How to Choose the Right Coffee: A Los Muertos Coffee Guide

Choosing the right coffee doesn’t have to be complicated. You really only need to know two things: how you brew your coffee and what flavours you enjoy.

At Los Muertos Coffee, we make choosing even easier. You can tell at a glance by the packaging: coffees designed primarily for espresso come in black bags, while coffees roasted for filter brewing come in light-coloured bags.

Still not sure? No problem. Here’s how to find your perfect coffee step by step.

1. Start with your brewing method: espresso or filter?

This is probably the easiest place to start.

☕ Black bag = espresso

We roast our espresso coffees slightly darker to give them more body and pleasant sweetness in the cup, making them work beautifully both as a straight espresso and in milk-based drinks such as cappuccino or flat white.

But don’t expect dark-roasted, oily or overly bitter coffee. Even with our espresso range, we want to preserve the individual character of each coffee and its origin.

If you enjoy chocolate, nuts, caramel and lower acidity, try Los Muertos Mexico or Los Muertos Brasilia. Mexico is one of our lowest-acidity coffees, with notes of dark chocolate, cane sugar and nuts. Brasilia is also beautifully smooth, with notes of chocolate, nuts and caramel.

If you’re looking for an espresso that is a little more complex, try Los Muertos Colombia. It is roasted specifically for espresso and offers notes of nuts, chocolate and sweet fruit.

☕ Light-coloured bag = filter

We roast our filter coffees lighter to highlight their natural flavours, sweetness, fruitiness and the unique character of their origin.

They are ideal for V60, Chemex, AeroPress, drip coffee makers, French press or batch brew. Filter coffees can reveal notes of citrus, berries, flowers or tea – and this is where you can really discover just how different coffees can taste.

If you enjoy more expressive, fruit-forward coffees, take a look at our African coffees. Ethiopia is one of our fruitier options, with notes of berries, citrus and black tea.

And one important thing: think of our “espresso” and “filter” labels as recommendations, not rules. If you love a particular coffee, feel free to experiment and brew it another way.

2. How do we roast at Los Muertos Coffee?

Most of our coffees are roasted medium to medium-light. We take our espresso range slightly darker, while our filter coffees are kept lighter. We follow the same principle with our coffee subscriptions – the espresso edition is roasted medium to medium-dark, while the filter edition is roasted lighter.

Why?

Because we don’t want all our coffees to taste the same simply because of the roast. We want you to be able to taste the difference between a coffee from Brazil, Mexico, Ethiopia or Kenya.

Properly roasted specialty coffee can naturally taste of chocolate, caramel, nuts, fruit, flowers or even black tea – without us adding any flavourings at all.

That’s why you won’t find over-roasted, excessively bitter coffee at Los Muertos Coffee.

3. Choose by flavour, not just by country

A coffee’s origin can tell you a lot, but it isn’t a foolproof guide. The final flavour is influenced by the growing region, altitude, variety, processing method and roasting.

That’s why we recommend focusing primarily on the flavour profile of each individual coffee.

Do you prefer a classic, sweeter cup without pronounced acidity? Look for chocolate, cocoa, caramel and nutty notes. Mexico or Brasilia are great places to start.

Looking for something between classic and fruity? Try Costa Rica. In our current tasting set, we describe it as sweet and balanced, with notes of caramel, cashew nuts, dried fruit and a fresh grapefruit finish.

Prefer brighter, more expressive coffees? Look for citrus, berries, floral or tea-like notes. Ethiopia and Kenya are excellent choices.

A quick guide

Chocolate + nuts + caramel → smoother, more “classic” flavour
Fruit + citrus + flowers → brighter, more expressive flavour
Low acidity → start with Mexico or Brasilia
I want to explore → try Ethiopia, Kenya or one of our limited-edition coffees

4. Whole bean or ground? And how fine should the grind be?

If you have a grinder at home, we recommend buying whole-bean coffee and grinding it just before brewing. This helps preserve the coffee’s aroma and flavour for longer.

No grinder? No problem. We’ll grind your coffee for you free of charge. Simply select the grinding option when placing your order.

Choosing the right grind size is much more important than it might seem. The very same coffee needs to be ground differently for an espresso machine than for a French press.

As a general guide:

• Espresso machine → fine grind
• Moka pot → fine to medium-fine grind
• AeroPress → depends on the recipe, usually medium-fine to medium
• V60 / Chemex / drip coffee maker → medium grind
• French press → coarse grind

So when ordering, simply tell us how you prepare your coffee, and we’ll grind it accordingly.

And if you’re not sure, there’s no need to worry about microns or grinder settings. Just tell us something like “for a moka pot”, “for V60” or “for French press” – we’ll take care of the rest.

5. Still not sure? Start with a tasting set

If you’ve made it this far and still can’t decide whether you’re more of a Mexico, Costa Rica, Ethiopia or Brasilia person, there’s an easy solution: taste them side by side.

Our Los Muertos Tasting Set contains four 250 g coffees with different levels of acidity and different flavour profiles – ranging from chocolate and caramel to fruit and citrus.

If you’d rather start with smaller portions, we also offer a Sample Set, with 75 g of each coffee.

Los Muertos Tasting Set – 4 × 250 g
Los Muertos Sample Set – 4 × 75 g

6. Most importantly: don’t be afraid to experiment

One of the best things about coffee is that there is no single universally “best” coffee.

A coffee that tastes too fruity to one person might be someone else’s absolute favourite. And the same beans can taste completely different when prepared as espresso, V60, AeroPress or cold brew.

That’s why at Los Muertos Coffee we regularly introduce new coffees, limited editions and beans from different parts of the world. Our range includes coffees from countries such as Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Ethiopia and Kenya.

Start with how you brew your coffee. Then choose the flavours that sound good to you. And after that comes the best part – tasting. ☕💀