Edit - I changed things. Nobody wanted to guess. : (

    • ProfessorOwl_PhD [any]
      ·
      9 months ago

      You say that, but I was on an international camp once and had to text the only other brit there to bring me a real cup of tea when I was sick because the europeans would add hot water and immediately remove the teabag instead of letting it brew.

  • FourteenEyes [he/him]
    ·
    9 months ago

    In Ethiopia they add salt to their coffee to cut down on bitterness rather than sugar. Some take it so salty it's like seawater sometimes.

    Salt just plain makes other flavors pop. It makes sense.

      • KobaCumTribute [she/her]
        ·
        edit-2
        9 months ago

        It only takes a very small pinch, speaking from experience. Like less than an eighth of a teaspoon will almost eliminate the bitterness in a large mug of coffee, without adding a salty taste.

        At least to my tastes, but then I'll literally eat coffee beans so my scale for that may be a bit skewed, though if you drink black coffee already you're probably similarly acclimated to it. It wipes out that sort of sour-bitterness coffee can have, which is the specific thing I find unpleasant in black coffee myself.

      • PointAndClique [they/them]
        ·
        edit-2
        9 months ago

        tbf, I'll give it a try. That being said I do like the bitter/astringent notes in my tea and I steep it for ages to draw them out, and I don't drink with sugar, so adding salt seems like a preference/flavour thing more than an advice thing.

        Edit: also it seems that where I live has soft water, which apparently skews brews towards bitterness, so adding salt kinda makes sense if you want to mellow it out. I wonder if adding salt after brewing with hard water is less necessary?