by Erin Marissa Russell
No doubt you’re here because you love the taste of coffee, but you don’t love the acidity that can sometimes go along with this favorite beverage. Certain types of coffee are more acidic than others—and we’ll explain that ranking so you know what it is. Fortunately, there are several things you can do to reduce the acidity of the coffee you make or the coffee you drink.
You don’t need to suffer from acid reflux just because you enjoyed some freshly brewed coffee to start off your day. Let’s take a look at the ways you can make your coffee less acidic, then we’ll explain why coffee is acidic in the first place and the factors that go into how acidic your drink will be.
Buy Low Acid Coffee Beans
One of the easiest ways to attack the problem is to simply buy coffee beans that are specifically chosen and roasted for low acidity. There are many delicious, high end brands that make low acid options.
Here are a few we have heard of. If you have a favorite or know of others, please let us know in the comments. Bella Rosa Coffee uses a different roasting method they claim makes low acid coffee. Life Extension makes a high polyphenol, low acid coffee that is very good coffee. Lifeboost Coffee shows the pH levels in the product descriptions of many of their coffees. Trucup advertises the pH levels of their coffees.
Go for Arabica Beans Instead of High-Acid Robusta Beans
The first tip we have for reducing the acidity of your coffee starts with the beans themselves. Most of the coffee beans you’ll encounter in the U.S. and Europe will be either Arabica or Robusta, and it makes a big difference in acidity which one you choose. On average, coffee made with Arabica beans contains less acidity than coffee made with Robusta beans.
However, do be aware that with the lower acidity you will also have lower caffeine content in your prepared coffee. Arabica coffee beans tend to contain about 1.5 percent caffeine, while Robusta beans are closer to 2.7 percent caffeine. If you’re experiencing heartburn, acid reflux, or other side effects as a result of your coffee’s acidity, that’s a trade-off you are likely to be glad to make.
Choose Beans Grown at Low Elevations for Low Acidity
Coffee beans grown at the high altitudes of mountainous regions are prized for their highly developed flavors. However, along with this concentration of flavor comes a high level of acidity as well. If you choose coffee beans that have been grown at a lower elevation, they will have less acidity than beans grown at higher altitudes. Some regions that are best known for producing coffee beans low in acid include Brazil, Nicaragua, and Sumatra.
Seek Out Coffee Beans Treated to Reduce Their Acidity
While some coffee beans are naturally lower in acidity than others, you are not the only one out there who suffers as a result of the acid in your coffee. Some coffee makers have specialty beans that have been treated using a mechanical process that lowers the acidity they contain. Just look for language on the packaging such as “lower in acid” or “treated to reduce acidity” to find coffee beans that are treated to contain lower amounts of acid.
Opt for a Dark Roast Coffee to Keep Acidity Down
When the coffee beans you use to prepare your brew are roasted, the cooking process breaks down the acids that your stomach must process from the coffee. While the coffee beans are roasting, a chemical is produced known as N-methylpyridium. This chemical makes it easier for your stomach’s cells to process and release the acid that naturally occurs in your coffee.
The chlorogenic acid in your coffee can also be broken down and made less harmful to your stomach with a longer roasting process when you choose a dark roast instead of a light roast. Therefore, you’ll find that the darker roasted coffee beans contain acid just like those that are lighter roasted, but the coffee made from darker beans is not as painful or uncomfortable for you to deal with.
This effect has to do with why you will hear people describe light roast coffees as bright—the brightness they are referring to is the acidity of the prepared coffee. Acids also are responsible for the citrus fruit flavors that come through in some light roasts. Regardless of how you feel about the flavor of different levels of roast on your coffee beans, if keeping acidity down is important to you, you should choose darker roasts whenever possible.
Change the Type of Filter You Use for Lower Acidity
If you’re looking for a low-acid way to prepare your coffee, one way to reduce the acidity in your beverage (as long as a filter is required) is to use a paper filter. A metallic mesh filter will let more of the soluble coffee oils and fats from the beans make their way into your cup, and that’s where your coffee’s acidity comes from. These oils and fats will be better trapped by the paper filter, not only making your brew lower in acid but also giving your coffee a lighter, smoother taste.
Try a Low-Acid Cold Brew Coffee Preparation
Just like different coffee beans and levels of roast can impact how much acid is in your coffee, the way the coffee is prepared also has to do with its resulting acidity. One of the best ways to keep the acidity of your coffee down is to use a cold brew preparation method.
However, be aware that you will need to start your cold brew process up to 24 hours before you want to drink your coffee. That extra time devoted to the cold process extraction will save you up to 70 percent of the acidity when you compare cold brew to hot brewed coffee without asking you to give up any of the delicious coffee flavor you love.
Your preparation time is not the only trade-off you make when you choose cold brew preparations for their reduced acidity, though. Cold brews are one of the coffee preparation methods that are the lowest in caffeine, so if high caffeine content is important to you, this tip is probably not the best one for you to put into practice.
