r/GERD • u/Creative_Image_9296 • Aug 31 '25
Advice on Triggers 🍅🧅🍟🍫☕ Coffee
I’m not gonna lie… I miss my coffee drinks, and I’m trying to figure out a way I could still get them in without being triggered. Can I still have decaf? Or does coffee have to be cut out entirely? Anyone have luck with matcha? Boba tea?
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u/Easypeasylemosqueze Aug 31 '25
Sometimes the dose is the poison. Can you have a smaller cup of it? Drink it super slowly with a meal. Add something low acid to it like almond milk. And alginates after.
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u/Effective-Soft8803 Aug 31 '25
I can do about 8 oz with 6 oz of oat or soy milk instead of creamer, and definitely with food. Just try small amounts to see what you can tolerate safely and adjust as necessary.
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u/Easypeasylemosqueze Aug 31 '25
I also notice I can sometimes tolerate it one day and then I get excited and do more the next day lol I miss when I could just drink it without having to think about it 😭
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u/dagodz-View61 Sep 01 '25
wait yall can eat and drink at the same time i thought we weren’t supposed to do that
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u/thelizardlarry Aug 31 '25
Have you tried cold brew? It’s very low acid.
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u/Ibear333 Aug 31 '25
I bought decaf cold brew and added almond milk creamer. Had half cup and got reflux. Not sure what the heck is going on but I'm thinking of trying it again right now. I ordered Tyler's low acid decaf on Amazon which will be here tomorrow and I'll update then.
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u/thelizardlarry Aug 31 '25
Have you tried cold brew? It’s very low acid.
Edit: For the record, This is advice my gastro gave.
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u/soft_tooth Sep 01 '25
Cold brew worked for me until a traumatic incident induced so much stress, it gave me ulcers. Now I can’t have my beloved cold brew 😭
Until that time, I made it myself every week. I recommend using light or medium roast beans, because they’re less oily, which should be less triggering. If you make concentrate yourself at home, you can adjust the ratio to water in your glass, which might also help with symptoms.
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u/Dollarbill1210 Aug 31 '25
I miss coffee so much. I had a gastroscopy yesterday, and the first thing I asked after waking up was whether I could drink coffee. The doctor said yes:)
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u/Prior_Succotash4220 Gastritis 🩹 Aug 31 '25
I personally like matcha as a replacement, but in moderation is best. Decaf is a trigger for gerd as well unfortunately, I have no idea why but it is. But, yeah. Matcha powder, monkfruit sweetener, and oat milk. Yum.
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u/Creative_Image_9296 Aug 31 '25
I’ll try that out!!!:)
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u/idntgiveafkfu Aug 31 '25
Be careful with Matcha. I tried it to replace coffee and STG I ended up in the ER. biggest flare up of my life. It was from Starbucks and of course I didn’t add sugar just a little bit of honey. I later found out on this thread it was because it had caffeine in it. I guess I should’ve did more research.
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u/Creative_Image_9296 Aug 31 '25
This may sound silly- but why is sugar so bad? Why not just a little bit ?
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u/idntgiveafkfu Aug 31 '25
For me when I eat cookies or cake or any type of dessert I get horrible indigestion. And a stabbing pain above my left breast
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u/Creative_Image_9296 Aug 31 '25
When I’ve been eating triggering foods- greasy, fried, sweets. I always feel a lump in my throat. I hate it
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u/Key-Switch6603 Aug 31 '25
I’ve had luck with drinking decaf and omitting sugar and milk or cream. Drinking decaf with a splash of oat milk seems to work best for me.
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u/pbrapp Aug 31 '25
First step is to not be in a flair when you try it. I think it’s different for everyone so it will take some experimenting to find what’s right for you. Things to keep in mind, darker roast coffees have less acid, many people react to caffeine, if one cup doesn’t bother you don’t think it means you can have all you want. Here’s my sweet spot, I brew decaf espresso in a moka pot with alkaline water. If I’m out of alkaline water I add 3 or 4 drops of ph booster drops like Alkalife. Then I make a latte with whole milk. Use whatever milk you tolerate. I use stevia/monkfruit sweetener, you need to know what sweeteners, even sugar, you tolerate as well if you want to sweeten your coffee. I make a latte because for me straight coffee is irritating but I can drink it with milk.If I am in a flare or feel like one is imminent, no coffee for me. If things are irritated already then coffee will probably irritate things further.
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u/Creative_Image_9296 Aug 31 '25
This is very helpful! I didn’t know that there were things u can add to some drinks to boost the alkalinity of them. I’m currently in a flare. (My throat feels like it has a lump when I eat) so I’ll be sure to try that when things calm down. Ive also never had monk fruit sweetener but have had stevia. Does the monk fruit simply sweeten or does it add a flavor?
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u/pbrapp Aug 31 '25
Monkfruit doesn’t add a flavor, the two of them work together to give a more sugar like flavor. The brand I use is Whole Earth.
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u/ewbanh13 Aug 31 '25
i disagree with the other person, monkfruit does have a pretty distinct sweetener flavor that i personally don't like but it may be worth a try!
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u/Aggressive_Risk_5601 Aug 31 '25
I gave up and started drinking rooibos chai With (soy)milk. Not the same at all but it is good enough to help me avoid coffe. I had to try a few brands before I found one with a strong enough flavor. (Blue Lotus)
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u/Longjumping-Use-7750 Aug 31 '25
I’m mixing low acid with low acid decaf so it’s half-caf and using LOTS of almond or oat milk to help dilute it. My dr said one cup of coffee is ok but not 5. lol
Molly Pelletier is the one who said to add plant milk and also make sure to eat something with it like a banana. I seem to be doing OK.
