How to Buy and Make Low Acid Coffee? Detailed Guide to Help You Out

Are you tired of bloating and triggered IBS every time you have your favorite coffee? Well, you are not the only one. In fact, the acid in coffee is a big culprit that causes problems for a lot of people with sensitive stomachs. Therefore, switching to low-acid coffee is highly recommended.

You can make your own low acid coffee by adding a pinch of baking soda to it or by using dark roasts and Arabica beans. You can also make low acid coffee by using cold brew concentrate to make hot or cold coffee. Low acid coffee is commonly available at many stores.

What Does Acidic Coffee Mean in Chemistry?

Acidic coffee is a coffee with a pH less than 7. Certain types of roasts and coffee types are more acidic than others and cause acid reflux or nausea after you drink them. Some acids in coffee have a little sweet flavor, while others acids are sour and bitter. Sometimes when you leave a cup of coffee for too long, the coffee gets bitter which means that the acids come into play.

Coffee has nine main acids which are released into the cup throughout the brewing process. The quantity of these acids varies based on the coffee and the brewing procedure. Quinic acid gives coffee a burnt and bitter flavor. It is the major acid in coffee connected to digestive disorders.

The actual pH of coffee is roughly 5 making it moderately acidic. However, acidity in coffee is a little more complex than the value on a pH scale. When it comes to coffee, acidity refers to a certain taste rather than just the pH value of the drink.

What is Low Acid Coffee?

Low acid coffee is coffee that is less acidic than normal coffee. It has a pH of less than 7 but more than acidic coffee. Hence, if your normal coffee has a pH value of 5, low-acid coffee would yield a pH value of 6. If you experience nausea, gas, or any other digestive issues after drinking coffee, it is recommended that you switch to low acid coffee.

Low acid coffee has been circulating in the coffee industry for quite some time now and its marketing is sadly riddled with misconceptions and confusion. Many coffee lovers originally indicated an interest in coffees with reduced acidity levels as a result of ailments such as sensitive stomach and acid reflux. Others prefer coffees with less acidity because they do not like it as sour. Therefore, many brands have entered the market with their own “low acid” coffee variants.

How Do You Make Low Acid Coffee?

If your stomach issues are bothering you but you cannot start your day without the daily dose of caffeine, worry not. You can make low-acid coffee at home by making a few changes to the brewing. Here are some of the things you can do to naturally make low acid coffee without buying from any specific brand.

Change Your Bean Type

The first step is to change the type of coffee bean. Robusta beans are less acidic than Arabica beans. Since these beans lack citric and phosphoric acid, they do not have as much of a sweet flavor as compared to Arabica beans. Therefore, pick a good blend that contains 100% high-quality Arabica beans. Look for coffee that has been roasted in smaller volumes. Check out the options we have recommended in the later section of this article.

Change Your Roast Type

We recommend switching to dark roast coffee immediately since the acids are broken down. Avoid blonde, light, and medium roasts completely to keep the acid reflux away.

Try Cold Brew

As we discussed above, cold coffee is less acidic than hot coffee. Hence, switching to cold coffee can be a game-changer for you.

Add Baking Soda

If you have no other choice but to use the light roast, you can fix that problem too. Just add a pinch of baking soda to your coffee to neutralize the acid since baking soda is alkaline.

Use Cold Brew to Make Hot Coffee

You can make cold brew concentrate by submerging a fine mesh food-grade bag with 4 ounces of coffee into a pitcher of water and leaving it in the fridge overnight. In the morning, you can mix 1 part of hot water and 1 part of the cold brew concentrate. This way, you can use cold brew to get low-acid hot coffee. Follow our easy cold coffee recipe to make the perfect cup of joe.

Brew The Coffee for a Shorter Time

Do not brew the coffee longer than it should be brewed. Keep the brew times moderate.

Drink the Coffee Immediately

To reduce the release of acids, you should drink coffee fresh. Coffee that has been left to sit for too long results in quinic acid being released causing stomach distress.

Where To Buy Low Acid Coffee?

There is an easy way out of everything, and it is no different with low-acid coffee. Instead of making all the changes to your bean type and tweaking your roasting method, you can simply switch to a brand offering low-acid coffee. Of course, numerous low-acid coffee brands are out there, but here are a few we highly recommend.

Lifeboost Coffee

One of the best low acid coffee brands is Lifeboost Coffee. The brand offers organic coffee obtained from the Nicaraguan Highlands. We recommend these because they are harvested naturally and washed with chemical-free spring water, and then naturally dried in sunlight. There are no additives or chemicals that could worsen your IBS. You can get these in three different roast types and are full of flavors.

Lifeboost Coffee Ground Medium Roast Coffee – Low Acid	Reasons to Buy
	✅ Amazon’s Choice Product ✅ Low Acid – Medium Roast ✅ Certified Organic Coffee ✅ Hand-Picked ✅ 30-days Money Back Guarantee ✅ Rich in Antioxidants ✅ Grown in America ✅ Ethically sourced and Non-GMO ✅ USDA Certified ✅ Over 5000 Sales

Komodo Dragon Coffee

Komodo Dragon Coffee, or Volcanica coffee, has its roots in Indonesia. This low-acid coffee brand has the most exotic flavor with floral and cocoa notes. These are medium roasted beans, very low in acidity, that are available at a low price. This makes it one of the best low acid coffee brands.

