: What does acidity mean in terms of coffee? How does it affect taste? From here: http://www.devans.in/mediumcoffee.html Medium roast of Plantation "AA" brings out the full compliment of aromas and results in a coffee that

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Acidity in coffee results in a brightness of flavor. Higher Grounds describes it as "dry, bright & sparkling sensation". Sweet Maria, a purveyor of unroasted beans, describes it as "bright, clear, snappy, dry, clean, winey, etc."

In truth, you would need to sample a variety of coffees with different characteristics and develop your own sense memory, because it is extremely difficult to describe flavors.

A nice Ethiopian full city roast will have good acidity when compared to say a French roasted anything. In general, coffee grown at higher altitude will have more acidity than lower grown coffee; and lighter roasted coffee will retain more of its acidity than darker roasted coffee.

See also:

Kaladi Coffee article on coffee acidity
Higher Grown: Coffee Acidity: the Science & the Experience

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In my experience, a coffee with good acidity is sought after by most connoisseurs. Most of the African coffees are especially known for their "bright" acidity...most notably Ethiopian and Kenya AA coffee.

To reiterate what someone else said, dark roasted coffee is less acidic.

That said, some people seek lower-acidity coffee (like Sumatra Mandheling) because they feel that it's easier on their stomach.