Buzz
Welcome back to our segment featuring special coffee recipes from around the world. Previously, TopListCafe introduced you to cheese coffee, honey coffee, and most recently, egg coffee. This time, let's take a moment to admire another super unique coffee: Salt Coffee.
If you find it a bit 'out there' upon hearing it, rest assured that many others share similar thoughts, including ourselves. Indeed, few would think of a condiment like salt playing a crucial role in coffee brewing - a type of bean with completely unrelated flavor profiles.
So how did the creative circumstances give birth to salted coffee? And what's the best way to make salt coffee for the most authentic taste?
What is Salt Coffee?
Salt coffee is coffee brewed with a certain amount of salt, just enough to enhance the overall flavor profile in the cup. Additionally, the salt component helps neutralize the bitterness of coffee, making the tasting experience even more complete.
It may sound simple, but the flavor of salted coffee has truly hooked many. Besides its uniqueness, salt coffee becomes attractive for its healthiness, as drinkers don't need to counteract bitterness by adding sugar or milk - ingredients that can be harmful when consumed excessively.
How does salt blended with coffee affect the overall flavor?
The Role of Salt in Coffee
As mentioned, salt is used to reduce the bitterness of coffee. In fact, for cups of coffee that have gone stale and lost their flavor due to being left out for too long, adding a bit of salt can significantly help restore the original taste.
Based on these findings, it can be said that the blending of salt and coffee is suitable (to a certain extent), applicable to many diverse brewing recipes.
Hmm, okay... So how would the overall taste of the drink be then? Would it still taste like coffee but just a bit 'saltier'? Well, that's not actually how salt and coffee interact when combined!
The real role of salt in coffee is not to increase saltiness or alter the flavor of coffee after brewing, but rather to stimulate the taste buds (the sensory organs for taste) on the tongue.
At that point, your brain receives a new flavor signal, diverted from the inherent bitter taste of coffee.
(Image Source: VinePair)
Why does salt know how to 'neutralize' the bitterness of coffee?
Indeed, why is it that salt, when eaten normally even in small amounts, tastes salty - but when added to coffee, it doesn't make it saltier, but instead automatically neutralizes bitterness?
To explain this phenomenon, let's briefly review some basic knowledge about how our tongues distinguish and perceive flavors.
Specifically, the thousands of taste buds on the tongue play a role in identifying the 5 basic tastes: sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami. Among them, the mechanism for sensing the 4 tastes of sweet, salty, sour, and umami on the tongue is identical, and when combined with salt, these 4 tastes all increase in intensity.
However, only the bitter taste is perceived by the tongue in a completely separate way!
To detect bitterness, our tongues release ionized calcium ions (calcium ion – Ca2+) when in contact with food/drink. The properties of salt do not interact with this reaction; instead, they inhibit the process. Therefore, the sensation of bitterness on the tongue is somewhat neutralized by salt.
When applied to the context of brewing coffee and the characteristic bitterness of this type of bean, it's clear that salt is a creatively ingenious seasoning when used delicately and appropriately.
The historical origins of salted coffee
Across the globe
Salted coffee has been around for quite some time worldwide. However, various records indicate numerous different contexts regarding the origin of salted coffee. Therefore, it's quite challenging to determine where this coffee originated.
For example, for people in the countries of North Scandinavia, Siberia, Turkey, and Hungary, salted coffee has become a longstanding part of their culture. Some coastal regions even creatively make salted coffee using brackish water (the part of the water transitioning from river mouths to the sea) boiled and brewed directly.
Because brackish water already has a certain level of salinity, they don't need to add external salt when brewing coffee anymore. The saltiness of brackish water is also not too intense, just appropriate enough for adjustment.
Another document mentions the context of World War II, when the US naval fleets were continuously deployed. They came up with ways to desalinate/separate salt from seawater to produce freshwater for consumption. However, technological limitations at that time still left some salt in the water, forcing them to accept slightly salty water for use.
When sailors used that water to brew coffee, they noticed quite a novel difference in the overall flavor. That's how they came to know about salted coffee.
US Navy sailors drank salted coffee on ships during World War 2. (Image Source: Military.com)
In Vietnam
Hue was the first port of call for the introduction of salted coffee in Vietnam. It is known that over 10 years ago, a garden café on Nguyen Luong Bang Street (Hue) made its own innovations in the process of brewing salted coffee.
