Ashton Kutcher Adds An Unusual Ingredient To His Coffee 2024

While some people are scrunching up their noses in disgust at this new coffee trend, others have found a whole new appreciation for their morning cup of joy. 

It’s a way to leave behind the milk and creamers and enjoy your coffee black without the usual bitterness. If you have a lactose intolerance, hate plain coffee, or just want to take your taste buds on an adventure, it’s a trend you’ve got to try. 

So, what’s this secret ingredient making a commotion among coffee connoisseurs? 

The unusual ingredient Ashton Kutcher adds to his coffee is… orange juice! Read on to see why he does it and how you can learn to love it, too.

Why Ashton Kutcher Adds Orange Juice To His Coffee

After Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher’s second big love is probably coffee. 

He was on the Kelly Clarkson show, expressing his love for different flavors, blends, a light roast, and how he likes to switch things up to make his coffee more enjoyable. He seems to know what he’s talking about, too.

Ashton confessed his love of a nice cup of light roast black coffee, which he says has satisfying citrus overtones. But he only drinks his coffee black, never adding any sugar or creamers. And that’s why he loves adding just a splash of orange juice — to up its natural citrus flavor and brightness while adding a bit of fruity sweetness. 

If he’s going to have a cup of medium roast coffee and notices it has a bit of that burnt flavor, he says orange juice is the perfect way to enhance its flavor. It mellows it out and turns a darker blend into a lighter roast. So while it might sound strange initially, he makes a noteworthy case for the logic behind his fruity addition. 

Of course, Clarkson told Kutcher what we were all thinking at first when she said it sounded gross!

How Does It Work?

The citrus flavor and tang of orange juice add fruity notes to coffee, which can help to balance out an overly toasted coffee flavor. It can also help to counteract the bitterness that comes with drinking coffee black, balancing out its taste with a hint of fruit and sugar. 

Overall, it can enhance the fruity and citrus notes already in coffee and take that kick out of stringent bitterness from darker roasts. 

If you’re going to try this new trend, remember that it only takes just a splash of orange juice to get the benefits — but just a splash! Any more and the orange juice can overpower the coffee. You might end up with a tart and sour taste, and then you definitely won’t be trying this trend again. Go for no more than a teaspoon, or 5 milliliters, of orange juice. 

Side Effects

If you’re already sensitive to acidity and caffeine, you might experience some side effects if you overdo the orange juice and drink highly acidic blends. People with digestive issues,^[1] such as irritable bowel syndrome, acid reflux, or gastric ulcers, might react to the high acidity of this caffeinated brew. If you really want to reduce the acidity, try dumping the caffeine.^[2] Caffeine increases gastric acid secretion^[3] by activating bitter taste receptors in the stomach and intestines. 

Tips To Reduce Coffee Acidity

You might be one of those people who have a hard time drinking black coffee because of that “coffee stomach” side effect, where you feel like your stomach is eating away at itself. That’s one of the main reasons people love their milk and creamers — they’re slightly alkaline^[4] and can help neutralize acidity. Milk proteins bind to acid molecules, reducing their acidity. That means your stomach won’t react as harshly, and you can experience fewer digestive issues.

Milk isn’t a surefire way to avoid digestive issues, though. You can still get an uneasy feeling in your stomach after drinking coffee, and even more so if you’re lactose intolerant. If so, you can look out for low-acid coffee varieties. You can also add oat or almond milk, which, like milk, is slightly alkaline. Finally, a secret tip to reducing acidity^[5] is to roast or brew it for a longer time and at lower temperatures,^[6] like a french press. 

Of course, if you can drink black coffee without any issues, you should be fine with just a splash of orange juice. 

Conclusion

While orange juice in coffee sounds weird, Ashton Kutcher swears by it. He backs up his juice claims with some interesting coffee connoisseur lingo, like saying how coffee’s natural acidity and fruitness become heightened with the addition. 

He also gives motivation to people weary of black coffee who love their creamers and syrups to give orange juice a try. Apparently, it brightens up the coffee while adding fruity sweetness. Which also means it’s a great way to cut back on added sugars and dairy. 

So while orange juice in coffee might seem too acidic to bear, it can work. If you’ve got any digestive issues, though, start slow and only add a splash. Don’t worry about getting strange looks at a cafe, either. While it might seem like a very interesting coffee order, it’s becoming increasingly popular. 

What do you think of this new trend? Will you be bold enough to give your espresso this extra shot of citrus?

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