Hi guys

I personally don't like acidity in my coffee. Can you guys recommend some blends (regions) that has minimal to no acidity?

Thank you

I'm not sure what you mean by the term "acidity," and it would help me help you if you define it as you're using it. As technical coffee jargon, the terms, "acids," "acidity," and made-up parallel terms like "acidiness," "acidesh," etc., aren't the same as sour but refer to varietal and terroir flavors, like fruits and spices. Those are things most people prize.

Because acids, particularly fruit notes other than lemon, are prized, acidy coffees tend to run expensive. Coffees from regions which focus more on quantity than quality produce a lot of pedestrian, generic beans. Although if you decide to buy an inexpensive Brazilian hoping for undistinguished mediocrity, be warned that you never know -- you might stumble into something good.

As a general rule, darker roasts exhibit less in the way of acids and more in the way of roaster artifacts -- usually experienced as chocolate, caramels, and nuttiness -- than lighter roasts.

Under-extracting the coffee, often a product of grinding too large, brewing too cold and/or brewing too fast, makes for a sour brew.

If you're referring to a tendency for coffee to give you a sour stomach, cold (but slow) brewed coffee, particularly ice drip, is very low acid in that sense. Another method which brews mellower than most is balance-beam siphon.

Rich

Brazilian and Indonesian coffees (Sulawesi & Sumatra) tend to have least acidity. Most coffees are from the species Arabica; another species, Robusta, used for cheap coffees, energy drinks, and as a traditional espresso component, has almost no acidity and double the caffeine of Arabica.

As Rich says, darker and longer roasts are also less acidic.

However, these differences are for taste only; as far as I know, people with ulcers or other acid sensitive stomach conditions are generally advised to avoid all coffee, since even the least acidic coffee weighs in at around 5.5 pH.

I would add Indian Monsooned Malabar to the list of coffees generally regarded as low-acid. Be advised, though, that it has a very specific flavor profile, which some enjoy and some do not (I happen to like it as an occasional change-up).

Best,
David

It's an indication of my changing tastes in coffee that early on when I was roasting and preferred darker roasts I liked Monsooned Malabar. Now, a little goes a long way. I like it for its base notes and its crema production so I use a little in espresso blends. I remember fondly, though, a monsooned Bali coffee that Sweet Maria's offered once.

There is now a discount offering of very high quality coffees, some from Brazil at Nossa Coffee. Per Dan's announcement "HB members (get a) 20% off for their Microlot coffees and Full Cycle. Discount code is HBDEAL20."

Their Brazil Cup of Excellence #5 Microlot Fazenda Recreo is a light roast that boasts acidity, so this may not be what you want. But their Full Cycle blend may be just what you're seeking. It includes one of their family farmed Brazils plus a micro-lot coffee that changes seasonally.

(slightly OT) Nossa Coffee's Loring roaster (one of the very first) is manned by Robert Hoos, a great guy, extremely talented roaster and trainer for the Roasters Guild. That's a great deal to pass along, thank you Gary for the heads up!

Thank you guys. I'll look into it.

I know it differs by beans, but what setting do you guys recommend (if you have a vario) for french press? I don't know if the sourness is from underextraction or from a particular region

Pinch the grinds between your fingers. The traditional setting for FP is kosher salt; but with the current roasting levels, you should go finer, to the level of table salt.

In general let taste be your guide. If the body is thin and the taste acidic or very bright-bitter (think campari, lemon peel, etc), then grind finer (a whole number, not letter, for the Vario). If it's all body, caramels and not much flavor, grind a number coarser.

Make grind adjustments by taste an automatic part of your brewing routine. People keep posting they don't have the tasting experience to do this -- either they shouldn't be drinking coffee, or they will get the experience by not posting for a day or two and instead sipping two or three different coffees done at different grind levels side by side.