Here Are Several Simple Tips to Make Bad Coffee Taste Better

When it comes to making coffee at home, the standards are often low because people sometimes stumble upon bad coffee. When this is the case, not everything is lost, because there are many ways to improve the taste of coffee. Here are some useful tips on how to do just that.

Mix With Spices

Adding a pinch of cinnamon or another spice to coffee is a good way to improve the aroma and flavor of the beverage. The spices themselves should be added to the coffee before brewing. This is an easy way to solve the taste problem. Any warm baking spices will work, including cloves, nutmeg, star anise, and cardamom. The ground spice should be added to the grinds in the coffee filter and stirred for even distribution before being brewed as normal.

Using milk is an old hack for making bad coffee better. Adding some foamy milk to a cup is even better. Milk holds bubbles when it’s warm and creates a layer on top of the coffee. Dairy milk and non-dairy alternatives will both work. Microwaving the milk until it is warm but not hot and shaking it for about 30 seconds should be enough to give it bubbles for the best effect.

Mocha Coffee Is Always Good

Another good way to make bad coffee taste better is to add some good old hot chocolate mix. This is a great way of making mocha at home, and it can become even better with the addition of some milk. For good results, a cocoa mix that’s meant to be dissolved in water should be used. This doesn’t require any intervention before brewing the coffee, so it can always be applied.

Sugar, Salt, Citrus Zest, and Milk

We have all tried sweetened and creamy coffee but salt can also help offset bitter flavors. So, sprinkling a small amount of salt, like half of a pinch, into a cup of coffee grounds before brewing is the way to go. This will reduce excess sharpness and acidity.

To many people’s surprise, coffee pairs nicely with citrus, so any leftover citrus fruit from the fridge can be used to change its taste, except maybe lemon. A teaspoon of peel can be added to the coffee grounds before boiling, and it should be stirred for even distribution.

While many of these tips work great for a drip coffee pot, they can also be applied with most home coffee brewing techniques. These include French press, Moka pot, and pour-over coffee but the quantity of cinnamon, orange zest, or any other addition should be adjusted to suit the amount of coffee being brewed. For example, when it comes to one or two cups, a lot less salt should be used than for making an entire pot.