The gastric irritation potential of orally administered coffee (150 ml) was investigated in four healthy volunteers by continuous measurement of gastric potential difference (GPD) and intragastric pH. Furthermore, serum gastrin concentrations were measured up to 45 min after administration of the coffee. One of the coffees, untreated, had to be compared with a pretreated coffee. The evaluation of the target parameters Reiz-Index, AUB, Pdmax and ttot revealed a significant difference between untreated coffee and specially treated coffee: the improved coffee processing produced significantly less mucosal irritation. Regarding the intragastric pH, no significant differences between the treatments were observed and no stimulation of gastric acid secretion following coffee was measurable. No consistent effect on serum gastrin concentration was seen: two of the four subjects had a steep increase in serum gastrin following administration with a clear difference between the differently processed coffees, whereas the other two subjects showed no change in serum gastrin. The results of this pilot study confirm the findings of former experiments on the reliability of continuous transmural GPD measurement when investigating the mucosal irritation potential of barrier breakers.