Take Your Coffee’s Acidity Down Further with an Acid Reducer
Adding a quality acid reducer to your coffee before you drink it is another way to help reduce the amount of acidity you consume when you drink your coffee. A good acid reducer will cause a chemical reaction in your drink that neutralizes some of the acid it contains (up to 90 percent of the acid) without sacrificing the coffee flavors you enjoy.
These solutions can be found at most drug stores and grocery stores, and they are extremely affordable. Acid reducers work by binding the acids in your coffee to one another so that they are easier for your stomach to deal with.
Make Sure Your Water Isn’t Adding Acidity to Your Coffee
It may seem like water would be an ingredient you could count on to be free of acidity, but the truth is that if you prepare coffee using water from the tap, the amount of acidity in that water varies from place to place and can affect the acid content of the coffee you brew.
Sometimes your municipal water treatment routine may include adding chemicals to the water that help remove any impurities the water might contain. That’s definitely a good thing, but the process can introduce acidity while it removes other impurities. You can always use a home water filtration system to remove any acidity that may have been added to your tap water during the treatment process.
If you’d like to test your water to find out whether it’s been making your coffee more acidic, use a digital pH meter to find out just how alkaline or acidic the water coming from your tap is. You may find that you need to use purified distilled water when you prepare coffee so that you aren’t increasing its acid content with the water you use.
Remember that a pH reading of 7 is neutral, balanced in between being alkaline and acidic, while coffee is normally around a 5 or 6, with light roasts coming in slightly more acidic at around a 4.7.
Drink Coffee Fresh to Avoid Quinic Acid
While your coffee contains a few different types of acid just due to its nature, there is one type of acid coffee begins to produce once it starts degrading, such as when it is kept warm on the hot plate of an automatic coffee brewer.
You have probably tasted quinic acid in coffee that has been sitting out in an office coffee pot for too long and has developed a burned or bitter flavor. Quinic acid is known to cause digestive problems, so make sure to drink coffee fresh whenever you can so you aren’t adding quinic acid to the acid already present in your coffee.
If it isn’t possible for you to only drink fresh coffee, you can get around having to deal with quinic acid by choosing to use an insulated coffee cup or insulated coffee pitcher to keep your beverage warm without continuing to apply heat to it.
Use Other Add-Ins to Reduce Your Coffee’s Acidity
In addition to using an acid reducer, there are other ways you can lower the acid your coffee contains using items you likely already have around the house.
- Baking Soda: Baking soda is an alkaline, so it will naturally reduce the acidity your coffee contains if you add it to the grounds before brewing your coffee. This is a convenient way to lower the acid your coffee contains, since most people have access to baking soda at home. Just be careful not to use too much, as you may start to be able to taste the baking soda in your drink if you include a lot of it.
- Eggshell: Eggshells are naturally alkaline, which gives them the capability to neutralize acid. To use eggshell to reduce the acidity of your coffee, start by rinsing one or two eggshells under clear running water. Crumble the eggshells into small pieces using your hands. Then add the eggshells to your coffee brewer along with the ground coffee. Not only will brewing your coffee with eggshell reduce the acidity of your prepared brew, they will also lower the level of bitterness in your coffee.
- Hard Water: When it comes to taste, making your coffee with filtered water is always best. But if your main concern is being able to enjoy your coffee without the acidity it normally contains, you might try instead brewing your coffee with hard water. The minerals that are included in hard water will help neutralize or lower the acidity that your coffee would otherwise contain. On the other hand, if you brew your coffee with soft water, the salt in the soft water will make the coffee more acidic than it would otherwise be.
- Milk: This one may be a no-brainer, but if you’ve been drinking your coffee black and want to reduce the acidity it contains, try adding some milk or cream. These work to lower the acid level in your coffee because the calcium the dairy products contain work to neutralize the pH of your coffee and bring it more into balance. This strategy works best with coffee beans that have been roasted darker, as lighter roasts are already high in acidity and don’t work as well with milk.
- Salt: Salt is has a neutral pH and does not make the coffee less acidic, but a pinch of salt often helps people who have reflux when they drink coffee, so you might consider trying it to see if it helps you or not. You can either add a sprinkle of salt to your coffee either before you prepare it or to the finished cup to reduce the acidity your coffee contains. To add salt while brewing your coffee, sprinkle it over the ground coffee beans. If your coffee has already been brewed, you can sprinkle salt into the coffee itself. Only a little bit is necessary.
In short, there’s not a lot you can do to remove all the acid from your coffee, no matter how many of the tips we’ve listed above you use. Coffee naturally contains acids including acetic, chlorogenic, citric, lactic, linoleic,malic, palmitic, phosphoric, and the quinic acid we already discussed. These acids contribute to the flavor you enjoy so much in coffee. But as we’ve covered here, there is plenty you can do to lower or reduce (though not completely remove) the acid that causes digestive discomfort. Here’s to enjoying every cup of coffee you brew without having to pay the price.
Learn More About Low Acid Coffee
https://grumpygoat.com/4-burning-truths-about-low-acid-coffee/
https://www.livestrong.com/article/511107-how-to-neutralize-the-acid-in-coffee/