# Low Acid Coffee - can I buy it anywhere in the UK??



## SLK77 (Apr 9, 2018)

I have been diagnosed with a condition that means I can't drink regular coffee. I have looked for low-acid coffee online and it seems that you can only buy it in the US. I'm really surprised. There must be thousands and thousands of people with GERD/heartburn/ulcers/bladder pain that can't drink regular or even decaf coffee but reviews on Amazon say they can handle the low acid ground coffee.

Maybe I'm looking in the wrong places but I can't seem to find a single company that ships to the UK or a UK or European stockist! Amazon does sell some that I could buy but it's 4x the price that it is in the US and shipping on top of that- it's crazy expensive!!

any advice/help/info much appreciated


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

Coffee is acidic. Are you talking about actual acid, or sour/bright coffee?


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## Batian (Oct 23, 2017)

Monsoon Malabar is low in acidity.

Please see this article from the font of knowledge...but as it is Wikipedia, you may wish to do some more research!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsooned_Malabar


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## ashcroc (Oct 28, 2016)

There may be some brew methods that help keep the acidity down too.


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## SLK77 (Apr 9, 2018)

MWJB said:


> Coffee is acidic. Are you talking about actual acid, or sour/bright coffee?


No I'm talking about coffee that has been brewed deliberately to take most of the acid out. They're called low-acid coffee. There are a few brands on Amazon US, here's the link to one:

https://www.amazon.com/Coffee-Organic-Mellow-Belly-Ground/dp/B073VV4GZB/ref=sr_1_3_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1523290667&sr=8-3&keywords=low+acid+coffee


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## SLK77 (Apr 9, 2018)

Yeah I've heard that cold brewing keeps the acidity down, the problem is not knowing how much acid is left. With the packaged ground coffee sold in the US it says '70% less acid' etc.


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## SLK77 (Apr 9, 2018)

That's interesting, though I was hoping to buy ready ground coffee as I don't have a grinder- but if I ever decide to start selling low-acid coffee (my dream) then knowing more about the beans is a must! thanks


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

SLK77 said:


> No I'm talking about coffee that has been brewed deliberately to take most of the acid out. They're called low-acid coffee. There are a few brands on Amazon US, here's the link to one:
> 
> https://www.amazon.com/Coffee-Organic-Mellow-Belly-Ground/dp/B073VV4GZB/ref=sr_1_3_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1523290667&sr=8-3&keywords=low+acid+coffee


"no technical data"

I think we are confusing acidity (flavour) with acid (composition). It's hard for anyone to make a recommendation if you have a specific medical intolerance & we don't know what that intolerance is.


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Medium dark roasted Sumatran, or Java Coffees will be very low in acidity e.g. Java Blawan Estate, any Sumatran, Old Brown Java, Monsooned Malabar

Avoid medium and light roasted coffees, Kenyans, Mexicans, Some/Most Brazils, Nicaraguans.

But I agree with Mark, unless we know what the problem is, it's hard to recommend anything.

e.g. I suffer from GERD, but coffee is not the problem, neither is acidic foods, although the some doctor might spout that sort of bullshine. For me it's wheats and wholegrains that cause a problem. Depending on your diagnosis, acid coffee may not really be your problem. The stomach is immensely acidic, and you would have to take proton pump inhibitors (e.g. Lansoprozole or Omeprazole etc..) in a reasonable dose to suppress all acidity. If your not taking those, the acid in your food has feck all difference to the acidity in the stomach.

P.S. I should have added that after cutting out the (non acidic) foods that cause GERD, I do drink 8-10 doubles a day and it causes me no problem whatsoever!


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## ashcroc (Oct 28, 2016)

SLK77 said:


> Yeah I've heard that cold brewing keeps the acidity down, the problem is not knowing how much acid is left. With the packaged ground coffee sold in the US it says '70% less acid' etc.


Only way to really know for sure would be to make u a batch & test it with a litmus strip.


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## SLK77 (Apr 9, 2018)

I'm not confusing acidity with acid- I said in my original post low acid coffee- exactly what is sold in the packets on the link. I'm not a coffee connoseur I just hoped someone had some information on low-acid coffees that I can only seem to see available in the US. I know there are some beans that are lower in acid than others but if you have a medical condition even lower acid beans may cause issues. You don't really need to know what my issue is to help me, but I have an irritated bladder so coffee, alcohol etc is out. Even decaf coffee can cause pain. BUT the low-acid coffees on sale in the US don't cause pain/issues as there are many reviews from people with bladder issues, stomach ulcers, heartburn etc and they can drink this coffee fine but not normal coffee. I hope this clarifies what I'm talking about.


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

ashcroc said:


> Only way to really know for sure would be to make u a batch & test it with a litmus strip.


bear in mind that the stomach has a Ph of 1.5 to 3, with a gastric fluid volume varying between say 60 ml to 400 ml, probably averaging around 250 ml. The Ph scale is logarithmic http://chemistry.elmhurst.edu/vchembook/184ph.html

Coffee has a ph similar to milk around 6 to 6.5....so were really a very long way from affecting the square root of feck all as far as ph is concerned.


