Looking for coffee with low acidity
I’m fairly new to specialty coffee and I’m trying to figure out what I actually like. I’m not trying to argue that any particular coffee or brewing method is bad. I think I may just have a somewhat unusual palate, and I’m hoping to find people who have had a similar experience.
My preference seems to be low acidity, sweet, chocolatey/nutty, with good body. One drink that I would repeatably call “Not bad” is a Starbucks Americano, which is probably a useful reference point. I generally don’t enjoy bright/fruity/acidic coffees or funky/fermented flavors.
I started keeping my own completely unscientific scoring system:
Sour Index (SI): 1–10, where 1 = extremely sour and 10 = not sour at all
Flavor Index (FI): 1–10, how much I enjoy the overall flavor
Body Index (BI): 1–10, how much body/mouthfeel I perceive
So far:
Ethiopian (can’t remember roaster): SI 1 / FI 1 / BI 3
Ceremony Antithesis: SI 2 / FI 2 / BI 4
Foxtail Colombian: SI 3 / FI 3 / BI 6
Starbucks Caffè Verona (preground grocery): SI 5 / FI 5 / BI 6
Belize Jaguar Espresso (bakeD Coffee House): SI 5 / FI 6 / BI 8 — probably my favorite so far. Very smooth, oily and full-bodied, although I still wanted more chocolate/sweetness.
Jamaica Blue Mountain: SI 6 / FI 4 / BI 4 — very smooth, but almost too bland for me.
Guatemala Red Pacamara: SI 3 / FI 2 / BI 5 — had a plum/fruit character that I really didn’t enjoy.
I also had a coffee shop make the same Colombian beans as a pour-over, French press, and Americano so I could compare the brewing methods. All three tasted sour/fermented to me when hot, although they became noticeably sweeter as they cooled. The pour-over was particularly unpleasant to my taste.
Then I tried a small experiment that made me think acidity really may be the main issue for me: I added a tiny amount of baking soda to a cup of coffee, and the change in perceived sourness was dramatic. Obviously that’s not a recommendation for how to brew coffee, but it made me wonder if what I’ve been interpreting as “bad coffee” is actually just a sensitivity to acidity.
I’ve also been using a blade grinder, which obviously isn’t giving me a great baseline for judging the coffee. I’m in the process of buying a conical burr grinder, so I’m hoping that will eliminate at least some of the variables.
At this point I’m basically wondering:
Are there other people who prefer low-acid, sweet, chocolatey/nutty, full-bodied coffee and don’t particularly enjoy the bright/fruity/funky characteristics that seem to be common in specialty coffee?
If so, what beans, origins, processing methods, or roast styles have you found that really work for you?
I’d especially appreciate recommendations for coffees I could try in smaller quantities. I’m happy to experiment — I’m just trying to avoid buying 12 oz bags of coffee that I’m unlikely to enjoy.