Fix bitter coffee

It’s well known that salt makes food taste good, but in 1997, scientists found out why. In a study published in the journal Nature, they asked volunteers to drink a bitter urea drink with added sucrose for sweetness, or sodium acetate for saltiness. Sugar didn’t improve the taste on its own, but salt did, and when the two were combined, the drink tasted even sweeter. It seems salt blocks bitterness and boosts sugariness.

Coffee contains many different bittertasting molecules, which contribute to its very distinctive flavour, but it takes a careful balance of temperature, brew time and ground size to get the perfect cup. It’s very easy to get this delicated balance wrong, often with not so tasty results, but salt’s ability to suppress bitter tastes and boost sweetness could be just the thing you need to improve your brew.