Suppose you’re looking for a less acidic coffee. In that case, we’re going to list some of the best acid-free coffee brands available today as well as some ways to make your coffee less acidic and so easier on your stomach.
Is There Such a Thing as Acid-Free Coffee?
The short answer is yes. There is both low acidity and no acidy coffee. The acidity in coffee comes from factors ranging from the bean itself and how it is grown to the processing after it’s harvested, to the brewing method.
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We need to make a distinction between “acid” and “acidity” when talking about food.
“Acid” refers to the pH level of anything. The pH scale is a scientific scale that goes from 0 to 14. Tap water is around the middle at 7, items below, like lemon juice, are called more acidic. In contrast, things above, like baking soda or bleach, are more alkaline or base. Foods closer to the middle like milk or bananas can help soothe an upset stomach because they are closer to the body’s natural level.
“Acidity,” on the other hand, refers to the quality of the flavour of a food or drink.
Is coffee basic or acidic?
Coffee is naturally mildly acidic, with a pH of around five, for comparison, water is about 7, and other drinks like beer and orange juice are more acidic than coffee.
Indeed, in many coffees, acidity is a desirable quality that adds to the overall complexity of the brew. Coffees lacking in acidity may taste flat and uninteresting.
The standard coffee brew contains around 30 different acids.
One of the main groups of acids in green coffee is chlorogenic acid, an important component of the flavours we find in the brewed drink. However, during the roasting process, chlorogenic acids are converted to quinic acids.
These are the acids that can cause an unpleasant reaction in those with a sensitive stomach. Dark roasts are higher in quinic acids, and these acids can also develop when brewed coffee is left to sit in the breakroom all morning. Low-acid or acid-free coffees are usually coffees that are low in these unwelcome quinic acids.
If this is too much theory for you, let’s skip to the reason you’re probably here. Here are the top brands of low-acidity coffees
Best Acid-Free Coffee Brands
Most reviews mention these five companies as solid choices for low or no-acid coffee if you want some brands to start with. Most are available in decaf as well, and some offer k-cups too.
These brands are a good choice for a coffee that is easy on your stomach.
What Kind of Coffee Is the Least Acidic?
The least acidic coffee beans are medium-dark roast Peruvian Pangoa, medium-dark roast Bolivian Caranavi, dark roast Sumatran, and dark roast Mexican Yachil.
Four main factors determine how acidic coffee is:
- The altitude at which the coffee is grown. Coffees grown at higher altitudes take longer to ripen and usually display a higher acidity than low-grown coffees. Brazilian coffees tend to be low-grown and are known for their lower acidity.
- Soil. The soil the coffee is grown in. Coffees grown in rich volcanic soils tend to have a higher acidity.
- The processing method used after harvest. Wet-processed coffees generally have a higher acidity than coffees processed using the dry method. Many Brazilian coffees are dry-processed, adding to the perception of lower acidity.
- How the beans are roasted. Lighter roasts tend to have more chlorogenic acids, adding to the flavour. In comparison, darker roasts are higher in quinic acids, making them more bitter and sometimes “harder” to drink.
Once you make the coffee, try and drink it fresh, the longer it sits, the more acidic it will taste.
Top Picks for Low Acid Coffee
Here are some of the best brands to look for when picking a low-acid coffee bland.
Java Planet Organic Medium Dark Roast
This arabica, low acid coffee for acid reflux is an excellent choice for those who prefer a dark roast, its 100% USDA organic. The company is family-owned and roasts its coffee in small batches. They use only GMO-free, USDA-certified organic coffee.
The small batches provide the freshness that helps keep acid levels constant.
Gourmet Columbian Arabica beans are used to make this low acid ground coffee.
Expect to enjoy a big, balanced taste with a full body and very mild acidity with this brew.
Lifeboost Organic Ground Coffee
Looking for the best coffee for acid reflux? Look no further than Lifeboost. LifeBoost sells a premium smooth Fair-Trade, Single-Origin, Nicaragua ground coffee.
The coffee is grown non-GMO, with fair trade. It is USDA-certified organic and Kosher.
The low acidity makes it ideal for people with stomach or digestive problems due to its ultra-low acidity. According to tests done with pH strips, it has a pH of 6. Lifeboost still provides a rich, full-bodied taste.
