Espresso vs Coffee - Why does my stomach handle Espresso and not Coffee?

August 28, 2015 11:23 AM

Happy Friday MeFi, I was wondering if someone could shine some light onto why my stomach freaks out when I have regular coffee (Dunks, Starbucks, Keurig) but doesn't scream when I have Espresso? I can't quite wrap my heard around it, although I suspect it may have something to do with acidic content from instant-coffee, but whenever I try to have coffee from Dunkin Donuts or from one of those little Keurig cups, my stomach feels like it is being stabbed to death. It usually follows with a very painful stomach-ache for the next 30-45 minutes and then it goes away. However, if I use my work's espresso machine, it doesn't hurt my stomach at all. What gives? This is probably not related, but I have similar issues when I drink beer but no issues when I drink Vodka or Tequilla. Thanks for all your responses.
posted by bostonhill to Food & Drink (12 answers total)

I'd think the most obvious explanation is the difference in volumes. I wonder if you drank a cup of espresso the size of your normal coffee cup if you wouldnt have a similar reaction.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 11:30 AM on August 28, 2015

Response by poster: @Exceptional_Hubris -- Negative. If I take 4-5 sips of regular coffee, it will kill my stomach. If I have 2-3 Espressos I feel absolutely fine.
posted by bostonhill at 11:32 AM on August 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

Also, generally speaking, a finer grind is going to yield a more acidic coffee (and more caffeinated). So drip is going to be more acidic than espresso, french press, or cold press. Not universally true, but tends to go that way.

Also Dunks and Starbucks coffee tends to be crazy strong, and often gives me a bit of a stomach ache and/or jitters.
posted by Lutoslawski at 11:33 AM on August 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

If the acid is triggering heartburn then that probably also explains beer vs. vodka.
It is the carbonation that is probably giving your stomach trouble there.
posted by vacapinta at 11:35 AM on August 28, 2015

Best answer: It's about chemicals and processing:

French roast, and other dark-roasted coffee may be easier on the tummy because these roasts contain a substance that tells the stomach to reduce production of acid.

That substance is N-methylpyridium (NMP), and

Since NMP is generated only upon roasting and not found in raw coffee beans, darker-roasted coffees contain higher amounts of this stomach-friendly coffee ingredient. Dark- roasted coffee can potentially contain up to twice as much of the ingredient as light-roasted coffees, but its levels can vary widely depending on the variety of coffee bean and the roasting method, Somoza noted.

posted by filthy light thief at 11:36 AM on August 28, 2015 [12 favorites]

filthy light thief is correct - % content of certain kinds of acid compounds in coffee depends on roast level, with many of the common ones decreasing as roasts get darker, but keep in mind the presence of these in the bean does not directly, linearly determine the pH of the final brew in all cases, but they are correlated.

That means the other part of the explanation is that the short time/high pressure extraction of espresso yields a liquid with a different chemical composition than the exact same beans processed as drip coffee. Not all of the malic or citric acid, in particular, comes out of the beans with espresso. Cold brew coffee also leaves some of that behind. To get all the acid possible extracted you need both heat and time. Shortchange either, you get less acid.
posted by slow graffiti at 12:31 PM on August 28, 2015 [2 favorites]

I find this is so and I think it is the acid. I find cold brew easy to drink as well. Make it yourself!
posted by Gor-ella at 12:31 PM on August 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

Also, generally speaking, a finer grind is going to yield a more acidic coffee (and more caffeinated). So drip is going to be more acidic than espresso, french press, or cold press.

No that's not right. Espresso is finer ground than the others listed. The only thing finer than espresso grind is turkish grind.
posted by w0mbat at 1:25 PM on August 28, 2015 [6 favorites]

Indeed, extraction matters too. I once read a lengthy and detailed article about various chemicals extracting at various temperatures and pressure points and how that influences stomach-friendly or -unfriendly behaviour in your heavenly drink. Espresso machines seem to be doing a better job tiptoeing around all that's ouchy for your tummy.
In fact, even a well-handled moka pot does a better job than a boiling-water-maltreated pourover or French press rig. (That said it is not easy to make a moka pot work really well. But possible; matter of really knowing one's stove, grinder, coffee blend...)
posted by Namlit at 1:30 PM on August 28, 2015

The article filthy light thief presented is worth a read! It's not just the roast method, though, because you can have dark roast drip coffee. The "extraction method" (steam over a short time vs. hot water over a longer time) is probably a bigger difference, and actually that article even suggests that steam treatment is one of the things that neutralizes some of the compounds that trigger stomach acid production.
posted by en forme de poire at 2:00 PM on August 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

If you haven't already, you might want to try preparing your coffee in a french press. I have a similar problem (though now even espresso kind of sucks for me) and french press coffee is usually relatively gentle on me.
posted by easter queen at 3:02 PM on August 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

How dark is the drip coffee roast? How expensive is it? If I ever have an upset stomach from coffee, it is almost always due to an offering being cheap/low quality. A bad bean gets exponentially worse when roasted dark. Usually the beans used in espresso are from the higher tiers of the coffee bean market, and might explain why you have a better experience drinking espresso. Try a high end coffee roaster that has recently roasted offerings and see if that gives you problems.
posted by incolorinred at 10:31 PM on August 28, 2015