It's unclear how the owner of the café came into contact with and acquainted themselves with salted coffee or how they improved the original recipe. All we know is that word gradually spread, and the café's craftsmanship became increasingly renowned, making Hue salted coffee a must-try specialty in this city.
Alongside Hue, Da Nang salted coffee is also quite famous. If you're a hardcore coffee fan and have the chance to travel through the coastal regions of Central and South Central Vietnam, don't forget to stop by and see if there's any difference in the taste of salted coffee between these two cities.
The authentic recipe for Hue salted coffee
Preparing ingredients & equipment
The presence of condensed milk is the key difference in the Hue salted coffee recipe compared to the original method worldwide, creating a richer, more enticing aroma.
Procedure/Recipe for making salted coffee
Compared to the familiar methods of brewing with sugar or regular milk, salted coffee truly piqued my curiosity, making it hard to imagine what the combination of coffee and salt would taste like without actually tasting it. After experiencing salted coffee at NeoCafe (35B Nguyen Huu Huan, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi), the result did not disappoint.
Unlike the dense black or brown hues, a cup of salted coffee evokes a gentle creaminess. Before drinking, the staff also advises stirring the cup thoroughly to blend the ingredients together, bringing about the most balanced flavor.
Salted coffee at NeoCafe.
In the first sip, you'll notice the saltiness on the tip of your tongue, but that sensation quickly fades away, giving way to the rich aroma of 100% Arabica coffee. The finish is smooth, robust, and long-lasting, with just a hint of bitterness thanks to the salt's effect.
Currently, NeoCafe has plans to open branches in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. You can stay updated on the latest menu and NeoCafe's locations HERE.
Tips for ensuring the highest quality salted coffee
Thoroughly check ingredients and tools
Right from the ingredient preparation stage, ensure you select pure coffee beans, with a clear origin and accompanying certification. Absolutely avoid coffee of unknown origin or with signs of impurity.
Tools such as coffee filters, cups, and spoons should also be thoroughly cleaned to avoid bacteria or dirt residue that may cause odors, or worse, affect the health of the user.
The water source for brewing should also be arranged through a meticulous filtration system, avoiding long-standing or poorly filtered water. Even when boiled, poor-quality water will never yield the desired flavor results for your coffee brew.
Technique for mixing salt with coffee
In reality, there are 2 methods for adding salt to coffee during preparation:
- Mixing salt with coffee grounds before/while putting them into the filter.
- Adding salt to the brewed coffee concentrate after it has been filtered through the filter, then stirring well.
Both methods have similar effects, depending on each person's preference for brewing salted coffee.
Alternatively, mix salt into the coffee immediately after grinding (left) or add it after the coffee concentrate has finished dripping (right). (Image Source: Perfect Daily Grind)
However, method 2 has a slight drawback: the saltiness will be slightly more noticeable to the drinker compared to method 1.
Fundamentally, the role of salt when combined with coffee is to neutralize bitterness and 'hide' as much as possible, avoiding creating a separate salty taste in the overall flavor of the cup. In other words, salted coffee is a formula designed to reduce bitterness, not synonymous with 'salty coffee.'
If done according to method 1 - thoroughly mixing salt into the coffee in ground form right in the filter - the resulting dissolution of salt and coffee will occur more harmoniously when catalyzed by boiling water, creating an optimal bitterness-reducing reaction without introducing additional saltiness. In fact, many people even use a mortar and pestle or grinder to ensure these two components are blended to the ideal degree.
However, you can only control 100% of these preparation steps if you personally handcraft salted coffee. Otherwise, when enjoying at a cafe, baristas often opt for method 2, allowing customers to decide the final amount of salt when mixing with pre-brewed coffee.
Above is all you need to know about salted coffee, its definition and origin, as well as detailed instructions for making salted coffee at home - especially useful for those who want to craft their own coffee during this pandemic when cafes are still closed.
Currently, salted coffee has also been adopted by many cafes in both Hanoi and Saigon to include in their menus. However, you should still try experiencing the original flavor of Hue salted coffee to fully appreciate the long-standing culture of this specialty.
Wishing you all enjoyable moments savoring interesting coffee. And don't forget to check out many other diverse brewing recipes introduced by TopListCafe.
Posted by: Bao Ngoc
Keywords: Salted Coffee: Original Hue Specialty & Super Easy Homemade Recipe
