Procter & Gamble's Folgers has opened a new flank in the coffee war: a "stomach friendly" brew called Simply Smooth for java lovers that think they can no longer handle the hard stuff.
Folgers is aiming Simply Smooth at what it estimates are the 35 million to 40 million Americans who say they have cut back on coffee consumption--or eliminated it--because it bothers their stomachs.
Other, smaller manufacturers are also offering easy-on-the-stomach coffees, including Gentle Java from Coffee Legends and Puroast Low Acid Coffee.
Coffee companies are not the only
ones heading in that direction. Orange juice--another product cited as a stomach irritant--has also been modified. In 2003, Tropicana introduced a low-acid orange juice to appease consumers with
sensitive stomachs. But a recent study by Stanford University researchers found that there was little scientific evidence to support the idea that eliminating coffee--and several other foods and
drinks--helps cure persistent heartburn.
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