Coffee and Acidity

The topic we see the most questions about comes in the form of acidity. This comes from people asking about the traditional coffees after taste and why its bitter. Why ours doesn't have that taste. To people inquiring about coffee that is good for people with acid reflux. We also get questions around acidity and the taste profile between dark and light. So in this post I am break down some of those items around acidity. 

First knowing that acidity is a big part of coffee is a fundamental part to understand how it plays into all of the above questions. Coffee typically has an acidity 4.5-6 pending on the type and roast. Keep in mind water is at a acidity level of 7. So as you can see some coffee can be rather acidic. 

The bitter taste in coffee typically has to do with dark/french roasted coffee which typically has a much lower acid content. On this note know that darker roasted coffee had less acidity than light roast it also has less caffeine and less natural flavors. Not all coffees our treated equal some country's of origin such as Nicaragua produce far less acidic coffees than countries such as Kenya have the highest. 

So if we have a sensitive stomach there are several options to combat this. First select a coffee that is lower on the acidity side. Second look at different roast options instead of a light roast lean toward a medium roast. Third you can now look at brewing preparations. I know cold brewing coffee is not for everyone however it can cut the acidity by 50% or more. Lastly you can add a little bit of salt to your coffee to cut the some of the acidity. All of these steps can be used in different ways to adjust the acid levels of your coffee. Keep in mind they will all change the taste of the cup a little.