Simplifying Acidity and Sourness

Have you ever been to a coffee shop and overheard someone asking for a coffee that is not too acidic and the cafe staff would immediately recommend a coffee that originates from Latin America, or a coffee that is of a more developed roast?

Or have you ever looked at the tasting notes of the coffee that is available on the day, politely asking for a coffee that is not so acidic, and the staff replied that coffee is actually fruity instead of acidic?

If we were to break down the conversations above, you will realise that there is a loss in translations between the customer and coffee professional over here.

Often enough, customers tend to have a preconception that acidity in the coffee is referring to the sourness present in the cup. The differences in understanding and experience has caused a disparity in expectations towards acidity in coffee between the customer and barista. This is usually the case when there is the lack of sweetness in the coffee, either due to the underdevelopment of a roast or improper extraction of coffee.

On the other side, the coffee professional is trying to imply is that, good quality acidity is something we look in coffee; that sweet, refreshing and ripe fruit qualities which present in the cup of a pour over coffee. This is especially the case when there is a special coffee that they are really excited about, which they would like to share and also to have you relate to that sensory experience as the flavours in the coffee transits from hot, warm to cold.

So is there a way to align the expectation here? The short answer is .. may be yes.

In our past experience, it might actually just take one memorable sensory experience to change the perception of the customer on acidity in the coffee. Something that we would like to discuss more in depth in the upcoming post.

Meanwhile, drop a comment or leave an Instagram message to let us know what do you think.