Low Acid Coffee?

[RedCup]

Hey Coffee Forum!

I've been getting some feedback from my customers saying that they have heard of this new Low Acid Coffee. Can you all shed some light on this? Can you roast to low acidity? Are there beans that are low acid? Is it in the brewing stage? Or is it a bunch of hooey?

Thanks.

 

[PinkRose]

Recently I've heard people talking about low acid coffee that they get from this place:

https://www.hevlacoffeeco.com/Coffee-Acidity-p-15.html

At the end of the page, they mention how they get their coffee to be lower in acid. I tried several times to copy and paste it here, but it didn't work.

Rose

 

[peterjschmidt]

Oftentimes this conversation mistakes acidity as a taste sensation with how people perceive coffee to be acidic because of how it feels in their stomach. Quality coffee, when roasted properly can be very bright/acidic, but have no effect on the stomach. People who are asking for low-acid coffee usually don't know what they're asking for, just trying to get away from the way lousy coffee ties their gut in a knot.

The pH of coffee itself may be slightly acidic, but should pose no true concerns.

Bright/acidic coffee, such as Kenya, can be tamed somewhat in the roast by slowing down going into 1C and then stretching the time after 1C. But then, why would you want to?

 

[CoffeeLovers]

You can’t find coffee beans with low acid because coffee beans naturally have high acidity, thus this acid has anti-oxidant properties that help coffee become a health drink. However the acidity of coffee can be lowered by the process called cold brewing in both hot and ice forms.

Another way to reduce acidity of coffee is through very dark roasting.

 

[RedCup]

I want to thank you all for your replies. Certainly helpful!

 

[topher]

Kenya, can be tamed somewhat in the roast by slowing down going into 1C and then stretching the time after 1C. But then, why would you want to?

EXACTLY!!! You want low acidic coffee drink Kona.

 

[JumpinJakJava]

I find Java Estate, Celebes Sulawesi, and Monsooned Malabar to be lower acid coffees.

 

[peterjschmidt]

I still want to steer this conversation back to the idea of what we as coffee roasters refer to as a coffee w/ less acidity to what the general public calls low acid coffee.

RecCup what do you think you customers are asking for and what do you think they are hearing about when they say low acid coffee. I think the term to the non-geek/non-snob (which many of us here are - in a good way) means something different than what we mean when we talk about acidity. To us it's a flavor sensation, and how a coffee sits on the tongue - to the rest of the world it has to do with their perception of how coffee sits in their gut. They're getting upset stomachs from low grade, poorly-roasted coffee and they ascribe that effect to coffee's acidity, which is a mistake.

 

[tazzadiluna]

Yeah, acidity when referred to in tasting coffee is really talking about a flavor note and not acid content. So sometimes I prefer to say sourness, tartness or tanginess, so I won't confuse even myself. Haha!

If anyone asks you for low acid coffee as in pH level, just tell them coffee is naturally low in acidity, I believe around 5 which is about the same as carbonated water and bananas. So definitely more neutral than any fruit juice and wine <- pH 3. The pH scale ranges from 0-14, with 7 (water) being neutral. Each pH value below 7 is 10 times more acidic than the previous number. Battery acid is pH 0.

Darker roasts are supposed to be even lower in acidity, not sure why, maybe burnt off just like caffeine is due to the longer roast process. So if somebody insists on lowest acidity on a pH level, maybe you should give them a darker roasted Indonesian!

 

[RedCup]

I still want to steer this conversation back to the idea of what we as coffee roasters refer to as a coffee w/ less acidity to what the general public calls low acid coffee.

RecCup what do you think you customers are asking for and what do you think they are hearing about when they say low acid coffee. I think the term to the non-geek/non-snob (which many of us here are - in a good way) means something different than what we mean when we talk about acidity. To us it's a flavor sensation, and how a coffee sits on the tongue - to the rest of the world it has to do with their perception of how coffee sits in their gut. They're getting upset stomachs from low grade, poorly-roasted coffee and they ascribe that effect to coffee's acidity, which is a mistake.

Right. My customers are more concerned with how it effects their stomachs. If they taste "acid" they think it's going to eat out their stomach lining.

There is also a local roaster, not me, who states that "Our inherently low acid green beans come from lower elevations in Brazil, Sumatra and Columbia. Our process avoids the bitterness and the stomach issues of many coffees on the market today".

So it seems to be an educational opportunity on my part with my customers!

 

[poison]

Your customers are wrong, coffee has a lower pH than other things they drink with no I'll effect. The problem is caffeine:

Caffeine has special significance for people with GERD, according to University of Wisconsin professor David Rakel in the 2007 edition of “Integrative Medicine.” First, Rakel says, caffeine decreases the tone of the lower esophageal sphincter. This is the valve that keeps stomach contents from entering the esophagus and causing heart burn. This effect begins almost immediately and lasts about 90 minutes. Second, Rakel adds, caffeine stimulates acid secretion. This effect may last several hours.

So now you can point them toward some of your awesome decaf.

 

[tazzadiluna]

So now you can point them toward some of your awesome decaf.

Unfortunately, decaf raises a whole set of other issues...

 

[poison]

Unfortunately, decaf raises a whole set of other issues...

Not really. I see the whole 'low acid' thing as a bigger issue, because it's misinformation. If someone has a physical condition that requires they abstain from caffeine, decaf it is. So buy great decaf, and sell it to them!

 

[topher]

Unfortunately, decaf raises a whole set of other issues...

And what issues might that be?

 

[tazzadiluna]

And what issues might that be?

Hi Topher,
I'm no decaf expert, but just from what I've been trying to read up on: it's harder to source Arabica decaf. Because of the cost of production, they are primarily made from Robusta beans. So there you are serving Robusta if you don't pay close attention to what you're sourcing.

And if you do source Arabica decaf, they cost more -- hence, do you charge more for it and are your customers willing to pay more for it? If not, is it worth serving that few?

Aside from that, again, I'm no expert in the decaf process and such, but it's "processed food", basically, even with the Swiss water process that everyone is championing.

Most importantly, not all the caffeine is removed, so you drink enough decaf, the caffeine still accumulates. A lot of people think decaf is caffeine-free, but it's not. Depending on the coffee, decaf can contain about 1/10th of caffeine as regular coffee!

So someone who needs to avoid caffeine thinks they can drink as much as they want. Drink 10 cups of decaf in a day and that's the equivalent of 1 cup of regular coffee - and that's just the caffeine content.

Anyway, you can still develop a dependence on caffeine through decaf, even if the caffeine is low... not a good alternative for someone who's trying to abstain from caffeine.

Bottomline, if your customer's doctor says he/she needs to abstain from caffeine entirely, that includes decaf. I don't think you want to be the shop that tells their customers who need to avoid/abstain from caffeine to drink decaf instead, especially if it's due to health concerns.

I'm a novice trying to learn as much as I can, so if I'm wrong, please let me know.