Did you know that 62% of Americans drink coffee every day? Each of these coffee drinkers want a sweet-tasting brew, but sometimes the favorite cup may turn out bitter. A small mistake during the brewing process or making your favorite drink using wrong coffee beans may lead to a bitter cup. So, which is the best way to make coffee less bitter?

Add cream milk, sugar, a pinch of salt, cinnamon, fat, or citrus to make coffee less bitter. Additionally, choose the right coffee beans, be keen on the grind size, and reduce the brew time.

How to Make Your Coffee Less Bitter

You can make your coffee less bitter by making a few adjustments in your brewing, as discussed below:

Go for the Right Coffee Beans

A perfect cup of coffee starts with quality coffee beans. Even though the beans may seem a bit expensive, they will go an extra mile in ensuring you brew the sweetest cup. However, the taste you get depends on the coffee beans’ variety and flavor of choice. The bean flavors range from sweet and fruity to chocolaty and nutty.

Regarding roast levels, lighter roasts tend to retain more natural flavors of the coffee beans. On the other hand, dark roasts carry a bitter and roast taste.

Change the Coffee Beans Grind Size

Have you ever wondered why you constantly get bitter coffee? There is a possibility you are over-extracting your coffee. How about you change the grind size to a medium-fine grind. That way, you will avoid over-extraction or under-extraction due to too small or too large coffee grounds.

Do Away with Old and Unpleasant Beans

Stale, decayed, and unpleasant beans won’t bring out that good, flavorful, and fresh taste. In fact, they are the reason your coffee tastes metallic. Besides, overstayed coffee beans create a bitter and sour taste. Don’t buy coffee beans that have undergone roasting 3-4 weeks ago. They are often stale and unpleasant. The best option is to use beans roasted two weeks before or buy and do the roasting yourself.

Reduce the Brew Time

If that bitter taste fails to disappear, perhaps you are brewing your coffee for too long. Coffee stays in the water to brew. But if you let it stay for too long, it over extracts, creating a more bitter and burnt taste.

The best way is to set a timer. That way, you will know the correct time you need to brew your coffee, depending on the brewing method.

Be Keen on the Coffee to Water Proportion

Excess water creates diluted coffee, while too little water makes a concentrated brew. The most common proportion in coffee brewing is 15 cups of water to one part coffee. You can as well experiment with various proportions until attaining the desired taste.

5. Things to Add to Your Coffee to Make it Less Bitter

After discussing some of the changes you need to make during the brewing process, here are 5 things to add to your coffee to make it tasteful, flavorful, and pleasant.

1. Salt

Salt neutralizes the bitterness in coffee and enhances a desirable flavor. It also helps eliminate the stale or unpleasant taste.

2. Sugar

We all know sugar brings out that good taste in a drink. Adding sugar to your coffee helps reduce the bitterness and brings out that sweet taste. Sugar also enhances the natural coffee flavor.

It further blocks the bitter taste by creating a molecular change, resulting from an interaction between caffeine, sugar, and water.

3. Fat

Fats also help to neutralize bitterness in coffee. Toping up your coffee with some milk, butter, cream, or ice cream will help to round out any other flavors in your brew. The calcium in the fat neutralizes the bitter taste.

4. Cinnamon

Pairing cinnamon with sweet desserts also does a great job of reducing coffee bitterness. Your taste buds will sense something sweet and mentally trigger you into thinking your brew isn’t bitter as you thought.

5. Citrus

A squeeze of lemon will do well. But if you are not comfortable, I recommend an orange. It will make your coffee sore fresh.

Brewing Methods to Make coffee less Bitter

Let’s now look at some of the brewing methods that you can use to make your coffee less bitter.

French press

The method is ideal because it enables you to control most variables. That includes coffee grinds, water temperature, and steeping time, among others. A French press enhances a perfect coffee flavor. That’s because the coffee only comes in contact with the brewer and hot water, not the filter.

Pour-over Coffee

Like the French Press, you are in charge of all the elements. Therefore, if you keep on receiving bitter coffee, you can adjust a variable at a time. You may consider starting with the grind size and then water pouring. Luckily, you don’t need any skills to use the pour-overs.

Cold Brew

When it comes to bitterness, cold brews stand out as the best. That’s because you don’t expose the coffee grounds to high temperatures, which triggers coffee oils to release more acids.

Drip Coffee Maker

With drip brewers, you can only adjust the coffee beans grind size and coffee to water ratio. The good thing about drip brewers is they can make a large amount of coffee, flavored and less bitter.

AeroPress Method

With this method, you have control over the brew time. AeroPress method makes clean and pleasant coffee, full of good flavor. A good proportion of coffee to water is 1:16.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q. Which coffee beans make less bitter coffee?

A. Arabica coffee beans are less bitter compared to Robusta coffee beans. You can also opt for coffee beans from Brazil, Costa Rica, or the Kona region.

Q. Can salt make your coffee less bitter?

A. Yes. Salt naturally suppresses the coffee bitterness while boosting its flavor.

Q. Do light roast beans make less bitter coffee?

 A. Yes. Light roast brews are high in caffeine and have a brighter taste than dark roasts brews, which have a bitter and burnt taste.

Final Thoughts

You deserve a good cup of coffee. Because you now know how to make coffee less bitter, I believe you will come up with a flavorful, pleasant, and tasteful cup. Knowing what makes your coffee taste bitter will help you determine the most suitable technique to use. Enjoy caffeinating.