Is specialty coffee changing the perception of acidity more widely?

Acidity in coffee is often a divisive topic. For some consumers, it’s conflated with bitterness and sourness, perceived as negative. Others, meanwhile, consider acidity a revered flavour attribute, offering vibrancy, brightness, and complexity that enhances the overall drinking experience. 

Unfavourable perceptions of acidity can easily misguide consumers who are new to specialty coffee, inadvertently pushing them away from fruit-forward origins like Kenya or certain processing methods that allow the acidity to shine through.

But these apprehensions may be shifting. As specialty coffee continues to embrace acidity, the impact is felt in the wider industry. Starbucks’ new Sunsera blend is a case in point: a light roast coffee with notes of Meyer lemon zest and bright citrus fruits.

The chain’s new blend is a far cry from its usual bold, robust, and “roasty” coffees, indicating a shift in consumer demand and interest. Looking beyond just coffee, there’s evidence to suggest that specialty coffee has also helped to change perceptions of acidity in other food and beverage industries, but it’s a symbiotic relationship.

I spoke to Spencer Turer, Vice President of Coffee Enterprises, to learn more.

You may also like our article on how to reduce or enhance acidity when brewing coffee.

Why acidity in coffee is complex

The pH of coffee is usually between 4.85 and 5.10, which makes it slightly acidic, less so than beer and wine. But it still plays a crucial role in the drinking experience, balancing out sweetness, bitterness, and, in some cases, umami qualities.

Although it’s essential to create a well-rounded flavour profile, for many consumers (especially those we consider “traditional” coffee drinkers in North America and Western Europe), acidity can be easily conflated with sourness. Medium-to-dark roast profiles often mask a coffee’s acidic qualities, highlighting sweetness and bitterness instead, which means many people simply aren’t accustomed to them.

This lack of exposure can make more acidic tasting notes – such as citrus fruits, fermented flavours, and green apple – confusing or even offputting. 

“There is a distinct difference between appreciated flavour characteristics among specialty coffee professionals and consumers. This divergence is true for many other food and beverage products, where industry insiders seek unique and interesting flavours that are not always consistent with what everyday consumers value,” says Spencer Turer, Vice President of coffee and tea testing consultancy Coffee Enterprises. 

“Consumers generally appreciate clean, sweet coffee with medium acidity and medium-to-heavy body. They want their coffee to look, smell, and taste like coffee, with a special appreciation for complex flavours.”

The belief that acidic flavours are “sour” or “off” is also tied to historic quality assessment methods in the coffee industry. Q graders and cuppers typically perceived fermented and wine-like flavours as defects and negative attributes, scoring them lower and limiting interest in these coffees.

Over the last decade, however, the situation has changed significantly. The growing popularity of light roast profiles and the increasing diversity of processing methods has increased consumer exposure to “positive” acidity, defined as “bright”, “vibrant”, “crisp”, and “citrusy” rather than “sour”. Roasters add these flavour descriptors to coffee packaging, helping to shift consumer perception in a more positive direction.

“Only in the past generation or two of coffee consumers have people appreciated strong, assertive acidity,” Spencer says. “Specialty coffee now appreciate and enjoy characteristics found in light roast profiles and natural and honey processed coffees, which produce tart, fruity, floral, and bright acidic flavours.”

Starbucks launches the Sunsera blend: Are perceptions changing more widely?

Likely, there will always be a gap between the flavour preferences of industry professionals and consumers, which means acidity will remain an elusive and polarising concept. 

“There is a whole section on the Coffee Taster’s Flavor Wheel dedicated to acids and sourness – right next to the citrus fruits. But what about coffee drinkers? The inverse u-shaped response also explains why coffee buyers fetishise acidity in coffee, but consumers avoid it – they are talking about different things,” writes Peter Giuliano, the Executive Director at the Coffee Science Foundation, in a recent Pax Culinaria article. 

“Coffee people are talking about a moderate, balanced acidity – sometimes called ‘sweet acidity’ – that brings coffee to life,” he continues. “Consumers are talking about sourness, which they associate with fruit juices and vinegar.”

These discrepancies make it challenging to reshape consumer perceptions about acidity, especially with customers who want their coffee to taste “like coffee” – indicating chocolatey and nutty flavour profiles that aren’t often accompanied by acidic flavours.

