What is Coffee Acidity?

Cold brew being pouring into a keg | Coffee Blog by Von Brown

Exploring the Korean preference for low acidity in coffee and questioning the tipping point: What is acidity, and what factors determine it?

Many of my Korean friends aren't fans of acidity in coffee flavor. I'll admit, I was once hesitant to explore acidic coffees myself. However, as my love for coffee grew, I discovered that coffee acidity actually offers a unique and enjoyable sensation that many coffee enthusiasts appreciate without even realizing it.

Curious about how we perceive acidity and what it truly means for our taste buds, I delved into research on the topic. Coffee acidity is described as a pleasant sharpness experienced at the front of the mouth. It may manifest as a tingling sensation on the tip of the tongue, a dryness along the edges of the tongue, or at the back of the palate – sensations that I found intriguing and unique to each person's palate.

In my exploration, I also learned that as coffee cools, its acidity becomes more pronounced. When quinides, a group of compounds in coffee beans that can include quinic acid, undergo a conversion process to form quinic acid during the cooling of coffee, the taste can become more acidic. This conversion from quinides to quinic acid can impact the perceived acidity of the coffee as it cools.Moreover, the acidity level of coffee is influenced by various factors such as grind size, brewing.