tongue. Instead of experiencing a sensation that makes you wince, those taste receptors encounter a sweetness that adds a whole new dimension to your morning giddy-up.

Salted coffee is not a new invention. According to the Coffee Bean Corral, people in Turkey, Northern Scandinavia, Coastal Europe, and Vietnam have made the addition of salt to their coffee a common practice. In recent years, it has gained traction in the U.S. thanks to a 2009 Food Network segment where Alton Brown demonstrates the technique and offers guidance on just how much salt to add to your grounds. As tempting as it is to be heavy-handed with this seasoning, a little goes a long way. Brown recommends using a quarter teaspoon of salt to 12 tablespoons of ground coffee ratio for best results. 

While this should definitely be added to your hacks for brewing a perfect cup of coffee, salt might not be for every type of coffee ground. Lighter roasts are generally going to be less bitter and may not need this extra touch. And if you are working with high-quality coffee grounds, salt can distract from the layers of flavor they generally manifest after brewing. Trial and error is your friend in this process, so make a smaller pot and experiment with your different types of coffee.