But specialty coffee shops and roasters have invested heavily in consumer education over the last decade to deepen their understanding and appreciation of complex coffee flavours.

“Our insistence on particular flavours in coffee as highly valued and greatly appreciated has influenced consumers,” Spencer says. “Collectively, we have done a great job educating specialty coffee consumers about varieties, processing methods, and terroir – the taste of place – to recognise and enjoy differences in flavour profiles.”

Starbucks’ new Sunsera blend may indicate that perceptions are changing not just in the specialty market but also more widely in the industry. The company describes the blend, a mix of semi-washed Brazilian and washed Colombian beans, as an approachable light roast with notes of Meyer lemon, toasted almond, and Asian pear with medium acidity. Starbucks also notes that it works well both hot and cold or with or without milk, emphasising its customisation options.

Compared to the chain’s other blend offerings in the US, which cater to “traditional” drinkers looking for “roasty” or flavoured options, Sunsera stands out as a point of differentiation. Whether the chain is aiming to appeal to Gen Z consumers, who value customisation and diversity of product offerings, or to retain loyal customers in the wake of declining sales, the new blend is a sign that acidity is becoming more accepted in the mainstream coffee market.

Looking beyond coffee

Different cultures the world over have long enjoyed acidic foods and beverages, including citrus fruits, yoghurts with live cultures, tamarind, sourdough bread, and pickled vegetables. These foods date back centuries, but the booming gut health market has made products like kefir, kimchi, and kombucha trendy among younger, health-conscious consumers, exposing their palates to more fermented and acidic flavours.

Simultaneously, as more people drink specialty coffee, complex flavour profiles help shape perceptions of acidity on a larger scale. Looking at the craft beer market, which accounts for 24.7% of the US $117 billion US beer industry, the rising popularity of sour beers coincides with the growth of specialty coffee.

Sour beers, Belgian in origin and believed to date back to the 18th century, have become more prevalent in the craft beer scene over the last few decades. According to the New York Times, there were as few as 15 sour beer entries at Great American Beer Festivals in the early 2000s. In the late 2010s, this number increased to 149 entries in four separate categories and is likely to have grown since.

Today, several types of sour beer, including German Goses and American wild ales, are widely available in breweries and grocery retailers. These beers typically have fermented, salty, fruity, and herbaceous notes with pronounced acidities, so their growing popularity indicates a significant shift in consumer taste preferences.

The burgeoning probiotic soda market is another sign of specialty coffee’s potential influence on other industries. Brands like Olipop, Hip Pop, and Poppi have emerged as “healthy” alternatives to traditional sugary sodas, signalling a trend towards acidity-forward beverages with less sweetness. Poppi first appeared on Shark Tank in 2018 to seek investment in its apple cider vinegar drink and has since become a leader in the market, reporting US $100 million in sales in 2023.

But who influences who?

Specialty coffee has undoubtedly helped shape consumer perceptions of acidity more widely, revitalising interest in certain foods and beverages. However, it’s reductive to claim these changing preferences are solely because of the growing popularity of specialty coffee.

In fact, there is a symbiotic relationship between specialty coffee and other food and beverage markets that has encouraged more people to embrace acidity.

“Specialty coffee has benefitted from the unique and interesting flavour profiles offered by the craft beer and craft spirit industries since the early 1990s,” Spencer says. “Single-barrel whiskeys, single-malt scotches, dry-hopped beers, double-hopped India Pale Ales, and fruit-infused beverages help consumers to appreciate complex flavours not previously experienced in coffee beverages. 

“Consumers have been conditioned to value the flavour combinations in specialty coffee that weren’t received as positively as generations before.”

Acidity in coffee is divisive and complex, but specialty coffee is helping to reshape perceptions more widely – not just in the coffee industry. At the same time, other food and beverage markets are opening consumers’ minds to acidity-forward flavour profiles, supporting the diversity of specialty coffee.

Whichever way the influence swings, specialty coffee inevitably benefits as consumers continue to seek out new origins and processing methods.

Enjoyed this? Then read our article on the science behind coffee acidity.

Photo credits: Starbucks

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