One of the most important sources of coffee’s flavor is its abundance of organic acids. Citric, malic, and tartaric acid are some of the most well known, given that they are also responsible for the refreshing juiciness of our favorite fruits, like oranges, peaches, and berries. They give coffee its character and dynamic range. Without them, coffee would taste flat, dull, and lifeless. Coffee contains dozens of different organic acids, and the unique combination of these define a coffee’s taste. Some are very agreeable, like malic acid. Others are downright awful in a cup of coffee, like butyric acid, which is mostly associated with stinky cheese, or acetic acid, which gives vinegar its distinct sourness.


Many acids play a complementary role chlorogenic acids, for instance, in the right proportion, give coffee just a hint of bitterness that, like an ever so gently hopped beer, adds complexity and balances sweetness.