What’s the Deal with Low Acidity Coffee?

You may have noticed that we have three main categories for coffee on our website. There is single-origin coffee, blend coffee, low acidity coffees. I’ve always loved the darker, more bold roasts, so I opt for a French or Italian blend with a dark roast.

Since reaching my 30s I’ve discovered acid reflux and heartburn. Fun, I know.

Have you ever gotten a sour stomach after a few cups of coffee? Has it gotten so bad that you tapered down your coffee intake only to find that it kept happening?

My younger sister, I say that although we have both been adults for over 10 years, has a daughter who is almost 4 years old. Elizabeth, my sister, loves her coffee, and like most moms who are also coffee drinkers, she has a lot of it.

My sister got me into the coffee pod craze. We drank so much coffee. After a while, the coffee didn't taste right any longer. She revealed to me that her stomach had started to feel sour every day and at the time I had nodded. Yeah, acid reflux and all that. It happens when you get older, I had said.

Fast forward and we are both on a low acidity coffee kick. We are in love with the Continuous Coffee dark Italian blend. We can both drink it all day with no stomach upset, no clawing heartburn.

One day, out of the blue, she says to me, “Hey sis, since drinking your coffee I’ve had no tummy troubles.”

Oh, a light pops on in my head. Right, because it’s low acidity.

Now back to basics. Why is coffee acidic? Well, an acidic substance only has to be below 7 on the ph scale. Simple black coffee is about a 5 on the ph scale. Keep in mind that orange juice and soda are higher on the acidity level than a 5.

Coffee is more on the acidic level than other drinks, but this is what most of us coffee drinkers love. We love that bitter and robust dark brew. Some, like me, enjoy simple black coffee.

A light roast of coffee will have a mild flavor with bright acidity and it retains most of the caffeine. When we roast coffee beans for longer and higher temperatures, more acid has released. Generally, a darker roast will have less acidity.

Unfortunately, there is no blanket statement for eliminating acid reflux. It is a medical condition that can have many causes. The truth is, we all have to listen to our bodies and our physicians to find out the best way to go about easing such an issue.

If you do have a problem with heartburn and haven’t yet tried a low acidity option. Why not try our Italian blend dark roast, French blend dark roast, or even cold brew blend or Swiss water decaf. They are all delicious and low in acidity.

Try it and let me know if it works for you! I would like to hear from you!