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

SLK77 said:


> I'm not confusing acidity with acid- I said in my original post low acid coffee- exactly what is sold in the packets on the link. I'm not a coffee connoseur I just hoped someone had some information on low-acid coffees that I can only seem to see available in the US. I know there are some beans that are lower in acid than others but if you have a medical condition even lower acid beans may cause issues. You don't really need to know what my issue is to help me, but I have an irritated bladder so coffee, alcohol etc is out. Even decaf coffee can cause pain. BUT the low-acid coffees on sale in the US don't cause pain/issues as there are many reviews from people with bladder issues, stomach ulcers, heartburn etc and they can drink this coffee fine but not normal coffee. I hope this clarifies what I'm talking about.


Not really and you have not shared what the condition is...so I guess you're going to have to import the coffees that you like, preground, from the US. Or start drinking tea...oops wait tea is acidic as well? Perhaps a fruit infusion instead.


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## xpresso (Jan 16, 2018)

SLK77 said:


> I have been diagnosed with a condition that means I can't drink regular coffee. I have looked for low-acid coffee online and it seems that you can only buy it in the US. I'm really surprised. There must be thousands and thousands of people with GERD/heartburn/ulcers/bladder pain that can't drink regular or even decaf coffee but reviews on Amazon say they can handle the low acid ground coffee.
> 
> Maybe I'm looking in the wrong places but I can't seem to find a single company that ships to the UK or a UK or European stockist! Amazon does sell some that I could buy but it's 4x the price that it is in the US and shipping on top of that- it's crazy expensive!!
> 
> any advice/help/info much appreciated


I have a parallel problem to what you appear to have, I have medication prescribed on a twice daily basis to control it, I find with management I can dismiss one of the doses, for the most part I know what aggravates the situation but have never found that coffee is one of them, chocolates, rich gravy (Sauce), dry white wine, excess salt, are some of the main instigators.

Jon.


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

DavecUK said:


> Coffee has a ph similar to milk around 6 to 6.5....so were really a very long way from affecting the square root of feck all as far as ph is concerned.


I thought it was more like 5.0-5.5?


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## dsc (Jun 7, 2013)

I suffer from hiatus hernia and constant heartburn / reflux and here's a few thoughts re coffee (very subjective of course but might work for you):

- brewed instead of espresso although espresso in Italy does nothing to me and I can drink a bucket load of those for whatever reason

- brewed with grinds left in seems better than paper filtered, again no idea why

- espresso, especially under extracted, gives me extraordinary bloating and for lack of a better term "the shits"

- light roasted coffees are the devils spawn, again no idea why, I just cannot drink them

- cold brew does seem neutral but depends on the roast level (see above)

- PPIs (proton pump inhibitors) reduce reflux (constant coughing, especially at night) but don't stop bloating and also cause mouth ulcers for some weird reason, especially when coupled with coffee

- coconut water works better than PPIs (now someone explain that one)

I'd normally say that what you eat has more of an impact when it comes to GERD, but there does seem to be some sort of correlation between brew methods and the effect of the brew on ones gut.

T.


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

MWJB said:


> I thought it was more like 5.0-5.5?


I have a ph meter, last time I tested it was in the range 6-6.5. I would test again, but the thing is one of those hydrated glass bulb units, have not used it for years now. I suppose I could see if I can revive it and do some more testing.


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## Rob1 (Apr 9, 2015)

Just add bicarbonates to your water.


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## SLK77 (Apr 9, 2018)

DavecUK said:


> Not really and you have not shared what the condition is...so I guess you're going to have to import the coffees that you like, preground, from the US. Or start drinking tea...oops wait tea is acidic as well? Perhaps a fruit infusion instead.


I did share the condition I have! Re-read my post!


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## SLK77 (Apr 9, 2018)

strange then that these low acid coffees help people with irritated bladders and/or stomachs and yet they can't handle normal coffee. Oh well, why it works remains a mystery then!


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## SLK77 (Apr 9, 2018)

actually I've purchased some pills that alkalise drinks/food so I guess that's the same thing. Hopefully they work and I can just drink normal coffee.


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## SLK77 (Apr 9, 2018)

I do some times suffer from GERD. Interesting I tried some dark roast coffee and it was awful on my stomach- but it was those coffee pods/bags so maybe it was the chemicals rather than the coffee itself! Perhaps I'll try cold brew with a naturally low acid bean, that's another option.... At the moment, like I said, it's my bladder that is protesting so it may be a whole other ball game as to what works. I've been 3 weeks without the good stuff, I can't live without my coffee, I'm miserable, grumpy, tired.....


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## ATZ (Aug 4, 2017)

Some thoughts as a nutritionist:

1. The acidity of coffee stimulates secretion of gastric acid

2. Coffee speeds up the process of gastric emptying, resulting in acidic stomach contents passing into the small intestine

3. Caffiene stimulates the movement of colonic muscles

4. Caffiene stimulates gallbladder contraction


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## blackrg (Apr 7, 2018)

thankyou for this excellent thread, my oh also has a reflux issue, i shall investigate the blends mentioned on p2


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## TD2935 (Oct 25, 2018)

DavecUK said:


> Medium dark roasted Sumatran, or Java Coffees will be very low in acidity e.g. Java Blawan Estate, any Sumatran, Old Brown Java, Monsooned Malabar
> 
> Avoid medium and light roasted coffees, Kenyans, Mexicans, Some/Most Brazils, Nicaraguans.
> 
> ...


Hi DavecUK. How did you find out it was wheats and wholegrains? Coffee does hammer my acid but so do lots of other things.


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