tl:dr – After six weeks of severe acid reflux (GORD/GERD) that made swallowing difficult, I had to give up my morning coffee. Instead of stopping the ritual, I used the recovery time to focus on learning about alternative drinks like tumeric lattes and matcha. A silver lining came when I discovered cold brew coffee; a method of coffee making that can significantly lower coffee acidity. I decided to research and master this skill after completing my medication course as I would wanted to slowly reintroduce coffee into my diet. This health setback turned into an opportunity to add another coffee brewing skill into my repertoire.
I recently had to stop drinking coffee for six weeks.
Why? A very bad flare up of acid reflux – also known as gastro oesophageal reflux disease and shortened to GORD or GERD, depending on the spelling of the word for your throat (the oesophagus/esophagus).
I had been suffering with this flare up after eating a pizza on a weekend away for friends birthday. 4-weeks after the event, the symptoms did not go away and they had, in fact, escalated. It got so bad that the acid in my stomach had began to seriously irritate and inflame my throat. It made it hard for me to swallow solid foods, drink liquids and sleep at night.
Reflux disease isn’t new to me and I usually manage an angry flare up at home. I tried the same lifestyle changes in this case and failed. Eventually at 4-weeks and multiple GP appointments later, I was given a prescription to complete over a month. This medication would reduce the amount of acid my stomach produced. I started it the same day I was issued it and in addition to that, made even more drastic changes to my diet. I made sure to eat food that was extremely ‘low-acid’; which included stopping my morning coffee.
I found it difficult to not start catastrophising.
Here I was, finally being open and public about my love for coffee and what if I could never drink coffee again? It was hard not to worry about that unknown future but I found a lot of grounding in not losing my morning ritual. I still made myself a morning drink but I had to try new things like turmeric lattes. I chose to refine the drinks I already loved like matcha and tea.
In amongst this period of recovery and drink discovery, I came across cold brews. I’d heard of the term but I had only drunk one cold brew in my life – in Japan. My research was showing that cold brewing coffee was an excellent way to reduce the acidity of your final drink. The lack of heat in the extraction method limits the amount of acidic compounds dissolving into your coffee and the final brew can feel very well rounded.
The promise of low-acidity coffee had me intrigued in trying this method. So I decided to learn how to make cold brew coffee.
Memories of cold brews and Japan: It was my birthday and I was in Kyoto. I went to pick up my morning coffee on the way to the bus stop and passed through a little coffee shop I had planned to visit. Inside I met one of the kindest owners; we spoke about coffee a great deal as I ordered my drink (an iced latte). The conversation turned to cold brew; a drink on their menu that I had never tried before but was afraid to commit to investing in. “What if I don’t like it?” I confessed. When the owner came with my ordered latte, they had a second darker brown iced coffee in their hand. They handed both drinks to me and told me that the cold brew was my birthday gift. I was so grateful and surprised; I thanked them profusely as I sipped both my coffees and continued my walk to the bus stop.
I spent my 6-week recovery period looking into how to cold brew coffee at home. The gear, the method, the extraction time and the ratios – all new to me and I settled on the following for my first cold brew attempts. I will share a post about the first coffee I tried as a cold brew in all the but below is a summary of the cold brew method I wanted to try at home.
EXTRACTION SETTINGS (COLD BREW)
- Equipment: 1.2 L Jug (with a lid), DF54 Grinder, Organic Cotton Nut Milk Strainer
- Grind setting: 90.0
- Coffee (g) : Water (g) ratio: 125g : 1000g (1 : 8)
- Extraction time: 16 to 18 hours
- Other notes: Steeped in the fridge (temperature range 0 – 5°C / 32 – 41°F).
It turns out that this period of sickness and great discomfort, created an opportunity; the chance to add one more coffee extraction skill in my repertoire. I know how to make cold brews now. On top of espresso and pour over – I am in a position where I get to enjoy coffee in so many different ways at home. This has been a pleasant silver lining in what has been a really difficult and painful time for me.
Until our next cold brew,
Coffee Log 
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