It’s common coffee knowledge that in general, light roasts taste more acidic and dark roasts tastes more bitter. That’s why I tend to do medium roasts that are neither too acidic or too bitter. Specialty coffee roasters and connoisseurs, however, tend to prize lighter roasts because they feature more nuanced and complex flavors of the beans themselves rather than leaning on a “roast” flavor and the sweet-chocolately caramelization that it brings. But most mainstream coffee drinkers nowadays shy away from light roasts because of a fear of the acidic. But is it really one or more of various organic acids in coffee that is being tasted in those light roasts? This was the question posed by a Danish study that questioned the ability of even highly trained baristas and roasters to taste specific types of acids that sometimes appear in tasting notes. The results of the study were rather surprising. The main takeaway is that the citric acid in the Brazilian beans (representative of South American coffees) that were tasted was the only acid perceptible in the natural concentrations of a brewed cup. And that Kenyan beans—which have a reputation of being acidic and representative of African coffees—have less acid than Brazilian beans. This throws into question some of the tasting standards and descriptors used in the trade. But more interestingly, it raises interesting questions about where the perceived acidic taste comes from if not entirely from organic acids. This article goes into some of the hypotheses and I encourage those who are interested in such things to read it: “What We Taste When We Taste Acidity“.