Coffee Additives

Recently my sister (my food-loving idol) texted me asking, "Have you ever heard of putting a dash of salt in your coffee grounds?"

I had not heard of such a thing dear reader, but quickly the power of the interwebs quickly informed me that I was sorely missing out on a hot new way to make your crappy coffee better (my cheap heart sung loudly and proudly).  A quick search on the topic turned out a Chowhound (if you don't know about Chowhound, you should learn - best community driven food site in the history of the internet - restaurant reviews, recipes, best practices...) and this post came up.

I was sold.  For years, we (sis and I) have been adding a dash of cinnamon to coffee grounds for a subtle sweet flavor (we swore off sugar in our coffee a while back)...but salt?!  This was uncharted territory.

With the rage of salted carmel that began late year (maybe the one before) this wasn't too far a strech of the imagination - however it was still foreign.

I don't drink much coffee, but I had to try it.

Lickety split - I ran to my co-workers coffee maker and doctored up what I assumed was going to be the most awesome pot of coffee ever.  I measured my grounds exactly and then I ran to get a salt packet from the lunch room (glowing in my pride of resourcefulness) and I dumped the lil' packet in (maybe a 1/4T) and set the wheels of the coffee gods in motion.


What I didn't take into consideration was the fact that I was working with a 4 cup coffee maker.  So, when I raised my amazing creation to my lips, eager for a treat - I was smacked in the face with salty, gross gross flavored, incredibly smooth coffee.

The next day, I tried again, only this time I added a mere pinch of salt to my grounds and the change in my coffee was simply astounding.  Really, the cheap Folger's coffee I had hidden in my desk suddenly had a wonderful round flavor without any of the bitterness that so often accompanies it.

In short - I love this idea and HIGHLY recommend it -- but do yourself a favor, use a pinch of salt, not a packet.