Best Low Acid Coffee Brands

Do you find coffee to be too acidic?

Drinking coffee should be the best part of your day. Slowly sipping ounce after ounce, savoring the flavorful notes until the cup is empty.

It’s not until later when, well, the problems can begin.

If you’re an avid coffee consumer, you’ve probably experienced the dreaded side-effects of imbibing too much of the good stuff. But don't worry. You don't have to quit drinking coffee.

Check out our list of the best low acid coffee brands that both you and your tummy can enjoy each morning!

Whether it’s just a flat out discomfort in your stomach or it feels like someone’s repeatedly stabbing your heart with jagged blade, it’s quite possible that coffee has contributed to that nightmarish circumstance.

It’s the acid.

One of the most-oft commented on aspects of your cuppa joe is making short work of meddling in your digestive system.

Whether it’s aggravating your acid reflux, causing heartburn, or any other mess of unpleasantness, there’s one culprit: the acid. 

Let’s clarify something very quickly, though — coffee typically clocks in at a 5 on the pH scale. To put that in perspective, that’s less than soda or beer, which both clock in at a pH of 4.

If you just said, “hey, wait! That’s less-” I’d like to cut you off right there. The pH scale is a little backwards, at least in my opinion. Soapy water clocks in at a pH of 12, a pretty basic number, while battery acid is 0. Your natural stomach acid remains just above that, at a pH of 1.

When critics talk about “acidity,” though, they’re actually talking about flavor notes.

Coffee contains chlorogenic acids (antioxidants) which, as you probably know, are all the rage. While antioxidants are in your morning brew, “acidity” is actually used more as an indicator of quality in the coffee world. Fruit grown at a high altitude and put through an exact roasting process would likely earn the word “acidity” in their review.

Many professionals have begun bending to social convention and using words like “bright” rather than “acidic,” mostly due to the misunderstanding of its use. The point here is that you shouldn’t automatically count out a type or brand of coffee because it has the word “acidity” slapped onto it.

Dark roast coffee is often perceived as being less acidic because of its flavor profile, but dark roast is actually higher in quinic acid, which can actually cause that sour stomach feeling.

There are better ways to evaluate the acid level of your morning cup (or 7), and they include where the beans are grown, how they’re roasted, and how you, yes, you, are brewing your coffee.

Depending on where a fruit is grown, it can yield beans with less acidity. You’ll want to scour labels for places such as the Sumatra, Mexico, Peru, and Guatemala. The soil there naturally yields beans with less of those gut-wrenching acids, so this is going to be one of your most valuable tools of trade when choosing your fresh bag.

That brings us to my next point: fresh coffee. The longer coffee sits, the more likely those acid levels are going to change. You can sincerely hope it’s for the better (less acidity) but you’d likely lose that battle. Unless you enjoy playing Russian Roulette with your personal comfort and health, it’s easiest to just grab a fresh bag whenever you need it.