How To Make Coffee Less Acidic With Baking Soda

Learning how to make coffee less acidic with baking soda will help you to enjoy a better and healthier cup of coffee if you are suffering from stomach ulcers or acid reflux.

The best part, it is so easy to make, and very little baking soda is needed.

Keep reading to find out how to reduce the acidity of your coffee with baking soda.

How To Make Coffee Less Acidic With Baking Soda

When thinking about adding baking soda to your coffee, you have three options.

• Add it directly to your coffee grounds while brewing.
• Add it directly to your cup of coffee and mix well.
• Add it to instant coffee and mix well.

There is a fourth method, add baking soda to your water, but this is a lot more complicated to measure the correct amount and is less effective at making a low acid coffee than the other three methods.

The amount to use depends on which method you are using and how much you want to reduce the acidity of coffee.

For a pot of coffee, add ¼ of a teaspoon to the coffee grounds, or mix ¼ of teaspoon with your pot of coffee directly.

For a single cup of coffee, a 1/16th teaspoon of a cup of coffee.

These are good starting points. If you still suffer acid reflux, you can add a little more the next cup you make until you get the balanced acidity that suits your body and doesn’t interfere with the flavor.

Baking soda in the small amounts needed is tasteless and doesn’t affect the flavor of your coffee. But when you start adding larger amounts you will notice it.

Read: Is coffee acidic or alkaline?

Is It Healthy To Put Baking Soda In Your Coffee?

Yes, regular coffee has a pH of 5 and since baking soda has a pH of 8, adding the alkaline powder to your acidic coffee can help to turn your coffee into a low acid coffee.

Reducing coffee acidity will help with acid reflux and assist in neutralizing your stomach acid.

Adding this simple acid reducer to your coffee helps with Uric acid, which leads to gout, an unfortunate and painful condition.

It can also help you to enjoy a cup of coffee if you are suffering from a stomach ulcer. Baking soda in your coffee can also improve heartburn.

What it can’t and won’t do is help you to lose weight. I’ve heard those stories, researched the topic and unfortunately there is no scientific evidence to indicate that it aids in weight loss or fat loss.

The suggestions that it can are born out of bicarbonate of soda being alkaline and an alkaline diet aiding with weight loss, but in this case 1+1 does not make 2! At Latte Love Brew, we encourage you to lead a healthy lifestyle and lose weight naturally with a good diet and exercise.

Baking Soda In Coffee Health Benefits

There are some good health benefits to be enjoyed by adding Baking soda in your cup of coffee, some of which we have already touched on.

Let’s get into more detail.

Helps Acid Reflux And Heartburn

Acid reflux is very unpleasant as is heartburn. By adding just a little sodium bicarbonate to your morning cup of coffee, you can enjoy a less acidic coffee and don’t have to sacrifice your pleasure of drinking coffee.

It is very common for professionals in the healthcare industry, from nurses to doctors to pharmacists, to recommend that you add bicarbonate of soda to water to deal with heartburn and acid reflux.

Those antacid tablets, some are entirely made up of baking soda. Adding it to coffee can have a similar effect.

Lowers Uric Acid Levels

Gout is a very uncomfortable condition and a form of arthritis that is caused by the formation of crystals through the major joints.

Gout is caused due to elevated levels of uric acid in your bloodstream and is very painful, intensely painful.

Due to the alkaline nature of baking soda, adding it to your coffee can help to reduce the acidity of your coffee. There are countless peer reviewed studies related to oral sodium bicarbonate as beneficial to the reduction of uric acid.

May Help With People With Stomach Ulcers To Enjoy Coffee

Coffee doesn’t directly cause or lead to stomach ulcers but those that are suffering from one will suffer from pain and unease while drinking coffee.

Acidic coffee will unfortunately agitate stomach conditions and ulcers. Taking steps to reduce the acidity of coffee beans, grounds and ultimately your cup of coffee will make drinking coffee more comfortable.

This is exactly what a dash of baking soda will achieve.

Low caffeine or decaffeinated coffee is better for you if you are suffering from stomach issues, even if your coffee is a low acid coffee. Caffeine unfortunately stimulates the production of stomach acid.

As a quick note and guide, Arabica beans are lower in acidity than robusta beans. Dark roast coffee is less acidic than lighter roasts and low altitude coffee is less acidic than beans grown at a high altitude. Volcanic coffee is more acidic than non-volcanic coffee.