As well as being non-GMO, the beans are shade-grown which helps allow the bean’s natural sugars burst through and add a rich flavour to the final product. Less than 2% of the world’s coffee is shade-grown, and Lifeboost is at the top of that 2%.
Tieman’s Fusion Coffee
Tieman’s Fusion is a Matcha green tea blend. Matcha green tea helps burn fat stores and generate energy. So you can get a dose of caffeine without side effects like nervousness and indigestion.
The “Fusion” part in the name refers to the addition of Rooibos red tea, goji berry, and Matcha green tea, rendering the finished product near-neutral pH and therefore very low in acid.
Tieman’s Fusion low acid ground coffee is created from 100% Arabica beans sourced from South and Central America.
Puroast Low Acid Whole Bean Coffee
Puroast achieves their low-acid coffees by their “pure roasting” process. It’s mountain grown by small local coffee plantation owners in Nicaragua
The process is inspired by the traditional Venezuela coffee brewers’ method of slowly roasting beans in a wood fire.
According to the University of California, Puroast coffee has five times as many antioxidants as regular coffee and seven times as many as green tea.
Mommee Coffee
Two college friends who met at Stanford created Mommee Coffee, a coffee targeted to women in the early stages of being parents.
Mommee Coffee is organically processed so you won’t have to worry about any chemical additives having adverse effects on you and your unborn child.
This low acid coffee is slow-roasted to help reduce painful stomach irritation while still offering a solid caffeine kick.
Best of all, Mommee Coffee has a very low acid content as the beans are water-processed, reducing their acid content. It boasts 60 per cent less chlorogenic acid than other coffee brands!
Tyler’s No Acid Organic Ground Coffee
Some benefits of Tyler’s bend include being easy on your stomach, and gentle on your tooth enamel as well, but still producing a high-quality taste.
Tyler’s no-acid organic coffee has a near-neutral pH. The coffee is all organic and uses 100% Arabica beans.
Tyler’s coffee was founded in 2004 by Tyler Ornstein after learning that his father could not have coffee anymore because of its acidity.
Volcanica Geisha Coffee
- 100% Pure Geisha Coffee from Costa Rica, highly prized and an exceptionally fine coffee varietal characterized by a soft, delicate profile and quietly complex aromatics that reward patient attention with notes of cocoa, lavender and hints of molasses
- Gentle acidity, medium body, silky mouthfeel. Flavor, particularly rich chocolate, saturates the long, lingering finish
- Limited supplies. Light roasted whole beans for a remarkable taste with a low caffeine content, 30% less caffeine
- Fresh roasted the immediately packed and sealed to assure freshness.
- 100% Customer Satisfaction Guaranteed.
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Volcanica’s low acid coffee beans are a fine Brazil and Sumatra blend, deliciously smooth, with a rich aroma, low acidity, and exotic taste with an intense, syrupy finish. The international coffee community has recognized this wet-processed coffee for its high quality, which puts it among the best coffee beans in the world. It’s Fair Trade and Rainforest Alliance certified. Their beans are roasted in Atlanta, Georgia.
Volcanica Coffee is a specialized importer of exotic gourmet coffee beans that have a genuinely excellent taste. The company strives to offer only the highest quality coffee from volcanic regions around the world.
Currently, this company sells more than 130 varieties of coffee, including single-origin, decaffeinated, and flavoured coffee.
Lucy Jo
Lucy Jo’s Coffee, Organic Mellow Belly Low Acid Blend
Lucy Jo’s Coffee Roastery is a family-run coffee roastery in New York. The organic Arabica coffee beans used to create this mellow belly brew are sourced from Indonesia and Brazil and roasted in small batches.
Lucy-Jo creates this ground coffee using certified organic beans, which are 100% Arabica, collected from farms in Indonesia and Brazil. By their nature, they have low acidity.
After slow roasting, a tasty, pleasant drink with a sweet earthy flavour and subtle notes of cherry and dark chocolate emerge.
How Do You Make Coffee Less Acidic?
You can make coffee less acidic by merely adding milk. Calcium in milk neutralizes some of the acids in coffee, plus it smooths out the flavour. Milk works particularly well in dark-roast coffee, which is typically lower in acidity.
Is coffee basic or acidic?
Most coffee varieties are acidic, with an average pH value of 4.85 to 5.10.
