Guatemalan vs Costa Rican coffee for a drip machine

Buy No. 8 Consent (Costa Rica) if you want a sweet, soft cup that works for people who say they do not like black coffee. Buy No. 7 Praxis (Guatemala) if you want more going on in the cup, with dark chocolate, bright fruit and butterscotch. Both are medium roast, both are $28 for 12 oz with free US shipping, and both brew well in a drip machine at 60 g per litre.

How do they compare side by side?

Everything in this table comes from the label.

The two are close on paper. The difference is in the notes. Consent reads as fruit and sugar, in the apple, raisin and honey family. Praxis starts darker, with chocolate and butterscotch, and adds a brighter fruit note on top.

Which one is better in a drip machine?

Either, and for different reasons. Consent is the safer choice for a pot you are sharing. The roaster describes it as clean and sweet, and a cup like that is easy to like without milk or sugar. Praxis is the one to pick if you are the only person drinking it, or if you like to taste what changed between pots. The roaster says it is the one to brew twice, once at 60 g per litre and once at 70, and to keep whichever you preferred.

That gives you a simple way to decide without guessing. Brew Praxis at 60 and at 70 and see which strength suits you. If you like both, you probably want the extra weight in the cup, and Praxis is your coffee. If you want the sweetest, simplest cup, Consent is.

How much coffee do I put in the machine?

Both labels say 60 g per litre, which is just under 1:17 by weight. Here is what that looks like for common amounts of water.

A level tablespoon is 5 g and a scoop is 2 tablespoons. The 70 g per litre version for Praxis is 70 g, 14 tablespoons or 7 scoops per litre. If you want the spoon math for a specific machine, read how much coffee for an 8 cup coffee maker and the How much coffee per cup page.

Which one should you buy?

Here is the short version, in plain terms.

• Buy Consent if the pot is for guests, for a partner who adds milk, or for someone who finds most coffee too sharp.
• Buy Praxis if you are still working out what you like, or if you want chocolate and a little brightness in one cup.
• Not sure? Order one of each. They are the same price, and the same roast level on the label.

Does process change the taste?

It can. Fully washed means the fruit is removed from the bean before drying. Eco-pulped is a low-water way of removing the fruit skin before the beans are dried in the sun, and the label gives that as the process for Consent. We do not claim that the process alone explains what you taste, because altitude, varietal and roast matter too. The honest way to learn is to brew both. For the washed and natural difference, see washed vs natural process.

How do these compare with a supermarket bag?

We wrote a label-reading guide for each country. They list what a supermarket bag usually does and does not tell you, with no claims about any brand: Guatemalan coffee, our label vs a supermarket bag and Costa Rican coffee, our label vs a supermarket bag. For the cup notes of Consent, read what No. 8 Consent tastes like, and for another way to brew it, the No. 8 Consent brewing guide.

Whole bean or ground?

Either one, same price. Whole bean gives you the most control, and ground is easier if you do not own a grinder. The trade-offs are in whole bean vs ground coffee. Browse all ten coffees, or put either on a subscription, 11% off, skip or cancel in one click.

Pick the sweet one for company and the layered one for yourself.