Current Events > How do you feel about adding salt to coffee grounds?

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A long time ago, on an episode of Good Eats, Alton Brown added a pinch of kosher salt, no more than just 1/4 of a teaspoon, to his coffee grounds prior to adding the water, using a French press as his brewing method.

I tried this myself, both with kosher salt and with sea salt, and it really does knock off some of the bitterness and neutralize the acidity a bit. This is why sea salt goes so well with dark chocolate and caramel, it seems to enhance sweet flavors on your taste buds and mask bitter ones.

After looking into it, it seems that adding a little bit of salt to coffee is nothing new at all, and had been done since ancient times.

At the same time though, sometimes especially using a French press and good quality coffee, that tidbit of bitterness is actually welcome and enjoyable, so this isn't something I do all the time, just when I'm in the mood for something less acidic usually to be easier on my stomach.

Alton also kind of botched a few things in this episode. He used a medium roast which is good for a press, but he used a medium grind when you're supposed to use a coarse grind for a press, as too fine can make the coffee too bitter. He also used water that was at a rolling boil, but your water is supposed to be just off of a boil at 190-205 F. You can probably go up to like 208 with a medium-dark roast (medium roasts tend to "lean" light or dark, lighter should go on the lower end of the scale), never a rolling boil (same goes for tea btw). Perhaps these things would have eliminated his need for the salt, as bitterness could have been reduced just by getting these details straightened out.

Still, even good coffee prepared correctly does have acidity and some bitterness, and when I'm in the mood to knock that edge off I will occasionally add a pinch of kosher salt or sea salt to my coffee grounds, about 1/4 teaspoon to a half cup of corse ground coffee in the French press.

Thought?

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Idk sounds good I'll try it right now

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I've heard it before but never tried it personally.

I tend to add powdered cinnamon to the grounds before brewing.

It does something similar and adds a complementary flavor.

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MedeaLysistrata posted...

Idk sounds good I'll try it right now

I put a bit too much probably. I guess the trick works as mentioned, though?

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i tried it

i couldn't really tell the the difference so i stopped doing it.

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TheBlueMonk_ posted...

i tried it

i couldn't really tell the the difference so i stopped doing it.

See that's weird because I notice a huge difference, and I was reading on some blogpost not long after making this topic that some people just don't notice the effect salt has to neutralize bitterness.

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I like the bitterness though. That's like adding salt to an IPA.

Also why can't you just add salt to the finished coffee? Does it need to be pre-brew?

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Never tried with the coffee grounds, but a pinch stirred in to the already brewed coffee is fine.

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