What kind of coffee has a pronounced sourness?

Of all the basic tastes, sour is the most difficult to perceive. Its evaluation is significantly influenced by the odor, which is formed by a large group of aliphatic acids in the form of esters. In the finished product - a cup of coffee, non-volatile water-soluble acids make up 29-34% of the mass of all extracted substances, but not all of them cause the sensation of “sour.”

Your understanding of “sour” coffee depends on your personal ability to appreciate this flavor, on the biological natural properties of green coffee, and on the degree of roasting of the raw material.

Lightly roasted coffee is always more acidic because the destruction temperature of the basic acids is 200 - 210°C.

Among the varieties with a high potential to show a “sour” flavor, experts distinguish two groups: the first - varieties grown in Costa Rica, Kenya, Yemen, and the second - coffee from Ethiopia, Uganda, Australia, Peru, Honduras, Puerto Rico, Burundi, Zaire, and Zimbabwe.

You can also measure the acid-alkaline balance of a beverage simply by adding one citric acid crystal at a time to the drink, which is the benchmark for “sour” until you begin to taste sour.

P.S. Despite the fact that the total percentage of acids in coffee is significant (in green 8 - 20%, in roasted 2 - 8%) the pH of the drink is not great and ranges from 5 - 5.5, which is much lower than the acidity of beer, juices, meat, lactic acid products and cola. Obviously, natural coffee should not be harmful to the gastrointestinal tract of a normally healthy person.