Why Salty Snacks Taste Bad With Coffee, According To Science

There are plenty of delicious snacks that pair well with coffee, like sweets, which we dive into the science of here. But some treats just don't meld well with that flavor profile. We detailed nine foods you want to keep away from your morning brew, and one of them is salty snacks.

Alton Brown once suggested that adding salt to coffee can reduce the bitterness, but it needs to be a small amount. "I've taken to adding a quarter teaspoon of kosher salt to every six tablespoons of grounds," Brown told us. And it's true, lower quality coffee or one that is too bitter may see its taste improved by a little bit of salt. But high-quality coffee does not need salt, and neither does a light roast with its more subtle characteristics.

Sodium chloride, or table salt, has been scientifically shown to suppress bitter taste receptors. That's exactly why a little can improve your coffee flavor if you're finding it too bitter. But the amount of sodium in salty snacks is usually too much. Because of that, you will lose flavor nuances if you consume sodium-rich foods while drinking coffee. 

According to the United States Food & Drug Administration (FDA), the average American consumes 3,400 mg of sodium per day, far more than what the American Heart Association recommends, which is no more than 1,500 mg per day. When you enjoy your coffee with salt-heavy treats, you can overload the salt receptors in your taste buds. Too much salt will actually trick your brain by triggering cells meant to go off when you taste bitter and sour flavors, potentially making what you're eating and drinking taste much worse.

Salt makes you thirsty by altering the chemical composition in your cells, which need more water to maintain a balance. Since coffee and the caffeine in it can act as a diuretic, it may flush fluid from your body. In an effort to keep the right water-to-sodium ratio, your kidneys will retain more water, leaving you feeling bloated. All in all, it's not the best combination.

How might this affect you when you're at home having a snack and a coffee?  Let's look at a few popular salty items. An 8-ounce bag of Herr's Original Popcorn has 440 mg of sodium, and an 8-ounce bag of Classic Lay's potato chips has 1,120 mg of sodium. Meanwhile, a 4-ounce bag of Planters salted peanuts has 400 mg of sodium. Your coffee doesn't stand a chance to shine through all that salt. For maximum enjoyment, save the salty treats for later and have your coffee alone or paired with one of these tasty donut combos.