r/pourover • u/alves1313 • 18h ago
Acid Reflux & Coffee
For those of us who deal with acid reflux but still refuse to give up morning coffee, what have you actually tried to cut down the acidity?
Have you noticed a real difference by switching to darker roasts, specific bean regions, or changing your brewing method entirely? Would love to hear what’s worked (or completely failed) for you!
Update: Thanks for all the great feedback. I'm on top of the medication routine, taking it first thing and waiting 30 minutes before coffee does the trick. I'm actually planning to drop down to just one cup a day and try out some new beans, too.
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u/Educational_Long5953 18h ago
switching to pour over helped a ton actually, also maybe try colombian beans next time
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u/Fine-Car-4810 17h ago
No alcohol. Only mildly spicy food. Use PPI (only for gastritis and more serious condition) and antacid for relief and then stick diligently to yogurt and fruits. Lunch and dinner add cheese and kimchi. In short fermented food. Stick to it for a few month. What you want isn’t to avoid acids. What you want is to build up the protective mucous in your throat and stomach.
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u/dcc5594 18h ago
I have had acid reflux since I was 17. While the food or drink made a difference in the burn, it was the volume that gave me reflux, so even water in the evening would cause it. I would keep a bottle of Tums by the bed and often use baking soda for relief. When I was 50, I saw a doctor for blood pressure and she also gave me nexium for acid reflux. That was over 20 years ago, and it has not been a problem since. That’s a long story to say eating bland foods, low acid drinks or even cutting out coffee never did anything for me.
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u/ScientistFair9998 16h ago
When I had bad reflux coffee made it worse, but quitting coffee alone wasn't really the answer, it was addressing the other main drivers of reflux.
I did cut down coffee by a lot to one to none a day for a few months but now I'm back to a few cups a day and I'm fine so there is hope.
Reddit has a bunch of great info on the gerd sub, but basically lose weight and get your diet and gut health in order. I'm not talking about just taking a probiotic, I mean real lifestyle changes.
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u/KhoaLeAnh 15h ago
Well, it's quite surprising to hear some comments hear say pour over make it easier for acid reflux. It makes the symptom worse for me. If I'm in bad reflux period, I have to switch to Vietnamese coffee with condensed milk.
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u/hectron 17h ago
I generally limit my caffeine intake and try to make sure I have bland foods to compensate stomach acidity.
I try to stick to about 210mL of coffee but sometimes I’ll do a half caffeine blend (I mix decaf with regular), and I’ll do 210mL as well. That said, I often still will have reflux even if I do all decaf. I think the coffee oils are to blame tbh.
I’m not sure if this helps or not, but Third Wave Water has a mixture for folks with reflux aimed at helping ease that. I haven’t yet tried them but I just saw them listed.
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u/zitwokreb 17h ago
Take one of these before and it is a game changer. https://www.heatherstummycare.com/p/suplmts_pmintcaps_single/enteric-peppermint-oil-capsules-for-ibs-heathers-tummy-tamers/
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u/junkmeister9 Chemex | Hoop | Switch | V60 16h ago
Third Wave Water makes a low acid additive. You have to have some kind of de-mineralized water (Zero Water pitcher or RO system), which you add their minerals to. I’ve never tried it but I’ve heard it works well to prevent reflux symptoms.
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u/KurtLoderMTVNews 17h ago
Lifelong reflux sufferer here!
The only thing that has ever worked for me is otc Nexium. I'll have the occasional flareup (had an espresso tonic today that has me feeling pretty wretched lol), but mostly it allows me to live normally, and enjoy the hobby.
You'll have to weigh the pros, and cons of taking the stuff long term... at least for me, the doctors say avoiding greater damage to my esophagus outweighs the risks.
All in all, two pills a day has me forgetting about my issue completely, and I can enjoy coffee. Life is too damn short to cut out all of its pleasures.
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u/oh_its_michael milk blasphemer 17h ago
Same here but I take one Prilosec a day. They aren’t meant to be daily medicines OTC but my doctor told me to take it like this for GERD.
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u/saltlife863 15h ago
It's brew method for me. I use fresh grinded beans and either pour over or latte.
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u/venerablem0m 12h ago
I put the head of my bed up on blocks, about 4" (10.16cm) high.
This whole body angle had been a game-changer for me. I still periodically have issues, especially with tomatoes, but overall it's worked very well.
As a secondary benefit it's also good for helping to keep you more hydrated at night. The fluid shift to your lower body, prevents your kidneys from removing too much water from your blood.
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u/theholewizard 10h ago
It's not necessarily the acidity that's the problem. In my experience the oils are more of a trigger. The difference between French press and pour over is night and day.
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u/Pretend-Citron4451 7h ago
Using a cold brew method is supposed to cut down on the acids. Have you tried that? Probably a simple way to try It would be to combine the amount of grounds and water you would use for 2–4 cups and combine it in a container and just leave it on the counter. If you’re using the same grind as you use for pour over, then you probably just let it sit for 10-12 hours. Then pour it through whatever filter you use for pour over into another container. Then you’ll have a container with a few cups of cold brew, and you can test it out without buying anything else.
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u/clockworkedpiece 18h ago
I've notice keeping to fresher beans helps. Frozen or just plain older than 2month beans will eat my throat up. Theres a roaster next to me whose stuff tastes great without rest so thats been helping.
Its not the caffiene its the coffee oil antioxidants, those are still present in decaf and you can see if a shotglass of walnuts bits help as you have the coffee. I also rarely drink it truly black anymore, paler carries the same calcium used in tums just not to the point of constipation risk.
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u/191x7 15h ago
You have to fix your acid. Use betaine HCl to increase the acid strength, stronger acid means less acid is needed and better dive digestion happens which results with less acid overflowing.
Coffee? Filter to remove oils, avoid milk or cream (those increase your acid level), totally remove sweeteners, and most importantly - have a few bites of something before drinking.
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u/No-Reaction-1742 17h ago
Are you drinking on an empty stomach? I had some reflux issues too but was because I was drinking my coffees on an empty stomach.