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A recent visit to the dentist opened my eyes to a new aspect of tooth care I hadn't realized: apparently, the acidity of coffee can increase the growth of cavities if the teeth are not brushed directly after. Unfortunately, brushing the teeth directly after my morning coffee isn't really an option. Also, unequivocally, giving up my morning coffee isn't an option either.

That led me to wonder, is there any way of brewing a normal coffee in a way that would lead to a beverage with a higher pH, that still has the taste and caffeine of a normal coffee?

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  • My guess would be that the best thing to do would be to drink water after drinking coffee. Swish the water around in your mouth if you're concerned. That will bring the acidity down to a point where it ought not affect your teeth. (I am not a dentist, a doctor, a nutritionist ....)
    – Mayo
    Commented Apr 26, 2018 at 12:56
  • Yes, that's what the dentist suggested too, but I don't always have a water fountain close.
    – anonymous2
    Commented Apr 26, 2018 at 13:11
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    I'm not sure what he opened your eyes to, but before going out of your way doing weird things to your coffee you might consider dropping the occasional soft drink (also sugar free), sweets, beer, juice, tomatoes, lemon, pizza or anything else that contains sugar. There's even some evidence, that coffee prevents cavities as green tea most likely does: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2848806
    – avocado1
    Commented Apr 26, 2018 at 13:20
  • I would be interested in a study on this in general. I would like to see someone with those pH strips for a pool or the soil meter for a garden and use them on different things for coffee to see in general. I might have a new quirk and test to try (I do a French press and bring in a temperature gun to make sure my water is boiled just right and to test other coffees and waters that way...bought at Home Depot). But overall, I would go with what avacado1 said.
    – Keith E. Truesdell
    Commented Apr 28, 2018 at 3:40
  • Please see this relevant answer on brewing methods vs acidity as this may help you to choose an appropriate brewing method: coffee.stackexchange.com/questions/349/…
    – MTSan
    Commented Apr 29, 2018 at 6:16

2 Answers 2

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You can try switching to cold brew coffee which is reportedly 67% less acidic than regular brewed coffee.

Regarding the caffeine amount, Wikipedia notes:

Although less caffeine is extracted with the cold brew method, a higher coffee-to-water ratio is often used, between 2 and 2 1/2 times. This may compensate for this difference in solubility, resulting in a brew with equal, if not more, caffeine (although this is unlikely)

Additionally, despite the name, cold brew coffee can be enjoyed hot as well. Cold brew is essentially a coffee concentrate if steeped long enough. You can cut your cold brew with boiling water and serve it hot (Source), so you don't need to necessarily change the way you enjoy your coffee (if you enjoy it hot).

Hope this is helpful!

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An unsweetened cup of coffee is not the most harmful thing in the world. The sweeteners people often add is the culprit. centraldental Also use a balanced water. Starting with a acidic pH water is not helpful. There are numerous additives or waters available. I brush after consuming my coffees and do not drink same all day. IMHO to blame just coffee on cavities is wrong. The citation talks of some less acid coffee preps!

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