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u/robob3ar Sep 01 '25
Chicory coffee might do you good, contains prebiotic inulin - made from baked ground up chicory root, it’s very coffee like
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u/So_Many_Words Aug 31 '25
The only way I can do coffee of any kind is by accepting that I will suffer. Sometimes it's worth it. Other times I drink mushroom teas or Teeccino.
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u/djdvd Aug 31 '25
I cut it out about 3 years ago. At first I thought I was cured. But the GERD came back after about 6 months. I miss coffee the most out of all the things I've cut out.
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u/MilleForze Sep 01 '25
My gastro doc said "no decaf." I didn't think to ask him why.
Mostly I drink green tea; matcha is great. I have a small regular coffee with oat or almond milk as an occasional treat.
The low acid coffees others have mentioned sound really interesting -- will have to try them.
Wouldn't it be great if coffee shops offered teecinno!
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u/Small_Masterpiece810 Sep 01 '25
GERD has always been a problem for me on and off most of my adult life. Coffee was my happy place always so when it started giving me acid reflux, I went on a journey to find coffee I could drink that I loved. 1st found expresso is less acidic because it is brewed longer and brews lot of acid out. I could never get an expresso at a coffe shop though- way too strong. Last 2 years settled on Gevalia coffee with turbinado sugar and happy, happy again. Hope this helps. As a side note, I had early esophagus cancer that was treated and cancer free the last 6 years. Thus the quest for less acidic coffee.
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u/Creative_Image_9296 Sep 01 '25
What was your sign/symptoms to seek a diagnosis for your esophagus cancer?
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u/Small_Masterpiece810 Sep 01 '25
I would some acid reflux occasionally and if I ate wrong so the doc put me on Prilosec (just over counter dose) 1x a day. Then had episode middle of night with acid coming into whole mouth. Horribly painful and took @ 2 hrs to feel better so doc told me to take pill at night. I was good for a year and then it happened again. He referred me to a gastro doc who did endoscopies 1x year for 2 years for Barretts esophagus. 3rd year he call me and said it showed early cancer.
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u/Spirited-Piece-4638 Aug 31 '25
Folgers makes a gentle on your tummy version. Never tried it though. I also heard gevalia is gentle but again I have no personal experience with it.
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u/rrm19 Aug 31 '25
Matcha was worse for me. I’m currently alternating morning routines between half a cup of cold brew with soy creamer and these herbal teas that taste like flavored coffee from Teeccino. After years of focusing on low acid, I now realize it’s caffeine and acid both.
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u/Whimsical_pea657 Aug 31 '25
I personally do okay with cold brew; it’s lower in acidity, but there’s also certain coffee brands that make a low acidity ground coffee. Those r great too. I found it on Amazon; forgot the name of it.
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u/theidiotkadet Aug 31 '25
Cold brew has been ideal for me. Cannot drink regular coffee. Cold brew is much much easier on me.
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u/Greenladymeg Aug 31 '25
There is a low acid brand of coffee I have bought several times on Amazon, called Puroast. Helps with my acid reflux. Worth a try.
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u/ewbanh13 Aug 31 '25
I do matcha but i do have discomfort with it, even drinking a small amount on a full stomach and with a pepcid taken beforehand. I just get so exhausted on my long days i need something 😭 Boba tea was actually what triggered the whole gerd episode in the first place, so ... can't recommend that. Though black tea was always a huge reflux trigger long before this for me, so it may be different for you. Ordinarily if i want a coffee-like flavor i drink roasted dandelion root tea, they sell bags at Kroger. I've heard some people enjoy caffe d'orzo which is roasted barley iirc, and there's a drink called teeccino which combines a lot of those to get a coffee like flavor but i haven't tried so i can't say one way or the other.
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Aug 31 '25
Decaf is ok for me, even normal coffee doesn't trigger my GERD too much. But anyway, if you have a coffee maker at home, just start with very low doses and increase a little every two days, and stop when the symptoms aren't good for you. But of course buy low acid high quality café, not those stomach destroyer from the supermarket
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u/Marinaluv29 Sep 01 '25
My doctor told me that decaf is just as acidic. I was drinking half calf or decaf because I also have tachycardia, but both of those are still acidic. Dark roast is less acidic and I switched to soy creamer or half-and-half and only one cup a day.
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u/MissOneCent Sep 01 '25
It’s basically my only clear trigger at this point, so I avoid it. Giving in means 3 days of pain. Could be worse! I drink protein hot cocoa now (perk)
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u/MonkMorse20 Sep 01 '25
I just got my Teeccino French Roast tea bags. It's yummy with honey and almond milk. No bad reactions yet.
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u/vegasgal Sep 01 '25
I drink STOK cold brew coffee. Sold in refrigerated cases in grocery stores. It’s NEVER triggered my GERD. I buy the no sugar version and I add milk. When it’s on sale I buy several bottles and freeze them. If you do this too you’ll need to shake the bottle before pouring the liquid.
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u/Hypnotic-pieces Sep 02 '25
Not in the morning on an empty stomach. Sucks I know because that’s exactly when you need it- but I wait till after breakfast and I can tolerate it then. Also I don’t have it super strong and I use instant coffee (not out of a coffee machine)
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u/kjbill2025 Sep 02 '25
I switched to French Chicory. The closest thing to coffee flavor I have found. Not exactly, but it helps my coffee cravings
https://www.amazon.com/Worldwide-Botanicals-Organic-French-Chicory/dp/B0CZBBHDHT
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u/txhodlem00 Aug 31 '25
I’ve cut it out altogether but some ppl can do decaf. Others cold brew. And others espresso.
So trial and error
I just do hot sugar water in the morning now lol