Beyond cream — and some sweeteners and syrups that give us delicious café staples like pumpkin spice lattes — people are typically a bit hesitant to put new add-ons into their cup of coffee. However, introducing some new flavors to the mix can revolutionize your wake-up tradition, and while some people swear by the espresso and orange juice combination, the best new addition to your coffee is your favorite flavor of bitters.

Bitters are a great choice for your coffee for a handful of reasons, some of which we discussed with Matt Woodburn-Simmonds — a coffee expert and former barista — who vouched for how well it works with coffee’s strong taste. “Bitters can balance sweetness and acidity from coffee and espresso, giving a more layered flavor which is better balanced and richer feeling,” he explained.

With this in mind, bitters work especially well in coffee drinks that could benefit from the balancing quality that bitters provide. “Any coffee drink that you feel may be a little too sweet or too acidic will work best with the addition of bitters,” Woodburn-Simmonds noted. “Cold brews that are a little under-extracted, or drinks made from lighter roast coffees, will really benefit from a touch of added bitterness to go with their natural sweetness and acidity.”

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The Best Way To Use Bitters In Your Coffee

Three glass dripper bottles filled with bitters for cocktails – Sanny11/Getty Images

Choosing the right bitters first requires some knowledge of what bitters are. Because they’re flavor extracts, and are sometimes referred to as cocktail seasonings, bitters act as a strong burst of flavor that’s unlike the typical sugary coffee syrups you’re used to. Thus, finding the right bitters that are able to blend seamlessly with the taste of coffee is vital to success. To Woodburn-Simmonds, it’s specifically aromatic and citrus bitters that are ideal for a cup of joe. “It’s best to start with bitters which will add fruit or aromatic notes to the espresso,” the coffee expert explained. “These pair the best with a classic coffee taste. Using orange or cacao bitters will really enhance the coffee and are easy entry points.”

Other than that — and beyond ensuring that your bitters are consumed promptly after you open them — it’s all about moderation when it comes to adding bitters to your coffee, as you don’t want to completely overwhelm the other flavors at play. “If you want to add bitters,” Woodburn-Simmonds continued, “the key is to focus on the overall flavor balance of the finished drink. If you’re adding a bitter element then adding a sweet one to counter it will usually work out well.”

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