Coffee article Health
Why Would You Put Eggshells in Coffee?
Drinking coffee is always a matter of personal choice. It’s like your own private moment when
you can drink whatever you want. No one will judge you. It’s just you and a cup of freshly
brewed coffee just the way you like it.
I like my coffee black, most of the time. I enjoy light roast in the morning to accompany my
breakfast meal. I take another cup just before lunch. In the late afternoon, when things usually
get slow, I take another cup. I prefer a darker roast at this time of the day to give me a better
boost for the remaining hours before I prepare dinner for the family.
Sometimes, my husband and I get another cup of coffee a couple of hours before bedtime. We
enjoy having this quiet time when the little one is already asleep. We catch up and talk about
how our day went, some plans for the week and just about any topic that comes our way. We
often add some milk in our coffee for this late night coffee date.
How about you? How do you enjoy your coffee on a daily basis? Do you have a favorite add-on
ingredient?
I know others like adding cinnamon, butter, cayenne or whiskey in their coffee. But, have you
heard of putting eggshells in coffee?
Let’s find out why they do this and what are the perceived benefits of putting eggshells in coffee.
Who knows, you and I might end up trying it too.
What’s in an eggshell?
When you crack open an egg, we often throw away the eggshells. But have you taken a closer
look at the eggshell? Imagine, if you did not cook an egg, the eggshell will be the protective
covering of a growing chick. It seems breakable. But in reality, the eggshell is a tough cover that
enables a chick to grow into its full-term.
Bumpy and grainy in texture, an eggshell is covered with as many as 17,000 tiny pores.
Eggshell is made up of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) crystals. It is a semipermeable membrane,
which means that air and moisture can easily pass through its pores. The shell also has a thin
outermost coating called the bloom or cuticle that helps keep out bacteria and dust. The
composition of the eggshell is perfect enough to nurture and protect a living organism. With the
right temperature from the mother hen, the eggshell serves as an incubator to support a growing
life.
Basic nutritional value of an eggshell (1/2 teaspoon of eggshell)
Calcium – 900 mg
Magnesium – 24.0 mg
Phosphorus – 8.4 mg
Potassium – 8.0 mg
Sodium – 9.0 mg
That’s a ton of trace minerals in a ½ teaspoon of eggshell. However, if you are going to put
eggshells in coffee, does it mean consuming the eggshells as well? That will make coffee hard
to drink, don’t you think?
How does one add eggshells in coffee and how will you drink it?
Eggshells in coffee
According to a report by Livestrong, eggshells are alkaline and can help reduce the acidity of
coffee. When eggshells are added to coffee, it can remove much of the bitterness and balance
out coffee’s flavor. In addition to this, eggshells are used in making campfire coffee. Campfire
coffee is a method of boiling lose coffee grounds in a pot of water. Eggshells help keep the
grounds in the bottom of the pot.
If you are planning to try using eggshells in your coffee, you will need the following items:
Eggs
Coffee pot
Ground coffee
To know the number of eggs you need, as a general guide, one egg is good for four cups or
less. If you are brewing more, adjust accordingly. For eight cups, you will need two eggs. It will
really depend on the coffee taste that you want to achieve. Even if you are brewing just four
cups, you might want to add more eggshells if you want a smoother and lighter coffee taste.
Step 1: Crack the eggs.
Get two bowls. Put the egg whites and yolks in one bowl and the eggshells in the other. You can
use the whites and yolks for your omelet. As guide, use one egg for a small pot and two or more
for larger pots.
Step 2: Clean the shells.
This may sound as a no-brainer, but do not forget to clean the eggshells. Use hot water to
remove any egg whites on the shell. Make sure nothing is left. You just need the eggshells. Let
it try or pat-dry using paper towels.
Step 3: Add your coffee
Measure the right amount of coffee ground to every cup of water. Normally, a scoop of ground
coffee is good for one cup. Do not add too much ground coffee because it will still taste strong
and bitter even if you add more eggshells.
Step 4: Add the Eggshells
Crush the eggshells in your hand and add them to your coffee grounds. When you crush them,
be sure the pieces are small but not so tiny they could accidentally mix with your coffee and end
up in your cup.
Step 5: Brew Your Coffee
Turn on your coffee pot and brew your coffee just like you normally do every day. The water will
pass through both your coffee and the eggshells before they reach your pot.
Step 6: Discard the Used Eggshells and Grounds
As soon as you are done and the freshly brewed coffee are transferred into individual cups, time
to throw away everything. Never re-use these eggshells. They are good for one time use only.
Step 7: Enjoy your coffee
You will instantly notice the difference in taste. When use brew coffee with eggshells, the
bitterness of coffee is significantly reduced and you will taste the smoother and sweeter side of
coffee.
If you have been used to bittersweet coffee and love it, you might be disappointed with the less
bitter eggshell coffee. But come to think of it, if you love and prefer the bitterness of coffee,
there’s really no point in adding the eggshells in the first place, right? Now, if you want to drink
coffee but prefers a smoother blend, try adding eggshells in your brew.
Where did the idea of adding eggshells in coffee start?
According to Coffee FAQ, there are several theories that explain the origin of this eggshells in
coffee. The most common and popular belief is that the practice of adding eggshells in coffee
started in Sweden, back in the 1900s and is a common practice until now.
In one of the comments, the responder remembered her mother saving eggshells and putting
those in their coffee pot. Her mother used a double-boiler type steel pot with a glass plug
between the upper and lower parts – grounds (and shell) on top, water in the bottom, and when
it boiled the water rushed up into the upper pot, steeped, and then dripped back into the lower
pot. The responder noted that the coffee tasted better than the coffee she drinks from her coffee
maker.
Another responder noted that the practice of putting eggshells in coffee often work for
percolators because the eggshells keep the ground coffee at the bottom. Also, the eggshells
help remove the build up inside the percolator, which helps in easy cleaning of the equipment.
Several responders attested to the fact that using eggshells in coffee brew reduces the
bitterness and acidity of the coffee.
Have you tried adding eggshells in your coffee? I think I’ll give it a go one of these days. For the
meantime, I’ll enjoy my coffee – black, bolder and richer.