Putting this all together, if you buy a low altitude non-volcanic dark roasted arabica coffee you will have a type of bean that has a naturally lower acidity than others.

It Makes Low Quality Coffee Taste Better

Not quite related to health, but adding baking soda to coffee helps them to taste better.

Low quality cheap coffee beans can be unpleasantly bitter and a simple dash of baking soda can help to smooth out the harsh flavors.

There are a number of other methods that can help to achieve the same goal, including:

• Adding milk.
• Altering the brewing time.
• Brew using spring water, mineral water or filtered water.
• Add a dash of salt.
• Use spices like ginger, nutmeg or cinnamon.

All of which work very well and help to improve the quality of the coffee. Baking soda seems to be more effective as it reduces the bitter flavors and lowers the acidity as well.

It’s Cheap And Doesn’t Increase The Calorie Count

Baking soda is cheap and available everywhere and has multiple uses.

If you are buying it just to put in your coffee, it would be a good idea to buy smaller amounts as only 1/16th of a teaspoon is needed on a per-cup basis or ¼ teaspoon for a whole coffee pot.

Since the shelf life is only 6 months after you open it, buying a small amount is better.

Baking soda, unlike milk, sugar doesn’t add any calories to your coffee.

Frequently Asked Questions About How To Make Coffee Less Acidic With Baking Soda

What Happens If You Add Baking Soda To Coffee?

If you add baking soda to your coffee, you will reduce the acidity of your coffee and experience less of an acid reflux. You will also improve the sweet flavors and reduce the bitterness and end up with a more rounded and balanced cup of coffee.

What Can I Add To Coffee To Make It Less Acidic?

Yes, baking soda, also known as bicarbonate of soda, is alkaline and can act as an acid reducer. Adding a small amount will help to make your acidic coffee less acidic.

Can Baking Soda Coffee Cause Weight Loss?

No, there is no solid scientific research that proves beyond doubt that baking soda helps with weight loss or fat loss.

The idea that baking soda causes weight loss is due to powder being alkaline and alkaline diets being linked to weight loss. It is not a magic powder that you can add to food or coffee and have it help you to lose weight.

How Do You Adjust The Acidity Of Coffee?

If you want to reduce the acidity of coffee, you can make a cold-brewed coffee. Cold water extraction is like cold brewing coffee in your fridge is a method that is not that good at extracting the acidic and acidic compounds from your coffee grounds.

You can also add milk, which while still acidic, is less acidic than coffee and thus reduces the acidity. Any milk that has good calcium content will reduce the acidity. Almond milk, oat milk, soy milk are just as good as dairy milk.

You can also brew with eggshells, like cowboy coffee, and reduce the acidity. Adding cinnamon is an option too.

Can I Run Baking Soda Through My Coffee Maker?

Yes, baking soda is a very good and effective way of cleaning and descaling your coffee machine. Simply use a 25% baking soda mix and 75% water and run a brewing cycle. Flush with an abundance of water.

How Much Baking Soda Do You Put In Coffee?

As little as 1/16th to ¼ teaspoon of baking soda is enough for a cup of coffee. Start with a small amount and scale up and stop when your coffee flavor is a little funny!

A small amount generally does not alter or affect the flavor of your coffee at all, but only when you use too much you will notice a change.

Final Thoughts – How To Make Coffee Less Acidic With Baking Soda

Knowing how to make coffee less acidic with baking soda will help you enjoy your coffee without any of the problems that acid causes, like GERD, upset stomach and more.

All it takes is a little dash of baking soda per cup of coffee!

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Derek Marshall

Derek Marshall, a certified barista by the Specialty Coffee Association possesses over two decades of experience in specialty coffee shops. He holds professional certifications for coffee brewing and barista skills. Derek is also an author with authoritative books covering various coffee topics including specialty coffee, sustainability and coffee, coffee brewing, coffee recipes, coffee cocktails and books focusing on Brazilian coffee, Vietnamese coffee, Indonesian coffee and Malaysian coffee. As a barista for over two decades, Derek Marshall has worked in specialty coffee shops across the United Kingdom, Spain, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. His expertise extends to the distinct coffee cultures, specialty beverages, and brewing techniques of each nation. Functioning as a coffee consultant, Derek charges US$50 per hour. To learn more about Derek Marshall and Latte Love Brew, visit his About Me Page. For coffee inquiries, contact him at +34-639-410-375 or Derek@LatteLoveBrew.com, mentioning your name and location