Why You Should Never Drink Coffee on an Empty Stomach

If you’re one of those people who love to start their day with coffee — well, first of all, welcome to the club. And secondly, today we’re going to discuss a question you’ve probably asked yourself at least once — is it better to avoid drinking coffee on an empty stomach? Your cup of joe can help you feel more alert and less tired. Plus, caffeine may boost your brain function, mood, and exercise performance if you like working out in the morning. But also, the bitterness of this drink can make your stomach produce more acid.

Some say it can irritate this organ or even cause some further stomach issues. Some think drinking coffee on an empty stomach is especially bad because there’s no other food that can prevent that acid from causing problems to your stomach lining.

The truth is — taa-daa — there’s no research that has found any connection between our favorite hot beverage and digestive problems, whether you drink it on an empty stomach or not. But this is just a general rule. And, of course, it’s important for you to pay attention to see how your body reacts to coffee and whether you feel better drinking it before or after breakfast. Where do you store your coffee? If you keep it in the freezer, you should know that this way, your coffee stays cold but not fresh — whether you have it as grounds or beans.

What you want is to keep it away from light, heat, air, and moisture. That’s why some airtight jar might be a good choice. And it’s best to keep that jar in a cabinet away from the stove or direct sunlight. If you’re a fan of coffee flavor but you still find the taste too bitter, just put a pinch of salt before adding water to your grinds. The salt contains sodium, which eventually makes your coffee less bitter. It’s because sodium actually prevents the receptors on your tongue from feeling those bitter flavors.

And generally, the simplest and fastest way to breathe new life into your favorite beverage is to add a pinch of cinnamon to the coffee grounds before adding water. Of course, you can get even more adventurous and go with nutmeg, cardamom, or cloves. If you’re a fan of creamers but don’t like those store-bought ones because of added oils, too much sugar, or some other ingredients you might not like, you can make your own.

Add a bit of almond or vanilla extract to your cream, together with a pinch of your favorite sweetener. If you prefer a richer texture, go with sweetened condensed milk. Or make yourself a coffee with coconut oil or butter. What a frothy and filling way to start your day. Plus, it’s a good way to maintain your energy levels. Speaking of frothy, you can use a French press if you want to froth your milk for your coffee but don’t have a frother. Heat up your milk, pour it into the press, take the lid off the cover, and leave only the whisk plunger. Plunge/whisk the milk for a couple of minutes until it froths.

Here’s a cool fact — when you hear “cold brew,” it actually refers to a way of making coffee without using hot water. Instead, you let coffee grounds soak in cold water for at least 12 hours, which creates a very smooth taste. You only need a jar, water, and coarsely ground coffee. After you do it, you’ll have a strong coffee concentrate that you can drink as it is or add ice, water, or milk to it. You can heat it up, too, if you want to drink it hot. So, cold brew coffee isn’t just for drinking cold; it’s a whole different way of making coffee. You can make ice cubes out of coffee, not water.

Regular ice is likely to dilute your brew, so your coffee might end up too watery. So, just prepare some coffee, pour it into an ice cube tray, and put it in the freezer. If you have trouble with coffee stains, put baking soda on the rough side of a sponge and rub carefully — they will go off quickly. And in case you’re one of those people who like to drink their coffee for a long time — again, welcome to the club — you might have noticed that it tastes kinda stale when you heat it in the microwave. And if you put it over high heat, it will burn. The best way to bring that nice warm feeling you get when drinking your coffee is by heating it slowly over low heat.

Before you brew coffee using a coffee filter, it’s a good idea to rinse it with hot water. This way, you’ll remove from the filter any leftover bits that could make your coffee taste bad. Also, rinsing the filter with hot water can warm up the container where the coffee will go, which will keep the temperature of the coffee steady while you make it. There are things you can still do with old coffee grounds, so don’t throw them away! For example, it can be an excellent pest repellent or fertilizer. Or, if you’re a fan of candles, add some old grounds for a nice coffee smell. If you’re a fan of shaken espressos from Starbucks, here’s a version you can make at home!

One TikTok user [@coffeedbybella] has a video where you can see how to prepare a brown sugar oat milk shaken espresso. She first takes cinnamon, brown sugar, espresso, and ice and puts it all in a mason jar. She seals it and shakes it until the mixture is frothy. Then she tops it off with a bit of milk and stirs it. Have you heard of Dalgona coffee? If you’re a fan of both TikTok and coffee, you could hardly avoid this trend. One user [@ingatylam] crafted a cool trick for those who don’t have blenders on hand — just take a whisk!

In her video, she uses three main ingredients to prepare dalgona coffee — sugar, instant coffee, and hot water. She puts it all into a big cup and then mixes the ingredients by rolling a whisk with her hands. It might take a little bit longer than with a blender, but it’s still a cool trick in case you don’t have one or don’t feel like washing it! TikTok strikes again! Thanks to this platform, the term “proffee” has become largely popular. It’s actually a very simple trick to turn your coffee into a meal. To try it out, you need to make your iced coffee as you usually do. But instead of creamer, add the premade protein shake you love. Maybe chocolate or vanilla flavor will do? Both will taste great in coffee. You can add some extra milk, cream, or sweetener to get a delicious on-the-go breakfast.

How to prepare espresso without espresso? No, it’s not a mistake — it’s actually a cool way to still enjoy your favorite flavor even if you don’t have an espresso machine. As a popular TikTok user [@shakybarista] showed, you can actually use instant coffee and turn it into espresso. Add more of this substance to a smaller volume of water when you make it. Of course, it won’t taste exactly like espresso, but it can be a good alternative and even slightly more bitter than regular coffee. You can cover this taste with sweet syrups or dairy products, though.

Just make sure to use a high-quality dark roast instant coffee for this hack. If you use a coffee machine, don’t forget to clean it on a regular basis. When you make coffee, the beans leave behind some oil that can build up and stick to the insides of the machine over time. If you don’t clean the machine, the residue can mix with your next batch of coffee and make it taste bad.

Also, try to use quality beans only. They cost a bit more, but if you’re a true coffee enthusiast, it’s really worth it. It doesn’t mean you need to get the world’s most expensive coffee, of course, since that one costs over $600 per pound. An animal called the Asian palm civet eats coffee beans and processes them in its stomach — and that’s what you pay for. This drink costs between $35 and $100 a cup.