Komodo Dragon Coffee	Reasons to Buy
	✅ Low Acidity – Medium Roast ✅ Fair-Trade Certified Coffees ✅ Fresh Roasted ✅ Ethically Sourced ✅ Gluten-Free, Kosher-Friendly, Vegan ✅ 100% Customer Satisfaction Guaranteed ✅ Over 8000 Sales

Hawaiian Kona (Green Coffee Traders)

Now this is one low-acid coffee brand we particularly love thanks to its smooth and nutty taste. There is a certain consistency in the flavor of this coffee which will leave you wanting for more and you can have two or three cups without worrying about acid reflux! Trust us, your IBS will thank you for switching to this Volcanica coffee.

Hawaii Hawaiian Kona Roasted Coffee Beans	Reasons to Buy
	✅ 100% Hawaiian Authentic Coffee Beans ✅ Low Acidity – Medium Roast ✅ Fresh Roasted ✅ Ethically Sourced – Certified Organic ✅ Amazon’s Choice Product ✅ A Unique Taste to Regular Coffee ✅ Over 2000 Sales

Low Acid Coffee Blend (Volcanica Coffee)

This south American coffee blend is true to its roots and gives you a taste of the soil it was grown on. With a chocolaty and nutty flavor, we assure you that this coffee will be easy on your stomach. There is also a tangerine tasting note in every cup that refreshes you. This Kosher Volcanina coffee is sourced from the best growing regions around the world and proves it in every cup making it one of our finest choices among low acid coffee brands.

Low Acid Decaf Coffee by Volcanica Coffee Store	Reasons to Buy
	✅ pH Level: 5.2-5.3 ✅ Washed Coffee ✅ 100% Chemical Free ✅ Ethically Sourced – Certified Organic ✅ Fresh Roasted ✅ Good Value for Money ✅ Gluten-Free, Kosher-Friendly, Vegan ✅ Over 2000 Sales

Java Planet Medium Roast

With floral, chocolaty and caramel-like taste notes, this medium roast by Java planet is both delicious and eco-friendly. We highly recommend that people with IBS try this brand since it is all organic and includes the date of roasting on every bag so the freshness is guaranteed. Check it out on Amazon.com!

Java Planet, Organic Coffee Beans, Colombian Single Origin, Low Acid	Reasons to Buy
	✅ 100% Colombian Authentic Coffee Beans ✅ Organic certified Arabica Coffee Whole Beans ✅ GMO-Free and Gluten-Free ✅ Ethically Sourced – Certified Organic ✅ Amazon’s Choice Product ✅ Non-GMO ✅ Over 10,000 Sales ✅ Best Value for Money

Is Low Acid Coffee Better For You?

According to Cleveland Clinic, acid in coffee can cause issues like bloating, heartburn and acid reflux. On the other hand, switching to low-acid coffee can have several health benefits for you such as:

• Reduce bloating
• Relieve IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)
• Prevent heartburn
• Prevent teeth discoloration
• Prevent acid reflux symptoms

Factors Affecting the Acidity of Coffee

When we drink coffee, we taste and feel the acidity. This is called its perceived acidity. We typically conceive of perceived acidity as the sharp and tingling sensations we experience while drinking coffee. In comparison, a coffee’s chemical acidity is its actual acidity and is where it lies on the pH scale. Unroasted coffee contains a variety of acids, which can be measured using the pH scale. In general, numerous things can affect both the perceived and chemical acidity of a coffee. Let us explore what these factors are.

Brewing Technique

The brewing technique of coffee greatly influences acidity. For example, Healthline says cold brew is less acidic than hot coffee. The taste and aroma molecules in your coffee begin to diffuse into the water the instant it comes into contact with it – This is called extraction. Since not all chemicals are extracted at the same moment, the level of extraction will change the flavors and fragrances in the cup.

First, acidic tones are removed followed by sweetness and balance, and finally bitterness. Therefore, under-extracting will result in a sour taste since it lacks the sweetness and moderate bitterness required to balance the acidity of coffee. However, over-extracting will result in bitterness.

This happens because of several aspects of the brewing method.

Grind Size

First of all, when the grind size is small, coffee is less acidic. However, coarse grind size means brewing coffee for longer since coffee is extracted slowly, and so the coffee becomes more acidic. In case you don’t have a grinder, you can still grind the coffee beans easily.

Brewing Time

Brewing time, in general, also affects acidity in coffee. When coffee is brewed for longer (for the same grind size), the acidity is lower. However, when coffee is brewed for a shorter time, then acidity is high because it is under-extracted, and there is no bitterness to neutralize the acidic taste.

Water Temperature

The temperature of the water also greatly influences the acidity of coffee. Hot water leads to faster extraction and extracts the acids faster, so it is more acidic. Cold water does not extract acids that well and so it is less acidic. Thus, you will have to tweak various aspects of your brewing method to get just the right level of acidity.

Roast Type

Various ways of roasting differ in their acidity levels. Lighter roast coffee beans seem like they would be easier on the belly, but they actually carry more acid. Coffee beans in their raw form are actually acidic. However, roasting them causes the breakdown of acids, but since blonde/light roast coffee is roasted for a shorter time, the acidity is preserved.

Darker roasts with higher heat and a longer roast time facilitate the breakdown of the acids, making the coffee less acidic when you brew it. When it comes to the brewing phase, the more a coffee bean is roasted, the fewer acids remain. This is also applicable for higher roasting temperatures. It also implies that darker roasts of coffee have less acidity than lighter roasts.

Conclusion

Now that you know how to buy and make low acid coffee, you can drink it without discomfort and nausea. You can say goodbye to your stomach issues. Whether you are buying low acid coffee or making tweaks to make your coffee less acidic, the results will leave you very satisfied.