Coffee with salt: because more and more people are consuming it this way

He coffee is a drink both traditional and cult, popular in the world, which also offers numerous health benefits. His lovers add sugar, sweetener or cream, but there’s a trend that grows and amazes: putting salt in coffee.

It is known that there are various ways to consume the beans obtained from the coffee plant. Candies prepare from previously roasted and ground grains of the coffee plant and there are thousands of varieties that make this drink an experience.

Also a lot has to do with the region and the maturity it has, local customs and people usually make combinations.

Why is coffee bitter?

There are those who argue that coffee is one of the ideal drinks to stimulate the body, thanks to the power of caffeine. In fact, many people consider it impossible start the day without your breakfast cup.

For others, however, it is too strong, so they prefer not to consume it. And a lot has to do with them bitterness, which arises from different situations.

The roasting process, for example, forms compounds called lactones of chlorogenic acid and, in darker roasts, fenilindaniwhich derive from the decomposition of chlorogenic acid, summarize the specialized sites.

The most frequent option to reduce the bitter taste of coffee is mix it with sugars or milk. But the fundamentalists refuse because it radically modifies its original flavor.

According to a report of the World Health Organization (WHO), the consumption of free sugars should not exceed 10% of the total daily caloric intake, both in adults and in children. Also, below 5% of daily calorie intake “would produce health benefits.”

Why more and more people are putting salt in their coffee

Far from what some might think, Adding salt to coffee can greatly improve the natural bitterness of the bean.

Scientists attribute the ability of sodium chloride to suppress bitternessallowing other elements to bring out the flavor, according to a study published at Nature.

Surprisingly, they say, it’s more effective than sugar because neutralizes the natural flavourremoving the bitter instead of hiding it under the sweet.

Along the same lines, a study published by the University of Oxford already in 1995 confirms that “salt is effective in masking the bitter taste since added to a mixture of sweet and bitter compounds, it makes them acquire a caramel flavor ”.

The voice of an expert coffee barista

James Alexander Hoffmann is an English bartenderyoutuber, entrepreneur, coffee consultant and author.

He first rose to prominence after winning the World Barista Championship in 2007 and has since become an influential voice and pioneer of the third wave coffee movement in Britain.

“Our tongue has taste receptors that detect sodium ions and allow us to experience the salty tasteHoffmann explained.

And he concludes: “That salty also amplifies the sweet and reduces the bitterness, which explains why adding a pinch of salt can greatly improve the flavor of the coffee”.