Acidity in Coffee | 2 Ways To Remove Excess Acidity
Sometimes coffee can be too acidic, leaving an unpleasant taste in your mouth. Luckily, there are two ways to remove excess acidity from your coffee. Keep reading to find out how!
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What are acids?
Acidity in coffee is the base flavor found in the bean, especially Arabica, and it makes the flavor much richer. In general, acidity is not to be feared, acidity is a component of coffee. If we remember what coffee is, coffee is a berry. Try to remember any taste of any berry and you will definitely remember that there is acidity there.
To one degree or another, it can be acidity along with sweetness, for example, like red currants, raspberries, and black currants, and acidity with bitterness - viburnum, mountain ash, cranberries, and so on. Therefore, in the coffee berry and in the coffee bean, necessarily, by nature, there is acidity.
To one degree or another, it can be acidity along with sweetness, for example, like red currants, raspberries, and black currants, and acidity with bitterness - viburnum, mountain ash, cranberries, and so on. Therefore, in the coffee berry and in the coffee bean, necessarily, by nature, there is acidity.
Where does the acidity in coffee come from?
Acidity in coffee, can be formed due to a number of factors. Firstly, this is the height of growth, it can be a processing method, a type of wood, or a degree of roasting.
Now, in order about where and what gives acidity.
Now, in order about where and what gives acidity.
1. Height of growth
Where and what gives acidity
The higher the tree grows, the more rarefied the air, the lower the temperature, and in such an environment, coffee fruits ripen longer and they have more time to absorb the taste of aromatic substances and form acids.
2. Coffee beans processing method
Where and what gives acidity
Washed processing, traditionally gives more acidity, because with the washed method, with the help of a dipulpator, we remove the top layer. There is a lot of sugar in the top layer, and a lot of aromatic oils, and when it does not shrink, the coffee bean does not get enough of this sweetness, as a result, the taste of the washed coffee will be more even, smoother and more acidic.
3. Varieties of coffee trees
Where and what gives acidity
Different varieties of trees can give different degrees of acidity and different characteristics of acidity. Here, probably, the most basic such differences are Arabica and Robusta. Traditionally, Arabica has more acidity, more essential oils, and more flavor, it is richer and more interesting. In Robusta, acidity is very low, it is practically not there, there is a very large amount of caffeine, phenolic compounds, and quite bitter, dense such a drink is obtained, unlike Arabica.
Well, there are also differences in Arabica itself. Different types of trees, give either more acidity and a richer taste, or less. For example Geisha or Pink Bourbon. These varieties, are very interesting, very rich in taste, and aroma, and their acidity is very complex and interesting, most often it is malic, wine citrus acidity.
Well, there are also differences in Arabica itself. Different types of trees, give either more acidity and a richer taste, or less. For example Geisha or Pink Bourbon. These varieties, are very interesting, very rich in taste, and aroma, and their acidity is very complex and interesting, most often it is malic, wine citrus acidity.
4. Roasting of coffee beans
Where and what gives acidity
This is the most important parameter with which we can work. These are roasters or coffee houses that can roast themselves. When roasted, the caramelization of sugars occurs, and chlorogenic acids are also formed, which in turn give more bitterness. The lighter the coffee is roasted, the more acidity. And the stronger we roast coffee, the less acidity is felt and the bitterness begins to be felt more.
The roaster, when he creates a roasting profile with different energies and different roasting profiles, he forms just the same final taste, where he reveals the very properties that are in coffee and the acidity that he initially feels and finds in this grain. And he either reveals it, or he somehow muffles it and pulls out the bitterness in the first place or is looking for such a balance. After the grain is ready and we work with it in a coffee shop or at home, we can also feel increased or decreased acidity.
The roaster, when he creates a roasting profile with different energies and different roasting profiles, he forms just the same final taste, where he reveals the very properties that are in coffee and the acidity that he initially feels and finds in this grain. And he either reveals it, or he somehow muffles it and pulls out the bitterness in the first place or is looking for such a balance. After the grain is ready and we work with it in a coffee shop or at home, we can also feel increased or decreased acidity.
Why acidity can rise when making coffee?
In any case, under-extracted coffee will always have more acidity than over-extracted coffee.
Under-extracted coffee can appear in two cases
If we take the process of preparing our drink, it doesn't matter if it's from a press or a filter, it's more clearly visible on the espresso, we can see that at the beginning, in the first seconds of extraction, we get a large amount of minerals, salts and acids. Over time, fewer acids come out, less fruit, berry, and tartaric acids come out, with every second more and more chlorogenic acid comes out, which gives more bitterness, and caffeine.
Therefore, if we interrupt our extraction too early, for example, we under-extracted from the press, made it short, with a factor of about 1.8 or 1.6 or 1.7 then we will have increased acidity in taste, because that we will have a large concentration of acids, which at first very easily and actively come out of the grain.
Therefore, if we interrupt our extraction too early, for example, we under-extracted from the press, made it short, with a factor of about 1.8 or 1.6 or 1.7 then we will have increased acidity in taste, because that we will have a large concentration of acids, which at first very easily and actively come out of the grain.
The second option is under-extracted coffee when we have too coarse grinding
With coarse grinding, water does not have time to capture all surface particles, minerals, salts, and acids are washed out first, and we will end up with rather sour coffee, but at the same time, unlike the first case with interrupted extraction, the body of this drink will be rather watery, empty, flat and with fairly pronounced acidity.
At what temperature of the finished coffee is the acidity more pronounced?
We recognize acidity better when the drink cools. Our receptors are arranged in such a way that at a high temperature of 70-80С degrees, we feel bitterness very well. At 50-60С degrees, sweetness is felt very well, and already below 50С degrees the temperature of the drink is very well captured by the acidity of the receptors in the drink. Therefore, when cooling, coffee always becomes more acidic, pay attention to this and fix how it changes during the cooling process.
How to remove excess acidity?
My recommendation to you: - always, if you change any parameter, change one parameter. See what it led to, because if you change several parameters at the same time, you will not be able to understand which one worked.
To remove excess acidity, you can:
To remove excess acidity, you can:
- Raise the temperatureFirst. Raise the temperature of the water in the coffee machine, or use hotter water in another brewing method
- Change the grindingSecond. Change the grinding, if the water passes through the coffee too quickly, then a short extraction is obtained, in this case, you can reduce the grinding and increase the extraction time accordingly