Best Coffee For Sensitive Stomach: Ending Your Quests And Confusions

A lot of people face stomach-related issues and it’s been proven that morning coffee is one of the culprits here. And it’s true, especially with folks who have a sensitive stomach. Heartburn or acid reflux symptoms are pretty common from drinking regular coffee.

Due to the fact, other foods can also affect sensitive stomachs the same way and coffee serves as a booster regardless, it’s difficult to cut this drink out completely from our lives. Thankfully, the modern pharmaceutical and food science industries have found a solution. In our best coffee for sensitive stomach article, we’ll exactly talk about that solution and more!!

The human digestive system runs on acids. They’re viewed as the fuel of the stomach. Acids break down what we eat in our stomachs. However, too much gastric acid or irregular triggers is a problem and causes some not-so-fun symptoms. If you find yourself with stomach discomforts (acid reflux and GERD) when you drink acidic drinks like alcohol or fruit juice, you should also avoid drinking regular coffee. Because regular coffee has acids that can trigger similar effects in your stomach.  

You’d be surprised to know, that caffeine itself can also upset a human stomach. Because the caffeine in regular coffee encourages our stomachs to produce more acid than usual. Due to such laxative effects, it forces our digestive system to work faster. This is why coffee is often prescribed to counteract constipation. In this case, drink less coffee, if you can cut it down to 1 or 2 cups per day, it will bring about some major improvements. You can also try a banana as its alkaline nature cancels out the harshness of the extra acidity from caffeine.

Even if you’re not with a sensitive stomach, you’re still going to run into issues because you’re drinking coffee on an empty stomach all along. Coffee is an intense drink with richness, boldness, and complexities. If you’re drinking it without eating anything substantial, it’ll upset your stomach without a doubt. Have different types of foods before drinking your coffee to find out which type of food works best for you. Add a bit more substance like a banana or protein to your breakfast before drinking coffee.

Some coffee flavor profiles include acidity as one of the unique traits. Well, don’t be confused by this. Because this acidity is a flavor note, not the abundance of the acid compounds. A pH scale ranges from 0 to 14 and water, the neutral benchmark, is at 7 on the scale. Our stomach acidity is 1 and black coffee is at a 5 on the pH scale. So compare typical coffee brands to lower-acidity coffee brands.

There are 2 main types of acid you should be concerned with – Chlorogenic and Quinic acid. Chlorogenic acid is an organic acid in raw coffee beans and has a positive biological effect on us. But Quinic acid affects the coffee’s taste more and has some adverse effects on us.

There are many things we can do to have stomach-friendly coffee every day! Because coffee has many health benefits, such as it being full of antioxidants, reducing the risks of developing certain types of cancer, daily energy boost, etc. Even Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) patients can enjoy coffee, provided they choose the right type and brew.

There are 2 kinds of low-acid coffee – inadvertently low-acid and treated/reduced low-acid coffee.

• Inadvertent Low-Acid Coffee – Some beans are naturally low in acid. Beans grown in low-altitude and valley environments have less acid. Brazil, Sumatra, Peru, Guatemala, and Mexico produce such coffee beans. Also, the overall environment, soil, mineral composition, and farming technique, can all affect coffee’s acidity level
• Treated Low Acid Coffee – When coffee beans go through specific growing techniques, chemical treatments, and washing techniques that reduce the acidity level fall in this category. For example, shade-grown (low-stress plants) coffee farming reduces acidity levels. The roasting and brewing procedures also reduce the acid content. Dark roasted coffees are less acidic and Gold coffee is even less acidic than traditional dark roasts

The water temperature for brewing coffee can also dictate acidity levels. Standard high-pressure coffee making may preserve acidity. Thus, go for the cold brewing, even though it’s a lengthy brewing process, it’s ultimately better for your stomach. Brewing coffee with cold water releases fewer stomach-irritating compounds, including the different acids that are responsible for stomach discomfort.  

Decaffeinated coffee can also help you to ease your upset stomach since we already know caffeine itself adds to the problem. If you have found out that your stomach issues also happen when you’re having caffeine jitters, you better give decaf coffee a chance.

Gold coffee is loaded with antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, and all the healthy compounds that make coffee so good for you. Gold coffee tastes great and is less bitter than regular coffee. Gold coffee is naturally 5x less acidic than regular coffee! You can have it hot or cold anytime.

Healthy fats like cream, coconut oil, coconut milk, MCG oil, and butter can neutralize the coffee’s acidity. The milk proteins actually bind the harsh compounds that normally cause your stomach to produce more acid. Additionally, these healthy fats provide sustained energy, maintain blood sugar and protein levels, promote gut health, and add beneficial vitamins.

The good news is, that low-acid coffees are becoming more common. Coffee manufacturers are realizing the importance of whole low-acid coffee. So much so, that there is also no-acid coffee available in the market.

YOU MAY ALSO READ: Best Low-Acid Coffee Reviews

Low-acid coffee is simply a type that’s either roasted or brewed to have little-to-no Quinic acid. The pH level sits way closer to a neutral (7) pH level. No-acid coffee has simply a lower pH level than low-acid coffee. To add flavor and texture, no-acid coffee comes with various floral and fruity coffee blends 

Volcanica, Puroast, Java Planet, Don Pablo, and Lifeboost are a few examples of well-renowned low-acid and no-acid coffee brands.

Most importantly, if you observe stomach issues after drinking coffee, you should consult with a doctor first. Please note that low-acid coffees are sensible options for all. We hope our discussion here enlightened you on the matter. There are certified brands out here providing coffees for sensitive stomachs. These will give you all the tastes and aromas that you expect from your daily cup of morning joe.