Many people in the world enjoy coffee several times a week. Some coffee lovers have it every day and sometimes more than once. Sadly, not everyone enjoys the taste of pure coffee. Instead, they prefer to mix cream, milk, and sugar into it.
Indeed, as we discussed before, different ingredients change the coffee taste. For example, a tiny pinch of salt to coffee can soften the bitterness, or adding cinnamon to coffee can enhance the flavor. However, not many people know you can put baking soda in coffee. Should you try it? Let’s find out.
What Happens If You Put Baking Soda In Coffee?
Baking soda is not something most people think to put in coffee. After all, sodium bicarbonate is an ingredient usually reserved for baking cakes, cookies, and other pastries.
However, you can put little baking soda in your brewed coffee to soften a bit of the bitterness and acidity. So you do not need to drown yourself in sugar, cream, and milk.
When Alkaline baking soda goes into coffee, it fights its natural acidity. The acidity of coffee is what causes it to taste bitter. Additionally, neutralizing the acidity makes coffee safer for people with sensitive stomachs. If you haven’t found the right natural low-acid coffee yet, it’s worth trying.
Does Baking Soda Affect the Taste of Coffee?
The biggest concern most people add when they add something to their coffee is how it affects the flavor. You are unlikely to add something to coffee and not have it affect the taste. Baking soda is no different, as it will cause minor changes in your coffee’s flavor.
Coffee is naturally acidic and has a certain level of bitterness. Higher-quality coffee beans with lighter roast levels have more complex flavor profiles and taste, while inexpensive coffee in darker roast usually tastes bitter. Many people choose to dilute the flavor by adding things like cream, milk, or sugar. These things merely cover up the bitter flavor of coffee rather than alter it.
Baking soda changes the chemical composition of coffee. It neutralizes some of the acids, in turn, changes the flavor. When you add baking soda to coffee, some coffee drinkers found a pinch of baking soda improves coffee’s taste.
How Much Baking Soda Should I Put In My Coffee?
You do not need to add much baking soda to your coffee to reduce its acidity and achieve the effect you desire. Adding a lot of baking soda will have negative effects, so you should be conservative.
If you are brewing a fresh pot of coffee, you can add a ¼ teaspoon of baking soda to the coffee grounds. By adding baking soda to the coffee grounds, it will mix with the entire pot. If you make less than a pot, you should adjust the amount accordingly.
If you choose to add baking soda to your coffee after brewing it, you must add very little. You should add no more than a pinch of baking soda to your coffee after you brew it.
Why Would You Add Baking Soda In Coffee?
While adding baking soda to your coffee removes some of the harsh flavors, there are other reasons to add it. Notably, baking soda can add several health benefits to your morning cup of coffee.
It Reduces the Risk of Heartburn
Most people drink coffee not because they like the taste but because they need caffeine. Those people drink coffee out of necessity, but not many know the health risks. Drinking too much coffee can cause heartburn.
In general, acidic coffee can cause heartburn in the drinker. In addition, light or medium roast coffee tastes more acidic than dark roast coffee.
Fortunately, baking soda can significantly reduce the acidity in coffee, both in the pH and taste profile.
Nearly Eliminates Acid Reflux
Another benefit of adding baking soda to your coffee is it fights acid reflux. Acid reflux is common in people who drink coffee, but baking soda can cause relief. Once again, the main cause of acid reflux is acidity. So, since baking soda reduces acidity, it also reduces the chance of experiencing acid reflux.
Staves Off Gut Problems
Unfortunately, while many people enjoy coffee, coffee does not agree with everyone’s body. Anyone with a sensitive stomach can experience digestive issues when they drink coffee. If you experience these issues, you know they can be very painful.
Once again, baking soda helps stave off gut problems while reducing the acidity in coffee. The main cause of stomach acid after drinking coffee is its acidity, so reducing acidity should soften your stomach problems.
Side Effects of Mixing Baking Soda and Coffee
Unfortunately, you will not only experience the benefits of adding baking soda to your coffee. There are also some side effects you must deal with when adding this extra ingredient to your morning coffee. You are more likely to experience these side effects if you put too much baking soda in your coffee.
Constipation or Diarrhea
When constipation and diarrhea are opposites in most ways, they are caused by similar things. You will likely experience constipation or diarrhea when you suffer from indigestion or other stomach issues. Stomach issues are common when you take in too much baking soda.
Increased Blood Pressure
When your blood pressure rises, you increase your risk of several other health issues. In the worst-case scenario, an increase in your blood pressure can cause a heart attack. You are unlikely to experience anything that severe from adding baking soda to your coffee, but you must be aware of the risks.
Bloating
Coffee does not usually fill you up. For that reason, people still eat full breakfasts with their coffee. However, when you add baking soda to your coffee, you can feel full. Additionally, it can make you bloated.
Vomiting
No one wants to vomit, so be careful not to add too much baking soda to your coffee. It can make your stomach irritable. When that happens, your risk of vomiting increases rapidly.
Final Thoughts
Most people do not enjoy the flavor of coffee, especially the cheap coffee beans. While those are the normal additions, you can also put baking soda in coffee. By adding baking soda, you can experience several health benefits. However, do not add too much, or you can get sick and experience health issues.
FAQs
You should know the best way of adding baking soda to coffee. However, you might still have a few questions, so we want to get to a few before we wrap up.
It is understandable to want to know what you put in your body. You can live a healthy life by educating yourself on everything you ingest.
Baking soda is one of the most common materials to use when making baked goods. It is a simple chemical compound scientifically known as sodium bicarbonate. In nature, it is crystalline, but when ground into powder, it is a great baking material.
Baking soda can cause several health issues if you ingest too much of it. It is not intended for you to eat it on its own, so you should exercise caution. Most experts recommend not eating more than five teaspoons per day.
If you want to lose weight, you must turn to something other than baking soda. Unfortunately, there is no scientific backing that baking soda contributes to weight or fat loss.
