Costa Rican coffee has earned its reputation worldwide for its bright acidity, clean flavors, and smooth body. Whether you’re sipping a honey-processed bean from Tarrazú or a high-altitude roast from Naranjo, the potential in the cup is extraordinary. The problem? Even the most exceptional beans can taste flat, bitter, or lifeless if brewed incorrectly.

We’ve all had that disappointing cup—too sharp, too watery, or missing the very flavors that make Costa Rican coffee special. The truth is, great coffee depends as much on your brewing habits as it does on the beans themselves. The good news is that most common mistakes are easy to spot and simple to fix. Let’s walk through the five most common slip-ups and how to make sure your morning cup lives up to the beans you paid for.

Mistake 1: Treating All Grinds the Same

Grind size is the foundation of a good brew. It determines how quickly water extracts flavor from the coffee grounds. Get it wrong, and the result swings between harsh bitterness or weak, tea-like blandness.

• Too fine: Over-extraction makes coffee taste bitter and dry.

• Too coarse: Under-extraction leads to a flat, watery cup.

Fix: Match grind size to your brewing method. For a French Press, use coarse grounds (think breadcrumbs). For a pour-over, aim for medium, similar to sand. Espresso requires a fine, powdery grind. Investing in a burr grinder gives you consistency and control, which makes all the difference.

Mistake 2: Brewing with “Dead” Beans

Coffee is at its best shortly after roasting. Those rich citrus, chocolate, and floral notes fade fast, and stale beans won’t bring them back no matter how carefully you brew. Think of old beans like stale bread—edible, but far from satisfying.

Fix: Store your beans in an airtight container at room temperature. Skip the fridge and freezer—they expose coffee to moisture and odors that ruin its flavor.

Mistake 3: Forgetting Water Is 98% of Your Cup

You wouldn’t cook pasta in swamp water, so why brew coffee with poor-tasting tap water? Since coffee is mostly water, the quality of what’s in your kettle directly affects the flavor in your mug.

Fix: Use filtered or spring water. Aim for water heated between 195–205°F (90–96°C). This temperature range pulls out the nuanced flavors without burning the beans. If your coffee consistently tastes off, your water is often the quiet culprit.

Mistake 4: Playing the Guessing Game with Ratios

“Eyeballing” your coffee-to-water ratio is a gamble. One day it’s too weak, the next day it’s strong enough to power a small village. Without consistency, you’ll never get to know what Costa Rican coffee really tastes like.

Fix: Start with a baseline: 1–2 tablespoons of ground coffee for every 6 ounces of water. From there, adjust to your preference. If you want to be precise (and remove the guesswork), use a kitchen scale—15–18 grams of coffee per 250 grams of water is a reliable golden ratio.

Mistake 5: Letting Coffee Linger Too Long

Coffee is delicate. Letting it sit in a French Press or stew on a hot plate is a fast way to turn bright flavors into bitter sludge. Time matters as much as grind and temperature.

Fix: Brew only what you’ll drink in one sitting. If you need to keep it warm, pour it into a thermal carafe to preserve flavor without cooking it. Your coffee will thank you, and so will your taste buds.

Brew Like You Mean It

Costa Rican coffee shines when it’s given the respect it deserves. Avoid these five mistakes and you’ll reveal the complexity—hints of citrus, chocolate, honey, or flowers—that make these beans world-class. Brewing isn’t about perfection; it’s about paying attention to details that unlock what’s already inside the coffee.

Ready to taste the difference? Skip the stale supermarket blends and bring home Café Milagro’s Costa Rican roasts—fresh from Quepos to your kitchen.

Frequently Askes Questions

1. How do I know if my beans are fresh?

For mass-produced or supermarket coffee, a roast date is often important because those beans are often roasted months in advance and shipped through long distribution chains. If a bag doesn’t show when it was roasted, it likely sat in warehouses, shipping containers, and store shelves for a long time—so freshness becomes uncertain.

At Café Milagro, freshness works differently. We roast in small batches every week and turn coffee over continually, which means beans aren’t sitting around waiting to be sold. They move quickly from roaster to bag to customer, which keeps flavor, aroma, and quality at their peak. Instead of relying on a roast date as a reassurance, we rely on frequent roasting, careful storage, and fast fulfillment.

We also use high-quality packaging with one-way valves to protect the beans and keep oxygen out, so what you open at home tastes lively, aromatic, and full of character. In short: while a roast date helps when freshness is unpredictable from mass-producing roasters, boutique roasting means your beans are always part of a fresh, constantly moving supply.

2. What’s the #1 beginner mistake?

Grinding wrong. Even great beans taste average if the grind size is off. Too fine and your coffee turns bitter, harsh, and over-extracted. Too coarse and it tastes weak, sour, or “watery,” because the water passed through too quickly and didn’t extract enough flavor.

Grind size controls how long water stays in contact with the coffee and how much goodness it pulls out. That’s why dialing in the grind is the fastest way to upgrade your cup. Match the grind to your brewing method (coarse for French press, medium for drip, fine for espresso), then adjust slightly based on taste. If it’s bitter, go a little coarser. If it’s thin or sour, try a finer grind.

A simple tweak in grind can turn an “okay” cup into the kind of coffee you look forward to every morning.

3. Do I really need a scale?

Not required, but it makes your brews more consistent and helps you figure out your “sweet spot.” A scale takes the guesswork out of coffee by helping you use the right ratio of coffee to water every time. Instead of scooping and hoping, you’ll know exactly how much coffee you’re using, how your brew changes when you adjust it, and why one cup tastes better than another.

It’s especially helpful when you’re learning, switching beans, or trying new brew methods, because it keeps your variables stable. Once you dial in your favorite recipe, you can repeat it easily and reliably. That said, if you’re happy eyeballing and love the ritual of it, keep doing what works. A scale simply gives you more control, more consistency, and a clearer path to better-tasting coffee.

4. Which brew method makes Costa Rican coffee shine?

It depends on your mood. Costa Rican coffee is incredibly versatile, which is why it tastes great across different brewing styles.

If you want something fuller and more comforting, French Press brings out a rich, rounded body with deeper sweetness and lots of natural character. If you love clean flavor and nuance, pour-over is where Costa Rican beans really sparkle, highlighting brightness, balance, and those subtle citrus or chocolate notes the country is known for. And if you’re craving bold flavor and café-style intensity, espresso delivers concentrated richness with beautiful crema and a smooth finish.

There’s no wrong answer. Each method reveals a different side of Costa Rican coffee, so the “best” one is really the one that matches the experience you want in the moment.