No one would want his/her coffee to taste bitter. But sometimes your coffee can turn out bitter and efforts to bring back its taste may prove challenging. In this blog, I will show you a few unique ways to make your coffee less bitter.
Adding milk, sugar, cream, butter, ice cream or a little salt are ways of making the coffee less bitter. You can also check whether the brewing method and the time you take to brew make the coffee bitter.
8 Ingenious Ways to Make Coffee Less Bitter
No matter the brand you prefer, you can make your coffee taste less bitter using the following ways:
1. Choose Good Coffee Beans
Good coffee will always begin with good beans. There are different types of coffee beans and it matters which one you choose. With roasts, lighter roasts maintain more of the coffee beans’ natural flavor while dark roasts tend to have a stronger flavor and bitter taste.
2. Check for Stale Beans
Using stale coffee beans won’t make your coffee taste as fresh as freshly roasted beans. Normally, coffee beans roasted 3-4 weeks earlier are stale.
3. Changing Coffee Grind Size
Over-extracted coffee can make your coffee bitter. If you consistently get bitter coffee, maybe it’s time you change the size of your coffee grind.
4. Add a Fat
Fats help neutralize the bitterness in coffee. Adding milk, ice cream or butter will help reduce the bitterness.
5. Changing Brewing Time
You might be brewing your coffee for too long if you’re continuously getting bitter coffee. Try to brew your coffee for less time until you’ve brewed a cup of coffee that is just the way you like it.
6. Checking Coffee to Water Ratio
A little amount of water will make a very strong and concentrated while too much water may make a much-diluted coffee. Experiment with different ratios and measurements until you get your desired taste.
7. Add Salt
Adding a small amount of salt to your coffee not only reduces the bitterness but also refreshes the stale-tasting coffee.
8. Add Sugar
Sugar is also a good additive when reducing bitterness in your coffee. It will help sweeten your coffee rather than make it bitter.
What Makes Coffee Bitter
The two main causes of bitter coffee are bad coffee beans and bad brewing. When you use low-grade beans or dark roast beans then your chances of ever having a sweet cup of coffee are low. At Mochailatte, we suggest you go for high-grade (specialty) coffee beans.
How to Fix Already Made Bitter Coffee
Have you already made your coffee but you realize it tastes bitter and you don’t have time to make another one? Then adding a pinch of salt is a quick way to fix it, making the coffee drinkable. Adding a little salt to the coffee will lessen the bitterness if you used a high ratio of coffee to water or leave it to soak for too long.
PS. The salt won’t make bad coffee taste good, but it may be enough to make it drinkable.
5 Least Bitter Coffee Options You Can Try
| SUBTLE EARTH ORGANIC COFFEE | Lightly roasted, consistent, smooth, bright, and easy to drink with a sweet pleasant aftertaste Whole bean coffee100% Arabic beans Features a full-bodied deep, rich, chocolatey flavor with a clean finish and low acidity Depth of Flavor and Velvety body with notes of honey, caramel, and cocoa |
| ETHIOPIAN BOLD LIGHT ROAST | Ground coffee light roast grade 1 Intense bright and clean, lemon tart, raw honey, and floral nectar Creates a bold, smooth and flavorful coffee Natural dry-processed single-origin Gourmet coffee |
| REAL GOOD COFFEE COMPANY | Premium quality Arabic coffee beans Breakfast blend light roast coffee beans Smooth flavor that brings in brisk citrus taste with smooth aromatic notes of milk chocolate and cream Suitable for any good coffee machine |
| COFFEE BROS. LIGHT ROAST | 100% Arabic Whole Bean Gourmet and Speciality Light Roast Tastes of honey, citrus fruit, and floral with a crisp and silk body, a perfect breakfast blend |
| CARIBOU COFFEE DAYBREAK MORNING BLEND | Light Roast Ground Coffee100% Arabic coffee Rainforest Alliance Certified Fruity and caramel sweetness with a nutty finish for a taste of sunshine with every sip |
Final Thoughts
It’s important to first identify what exactly is making your coffee bitter. Once you have identified the problem, you can then solve it effectively. It’s my hope that the tips discussed above can help you make already brewed coffee less bitter or a fresh cup that is less bitter.