As a comparison, In general, water with a pH less than seven is considered acidic and with a pH greater than seven is considered basic. The normal range for pH in surface water systems is 6.5 to 8.5 and for groundwater systems 6 to 8.5.
Some symptoms associated with coffee that’s too acidic for you are heartburn, acid reflux, or other digestion problems.
What kind of coffee is the least acidic?
Some of the lowest-acid coffees are medium-dark roast Peruvian Pangoa, dark roast Sumatran, dark roast Mexican Yachil, and medium-dark roast Bolivian Caranavi.
Many factors can affect this quality in a coffee. One of the most important is the altitude at which the coffee is grown.
Coffees grown at higher altitudes take longer to ripen and usually display a higher acidity than low-grown coffees.
Therefore you can buy low-acidity coffees by merely choosing varieties that are grown at lower altitudes. Brazilian coffees tend to be low-grown and are known for their lower acidity.
Another factor is the soil in which they are grown. Coffees grown in rich volcanic soils tend to have a higher acidity.
The processing method can change the final acidity, too. Wet-processed coffees generally have a higher acidity than coffees processed using the dry method. Again, many Brazilian coffees are dry-processed, adding to the perception of lower acidity.
Finally, as mentioned above, the roast can affect the flavour. Lighter roasts tend to have more chlorogenic acids, adding to the taste. In comparison, darker roasts are higher in quinic acids, making them more bitter and sometimes “harder” to drink.
Low acid coffee is a better choice for people who experience acid reflux or stomach irritation when drinking more acidic coffee. However, it is also slightly more expensive than regular coffee. It is less widely available due to the difficulty of growing naturally low acid beans.
Another advantage of regular coffee is that it can be brewed with any method. When brewed correctly, you’ll always get a decent drink. Low acid coffee is more capricious and won’t make a great drink unless you carefully choose a good variety.
Freshness
Always try to drink your coffee when it’s fresh, because the longer the coffee extracts, the more acids end up in the finished drink.
Arabica or Robusta
Always look for 100% Arabica coffee! Arabica beans contain much less acid (and more flavour) than Robusta. The main reason coffee blends contain both Arabica and Robusta is because Robusta increases the caffeine content. If caffeine isn’t your main priority, choosing 100% Arabica is the way to go.
What Foods Neutralize Stomach Acid?
- Bananas. This low-acid fruit can help those with acid reflux by coating an irritated oesophagal lining and thereby helping to combat discomfort.
- Melons. Like bananas, melons also are a highly alkaline fruit.
- Other good choices are oatmeal, yoghurt, and green vegetables.
- Asparagus, spinach, kale and brussels sprouts all are highly alkaline, meaning they’re good for your stomach and digestive system.
Naturally low in fat and sugar, vegetables also help lessen stomach acid.
Does Baking Soda Reduce Acid in Coffee?
Baking soda helps neutralize some of the naturally occurring acids in the coffee. Adding as little as a 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda for a pot of coffee can smooth the harsh flavour of inexpensive coffee and make it easier to digest.
Surprisingly, the baking soda has no detectable flavour in the coffee cup.
However, folks who have trouble with coffee and digestive issues should seek out low-acid coffee or cut the habit altogether.
What Coffee Is Most Comfortable on the Stomach?
What foods neutralize stomach acid?
Based on the research available, here are some things that can help:
- Go for a dark roast. It might seem that the darker the coffee, the more stomach symptoms it might bring on, but the opposite is true. Roasting coffee brings out the best in a natural compound that suppresses the production of stomach acid.
- Use a cold brewing method. Cold-brew is going to result in a coffee that has lower levels of all the compounds found in coffee. That means that the parts of coffee that cause an increase in stomach acid are going to be lower.
- Add milk. Suppose you don’t have issues with dairy (such as a dairy allergy or lactose intolerance). In that case, milk proteins combine with some of the compounds in coffee that tend to increase stomach acid.
Is Dark Coffee More Acidic?
Not by itself, but extremely dark roasts and cheap coffee beans are also notorious for being overly acidic.
Don’t avoid a brand of coffee simply because the word “acidity” is mentioned in its profile. Dark roasts are generally less acidic because of their flavour profile. However, they are higher in quinic acid, which can give you that nasty, sour feeling in your stomach.
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