I guess in short what I am looking for is some sort of flavor chemist to help me understand some of the basic chemical relations between certain things and taste. I had a bitter drink today and began to wonder if there is an easy way to remove or lessen the bitter taste in things.
Unfortunately, I don’t remember much of my high school chemistry and turned to the internet for a little help. I found some info on the Dutch processing of chocolate, where I belive an alkaline process is used to lessen the, I’m assuming bitter, flavor. What everything seems to suggest, though, is that alkaline is added. I thought alkalines were bitter and this leaves me somewhat confused, and not looking to research it much further, I came here. Can alkalines simply be added to bitter drinks, such as coffee or beer, in order to take away some of their bitter flavor? Are there any that are tasteless so as to not detract from the flavor of the original drink? If so, what might be some common alkalines that could be added and still leave the beverages ingestible without bodily harm?
I thought about the sour flavor, but I’m not really sure how this works with bitterness. I know that citric acid is used in soft drinks, though I presume it is not to offset bitterness, but rather possibly enhance the sweetness. Can something that is sour and acidic be used to counteract a bitter flavor? If so, again what might be added to a very bitter drink to take away the bitterness?
If there are any flavor chemists our there who have any suggestions on a flavorless, and ingestible, item to add to bitter drinks to lessen or take away the bitterness, I would love to hear it. Thanks.