Does there exist a coffee which is not bitter? I love the smell of coffee. I enjoy eating coffee chocolate. However I am unable to drink straight coffee, because it is so unbearably bitter for me.

Obviously, no-one is compelled to drink coffee - and I'm perfectly fine without it. However so many people enjoy this drink so much, and it would be nice if I could experience the same pleasure. The fact that I like the flavour of coffee (as when eating a coffee-flavoured sweet) tells me that if only I could find a variety of the drink which did not include the bitterness, then I would enjoy it.

I have asked this question of several people over the years, who have suggested that I try latté, for example - however the fact that the coffee is diluted by a large amount of milk does not solve the problem. It means less flavour - and yes, less bitterness - but the bitterness is still there.

The other day I was recommended to try an Ethiopian coffee called Bukeela. I was told that this was especially weak, and that I might be able to take it. So.. I tried it. I added lots of sugar. However it was still too much for me. Yes, the coffee was weak - but that just meant that the flavour was weaker. The bitterness was still present, and still made me unable to drink it. The sugar did not help. It simply meant that I had two tastes in my mouth simultaneously: sweet: but still bitter.

Edit: the related question on this site regarding "sweet coffee" does not address my question. Sweetness isn't the same thing as non-bitterness. As stated here, even if I add lots of sugar, I just get 2 tastes simultaneously: sweet and bitter. The bitterness is still there. That other question doesn't mention bitterness at all.

It seems that my taste buds are especially sensitive to anything bitter. I can not drink beer, and I dislike certain vegetables like broccoli and Brussels sprouts, because of their bitterness.

So the question for all you coffee experts is: does there exist a variety of coffee which retains the yummy flavour, but which has no trace of the unpalatable bitterness?
To answer this shortly, no there is no coffee that has no bitterness. Bitterness in coffee is determined by different factors on which I will elaborate a bit now.

First of all there are bitter substances naturally in coffee. The most obvious and widely known one would be caffein. However in truth only around 15% of the bitterness in coffee comes from caffein. There are hundreds of active substances in coffee, some of which are bitter. Most importantly are chlorogenic acids. They contribute most to the bitterness. So it is unlikely that you will ever find a coffee that has no trace of bitterness at all.

There are however some influenceable factors that contribute to bitterness. I want to address first the roasting process, bean type and origins and then preparation methods and some tweaks that might help.

 1. Roasting

As I've said before, key to how bitter coffee tastes are the kind of chemical compounds found in it. And the roasting process determines exactly this. When the beans are heated chlorogenic acids are broken down into first acid lactones and later in the roast process into phenylindanes. Chlorogenic acid itself is not bitter, but the compounds it breaks down into are and especially phenylindanes. As they appear later in the roasting, darker roasts tend to be more bitter than light roasts. So my advice here would be to try very light roasted beans. Here's another source that also refers to some of the other points I'm making.

2. Bean type and origin

There are two main types of Beans, Arabica and Robusta with Robusta containing both much more caffein as well as chlorogenic acids. Thus stay clear of Robusta or mixed coffees, since it will add extra bitterness to your cup. Also in my experience light roasted african coffees, e.g. ethiopean or kenyan coffees are the mildest coffees when it comes to bitterness, but do have more acidity than central or south american coffees. 

3. Preparation methods

First of all, avoid espresso. Because of the pressure applied to the coffee much more bitter compounds are extracted. A general rule of thumb is that with higher extraction you will extract more bitter compounds, that quickly dominate the flavor of the coffee. The bitter compounds are usually extracted at later stages of the extraction process, thus the shorter your extraction the less bitterness. I would suggest you try pour overs, as extraction can be controlled very well and they are just by design made for a cup of coffee with a brighter, more acidic flavor. V60 or even better a Chemex are your best options. The thick Chemex paper will filter more of the bitter compounds and leave more of the acidic, fruity, floral flavors. There are plenty of instructions on youtube or also here in the forum. Avoid overextraction due to a too small grind size, too high water-grounds contact time and too hot water (around 94°C would be perfect, you can go a bit lower however). Additionally make sure you have a good grinder that produces a consistent particle size. If the variation is too big (the downward variation in this case) and if the grinder produces too many fines (very small coffee particles), they will be over extracted and add bitterness.

4. Possible tweaks


Adding a pinch of salt to your coffee reduces bitterness.
Use freshly roasted whole bean coffee from your local specialty coffee shop (you can recognize them because they usually offer a variety of pour over methods and have a generally kind of hipstery look) as preground packs of coffee tend to be over-roasted to mask the low quality.
Grind fresh, with a good grinder and even filter out the fines (just sift it through a fine mesh filter)
Lastly you could look for a specialty coffee shop that offers whole light roasted decaf beans. Although caffein only plays a secondary role, it still is bitter and removing it might help reduce bitterness.
Of course there are other factors such as the water for example. However the answers there are not as straightforward and the influence arguably less than the above mentioned ones.


I hope this can help you in your quest for finding a coffee that you like. I suggest you also go to some local roasters and talk to them. They might be able to help you, suggest coffees etc. and who knows, maybe you can even interest one of them in experimenting with roast profiles that minimize bitterness.