According to the American College of Gastroenterology, an estimated 15 million Americans suffer from heartburn daily. If you are one of them, you do not need to stop drinking coffee to avert the pain resulting from its acidity.
You only need to know how to reduce coffee acidity. In this guide, we will discuss how you can make less acidic coffee to avoid experiencing acid reflux.
What Does Acidity in Coffee Mean
If you’ve ever felt the acid reflux pain after your morning cup of coffee or have other acidity issues with coffee for health reasons, you’re in the right place. Normally, many people like drinking coffee, only to be discouraged by the strong acidity.
Tons of debate rages among coffee enthusiasts on different forums by various discussion threads on the best way to bypass this issue. Below are summaries of some of the most effective options in this guide.
First, we will give you a quick overview of the chemistry behind it before we get down to business and show you how to quickly make your coffee less acidic.
How to Make Your Cup of Coffee Less Acidic
If you’re looking for a simple, effective way to decrease the acidity in your coffee, look no further. Here are options to consider and try out to see what works best for you.
As you might know by now, finding the right approach might be a trial-and-error process. That means it will take time; hence, utter patience, or trying a lot of stuff at once.
1. Choose a Low Acid Coffee Beans or Coffee Grounds
If you want to tone down the acidity of your coffee, try choosing a low-acidity variety roasted coffee beans. The low-acid coffee beans are grown and processed to be much less acidic. Either the type of beans used is different or it undergoes a different roasting process.
Switching to low-acid coffee will spare you instances of heartburn or stomach upset that can result from other more acidic coffees. So, next time you’re out shopping for coffee, throw a bag of low-acid stuff in the cart and see how it improves your morning routine.
2. Add a Pinch of Salt to Your Coffee
If you are one of those people who love their cup of coffee but the acidity is bothering your stomach, then try adding a little salt to it. It may sound weird, but the salt will help counterbalance the acidity a bit and thus make the cold brews gentler on the stomach.
Just sprinkle a little salt into the grounds before brewing ground coffee, or add a pinch to your cup after it’s brewed. No need to overdo it—just a touch will make all the difference. Give it a shot for a smoother, more comfortable coffee experience.
3. Add a Pinch of Baking Soda to Your Coffee
Add a pinch of baking soda to your cup of joe if you like the taste sour your coffee, but normally it’s too acidic for you. This easy trick is going to help neutralize some of that acidity and taste smoother with much less harshness.
Just be cautious to use very little, since too much baking soda can give the coffee a bad taste. Next time you make cold brew coffee over a pot of hot coffee, try that and see if it tastes better.
4. Acid Reducers for Coffee
If you are in love with your coffee but just too acidic, try an acid reducer. Add one to your cold brewed coffee, to help neutralize some of that acidity.
Since most acid reducers are tasteless, they are not going to make any difference in your coffee’s taste. Give it a try and see if it is going to help make the experience of handling your ground coffee beans pleasant and less acidic.
5. Opt for a Dark Roasted Coffee
Looking for an acidity reduction in your daily morning coffee? Try using a dark or medium roast. This works if you really want to avoid acidity since a lot of the darker roasts have less acidity as compared to the light ones, which would give off a much smoother and less acidic cup.
With a dark roast, keep an eye on how much your steeping time and water amount apply for the best flavor. If you’ve got the right method to brew your dark roast coffee, you find that you may just enjoy some rich, flavorful coffee without the sharp acidity characteristic of lighter coffee blends.
Give it a go and taste the difference!
6. Add Milk or Cream
When the coffee’s way too acidic, add milk or cream. In this way, the creaminess will most likely balance out with the acidity of the coffee in case it assumes much bitterness, changing the flavor of extracted coffee to a smoother and richer one.
Add a bit of milk or cream to the coffee to round out the flavor. If you want dairy-free options for sour coffee, the types of milk you should try are almond milk and oat milk. You may discover a very new way to enjoy your coffee.
7. Alternative Brewing Method
Try a different coffee brewing method. You could cut back on the acidity by switching your brewing to cold brew or pour-over rather than drip coffee makers and French press methods.
Steeping coffee grounds in cold water and for much longer than usual produces a much smoother, much less acidic taste. The pour-over way of brewing coffee—in which hot water is slowly poured over coffee grounds in a filter—also yields much less acid and leaves a very balanced taste.
Experiment with brewing methods until you get the best taste.
Final Thoughts
Though acidity may not be an issue with all coffee drinkers, lowering the amount of acid in your coffee will definitely help relieve the feeling of discomfort from it or desire a smoother flavor. You may also want to look at low-acid coffee, add a little salt or baking soda into the beverage, use an acid reducer, go for a darker roast, add milk or cream, or try alternative brewing methods.
Want to know more? Visit our website Daily Grind Unwind for more coffee-related things.
