Where Does Coffee's Acidity Come From? Which Coffee Beans Are More Acidic - Is Acidic or Bitter Coffee Better?

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For many coffee beginners, the acidity in coffee often feels unacceptable... The combination of coffee flavor and acidity seems strange to them.

Before processing, coffee beans look like this, commonly known as coffee cherries.

Recently, the boss brought back some coffee fruits, and the pulp inside is incredibly delicious. Believe it or not, I personally find it delicious. If you don't believe me, you can come to the store and try it. I won't tell you exactly how it tastes.

Now, inside the pulp are the magical beans (coffee beans). Of course, the green coffee beans suitable for roasting must be processed first, such as (washed, natural, honey, semi-natural... etc.). Only after processing do we get those vibrant green coffee beans. After proper roasting and brewing, a delicious cup of coffee is finally presented.

The Chemistry of Coffee Acidity

Coffee beans contain acidic organic compounds that can be synthesized by plants themselves, including weak acidic aromatic substances containing carbon molecules.

Organic acids include chlorogenic acid, quinic acid, acetic acid, citric acid, malic acid, and lactic acid.

These organic acids increase or decrease before and after roasting.

However, this is not the acidity we taste when drinking coffee. The acidity we perceive mainly comes from the changes that occur during the roasting process.

Typically, when we roast green coffee beans, some components undergo chemical reactions, forming new acids.

For example: during roasting, chlorogenic acid continuously degrades into quinic acid... and so on.

Roast Levels and Acidity

Medium-light roast - acidity is pronounced

Medium roast - moderate acidity

Medium-dark roast - relatively low acidity

Dark roast - almost no acidity, but bitterness is prominent

Each type of acid has different intensity and concentration. The acidity components and proportions in coffee beans are also related to the components contained in the green coffee beans. The choice of coffee bean type will also affect the production of acidity to some extent.

Altitude and Acidity

Coffee grown at higher altitudes contains more aromatic acids but has lower oil concentration than low-altitude coffee. These two factors make high-altitude coffee more acidic. According to documented records: this can be verified in Guatemala's eight major producing regions, where Huehuetenango (located in the northwest bordering Mexico) and Santa Rosa (located in the southeast bordering El Salvador) at altitudes around 2000 meters show significantly higher acidity than the other six regions including Antigua. Additionally, for every 100 meters of altitude increase, the temperature drops by 0.6°C. Research has also found that for every 300 meters of elevation increase, the sucrose content in coffee beans increases by 10%. In principle, higher aromatic acids and sucrose content result in more aromatic and mellow coffee. This is because higher altitudes, lower temperatures, and large day-night temperature differences can slow down coffee growth, allowing more nutrients to accumulate. Sucrose generates more aromatic acids during roasting, which is why high-altitude hard beans have significantly better aromatic acidity than low-altitude soft beans. Altitude, variety, complex genetic traits, and ecosystems all indirectly affect coffee flavor.

Understanding Coffee Acidity

Coffee acidity describes a lively, bright flavor expression, similar to terminology used in wine tasting. If coffee beans lack acidity, they lose their vitality, tasting hollow, bland, and lacking depth and layers. Acidity has many different characteristics. For example, coffee beans from Yemen, Kenya, and Ethiopia's Yirgacheffe and Sidamo regions have acidity characterized by striking floral and fruit aromas, along with wine-like notes.

There is also a sharp, dull acidity - a "dead acid" without aroma. Drinking it is as unpleasant as swallowing vinegar.

Coffee fruit acidity is natural and reasonable, even representing the truly natural state of coffee. It is absolutely not spoilage or foul acidity.

Recommended Acidic Coffee Bean Brands

FrontStreet Coffee's roasted acidic coffee beans: washed Yirgacheffe coffee, Kenya AA coffee, Panama Floral Butterfly coffee, etc., all have full guarantees in terms of brand and quality. More importantly, they offer excellent value - a half-pound (227g) package costs only around 80-90 yuan. Calculated at 15g per pour-over coffee, one package can make 15 cups, with each single-origin coffee costing only about 6 yuan. Compared to cafés selling single cups for dozens of yuan, this represents extremely high value.

FrontStreet Coffee: A roastery in Guangzhou with a small storefront but diverse bean varieties, where you can find both famous and lesser-known beans. They also provide online shop services at https://shop104210103.taobao.com

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473