Viral salt in coffee trend cuts bitterness without sugar or cream

A viral coffee trend is gaining strength and could make your morning coffee taste smoother, without sugar or creamer.

The internet’s newest coffee craze doesn’t involve fancy syrups or expensive beans. It contains just a pinch of salt.

Users say the simple addition can reduce bitterness, increase natural sweetness, and elevate even an average cup of joe. They recommend a few different methods, such as sprinkling salt on the coffee grounds before brewing, mixing a few drops of the salt solution, or mixing a small pinch directly into a brewed cup.

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According to experts, salt not only adds flavor to foods; When used in moderation, it also balances the taste. A small amount of salt in coffee can neutralize bitterness by affecting certain taste receptors on the tongue, without masking the taste as sugar and cream do.

Various studies over the years have found that sodium can blunt the bitterness of certain compounds, increase perceived sweetness, and generally improve overall flavor balance.

“A pinch of sodium ion inhibits quinine-like compounds, suppressing bitterness and enhancing perceived sweetness, especially in dark roasted coffees,” said Ed McCormick, a New Jersey-based food science consultant and owner of Cape Crystal Brands, which produces baking ingredients such as xanthan gum and pectin sometimes used in viral recipes.

Speaking to Fox News Digital, McCormick said, “The way salt softens and thickens the bitterness is due to the firing of taste receptors. This is food science doing its own thing, there is no need for sugar.”

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Just a small amount of salt is enough to influence taste receptors and signal to the brain that the flavor is less bitter, said Heather Perry, two-time U.S. barista champion and CEO of Klatch Coffee in Southern California.

“You don’t want to exaggerate the flavor notes, or worse, taste like a salty cup of coffee,” Perry told Fox News Digital. High-quality, freshly roasted beans probably don’t need any help, he added.

“Adding salt can actually mask the spectrum of flavors your roaster has worked hard to create.”

Fans say the method enhances the flavor of both drip and French press coffee. (iStock)

Perry said coffee is ultimately personal.

“If it makes your cup taste better, there’s no wrong way to enjoy it.”

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Some TikTok users claim that adding salt can help with hydration, but health experts say that’s probably fantasy.

“Salting coffee is less a TikTok innovation and more a reinvention of kitchen chemistry.”

Colorado-based registered dietitian nutritionist Janelle Bober, affiliated with Dietitian Live, told Fox News Digital that a pinch of salt won’t do any electrolyte benefits.

“Coffee has a mild diuretic effect, which is much more pronounced, so adding some salt doesn’t eliminate that at all,” Bober said.

The age-old coffee trick is being reinvented with the ability to soften bitter coffee. (iStock)

He noted that a pinch of salt is unlikely to affect most people’s sodium intake, but warns those with hypertension or kidney disease to avoid it.

Compared to sugar or cream, Bober added, “salt adds flavor without any calories, so if you’re looking to reduce your sugar or calories or are focusing on fat content, salt can be a preferred flavor vehicle without affecting the rest of it.”

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Although the idea may seem new to many Americans, salting coffee is far from a modern invention.

According to reports, a pinch of salt in coffee plays a symbolic role in traditional marriage rituals in Türkiye. Popular in Vietnam, ca phe muoi – or salted coffee – combines espresso with sweetened condensed milk and salted cream. And in Taiwan, “sea salt coffee” has become a cafe favorite.

Even cafes add a little salt to their menus. (iStock)

Salt is also used to “soften” mineral-rich water in Northern Europe and coastal areas, McCormick said.

“Salting coffee is less a TikTok innovation and more a reinvention of kitchen chemistry; proof that grandma’s trick still works,” he said.

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The flavor-enhancing power of salt is also evident in luxury cafes. Maman, a New York-based craft chain that went viral for its Salted Tahini Latte earlier this year, uses salt in many of its homemade drink syrups.

“Just like when you add salt to a savory or sweet dish, it makes the flavors pop, making the coffee have a fuller or amplified flavor profile than what it already has,” Caitlin Burke, Maman’s beverage director, told Fox News Digital.

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Burke recommended using high-quality fleur de sel, noting that although the trend is very popular right now, the salt’s “timeless” appeal likely gives it staying power.