About Kava
Kava has marketed itself as "The Original Low Acid Coffee" since 1962, when Borden Co. first brought it to market as what the brand billed at the time as the world's first full-flavor instant coffee. The company marked its 60th anniversary in 2022 and has stayed in a single lane for six decades: acid-reduced coffee made from 100% Arabica beans, rather than a general-purpose coffee brand that added a low-acid line on the side.
The distinguishing claim is a measured one -- Kava states its coffee carries at least 50% less acid per cup than other leading instant coffee brands, with a stated pH of 6.8 against roughly 4.9 for traditional coffee. That is the detail reflux and sensitive-stomach drinkers are actually shopping for, and it is why the brand's instant jar is the product we point to whenever a reader in our own reviews is choosing coffee around a sensitive stomach rather than around flavor alone.
Brand website: kavacoffee.com
What Kava makes
Kava's range runs wider than the products we review. The lines we know best from our own testing are marked with a star:
Regular Acid-Reduced Instant Coffee
the flagship jar, full caffeine, 100% Arabica -- our featured pick is from this line — featured on Brew Gazette
Decaf Acid-Reduced Instant Coffee
the same acid-reduction process in a caffeine-free jar
Instant Travel Sticks
single-serve acid-reduced packets for on-the-go use
Ground Acid-Reduced Coffee
100% Arabica, acid-reduced, for drip and other brew methods rather than instant
Why we recognized Kava
The Brew Gazette Top Brand recognition isn't paid for and can't be applied for. We award it to the brands whose products consistently stand out in our hands-on category reviews. Kava earned it on the strength of the products below, evaluated the same way every product on this site is: bought, brewed with daily, and judged on what lands in the cup.
Kava products we rated highly
Kava Low Acid Instant Coffee, Acid Neutralized, 4 oz
It is acid-neutralized during processing rather than simply blended from naturally lower-acid beans, which in our testing was the real and unusual difference -- it's the only credible dedicated low-acid instant coffee we found on Amazon, and it's full caffeine, not decaf, so drinkers whose stomachs object to coffee don't have to give up the caffeine to get relief. It dissolves fast and completely, and the reduced acidity makes it taste noticeably rounder and less sharp than the mainstream jars we tested alongside it. Nearly 2,450 reviews at a 4.6 average for a niche processing product is a strong signal that the drinkers who specifically need it keep rebuying it.
Read the Best Instant Coffee of 2026 guide →What earned Kava the recognition
- A top pick in our instant coffee testing for sensitive stomachs and reflux, the one category where most mainstream jars simply don't compete.
- Acid-neutralized during processing, not merely sourced from naturally lower-acid beans -- the brand states a pH of 6.8 against roughly 4.9 for traditional coffee, a measurable difference rather than a marketing claim.
- Full caffeine rather than decaf, which matters because low-acid and decaffeinated are frequently confused -- Kava lets a sensitive-stomach drinker keep the morning cup doing its job.
- A single-category brand with six decades of focus in low-acid coffee since 1962, rather than a general coffee line that added an acid-reduced SKU.
- Nearly 2,450 Amazon reviews at a 4.6 average on the exact product we tested, a strong repeat-purchase signal for a specialty processing product.