7 coffee mistakes you may not have known about, according to an expert – It’s Worth It in 2026

Many of us have a coffee habit that we stick to. It turns out that this routine can be a problem.

About two-thirds of American adults reach for a cup of the brew first thing in the morning, but according to Sarina Prabasi, founder of New York City micro-roastery Buunni, very few of us brew it as well as we could. Prabasi, who also serves on the board of directors of the Specialty Coffee Association, shared common mistakes that happen when brewing at home and surprisingly simple solutions to improve your morning cup.

Mastering the art of brewing requires dedication, experimentation, and attention to detail—whether you use a percolator, French press, pour-over, or espresso machine or a cold brew setup.

Below you will find seven common coffee mistakes that many of us make without even realizing it. These expert tips will help take your morning coffee from merely functional to truly special.

1. Washing your coffee maker too often

Avoiding soap for your coffee pot and immersion brewer may seem like dubious advice. Your coffee equipment doesn’t actually need to be cleaned every time you use it. Even a small amount of scented dishwashing detergent residue will cause your coffee to become foamy and of poor quality.

“It really stays there; it can ruin the flavor, so generally for black coffee, a good rinse with very hot water is sufficient,” Prabasi said. Oils from beans can build up over time, so unscented dish soap comes in handy for occasional deep cleaning. However, for daily use, a simple rinse with hot water is more than enough. Save time and avoid unwanted “soapy” notes that can overwhelm the naturally roasted notes of Sidama’s single origin.

2. Buy more coffee than you can brew fresh.

Buying in bulk can save time and money at the grocery store, but can lead to disappointing results for coffee lovers. Buying fewer beans can help avoid stale, flat coffee, especially for the average drinker and one- or two-person households. Probasi told us that you’ll know the coffee has gone stale because it “can taste like its own shadow.”

The roaster recommends checking the roast date on the coffee label within one month, ideally within two weeks. (Keep in mind that the “best buy” date is different and is not an indicator of freshness.) If you don’t like to grind at home, the roast date should be more recent.

But you don’t have to panic about the taste in your cupboard deteriorating like a ticking time bomb. “Every day after roasting doesn’t mean it loses freshness, but I would say after two weeks it starts to deteriorate,” Prabasi said. Store coffee in an airtight container, but avoid a humid refrigerator with lots of odors that can stick to the beans.

3. Adjusting more than one thing at a time

You can find guides online that recommend brewers, scales, tampers, water filters, coffee grinders, and other methods for brewing the perfect cup. Experimentation is the key to creating a drink you love, but only if you start with the basics. “So in the beginning, just regulate just the water,” Prabasi said.

If you don’t have kitchen scalesThe roaster told us that the rule of thumb is to start with two tablespoons of ground coffee per cup of water. The finer the grind, the stronger the flavor of your coffee, so you’ll need to adjust your ground to water ratio accordingly. If it seems too weak or too strong, adjust it by adding more or less coffee of the same grind level.

Beyond the basics, you can get creative. “If your coffee is too acidic, you may prefer a dark roast,” Prabasi said. Is the coffee too bitter? You can change the roast type by purchasing a lower level, such as dark to medium or medium to light. “If you have East African coffee, maybe try South American coffee, you know, switch it up,” she said. Changing one element immediately ensures that you know which step affected the outcome for better or worse.

4. Using water straight from the tap

Filling the coffee pot with tap water will result in less than ideal flavor. For most of us, filtered water will make a big difference to the final taste of your coffee. Tap water often contains byproducts that can be easily filtered out using a home water filtration system.

Almost all of the tap water you get in the US is disinfected with low chlorine. The Environmental Protection Agency reports that one in five people drink chloramines, a backup disinfectant made of chlorine and ammonia to kill harmful viruses and bacteria such as salmonella. These chemicals ensure that we don’t get sick, but they will change the taste and smell of tap water. Chloramines are also known to remove lead and copper from pipes, byproducts that can affect even the most carefully prepared coffee.

5. Forgetting to stop and smell the coffee

The smell can be a sure sign that your coffee has expired. Prabasi explains that you should immediately open the bag of coffee beans or grounds and smell the roasted coffee aroma. Aroma is the main indicator of taste. No aroma means a serious lack of taste.

Prabasi said stale coffee may taste cloudy or bland and lack any of the complex flavor notes that might be indicated on the bag’s label. “That’s why I think in the coffee profession, a lot of what we do is coffee tasting,” she said. “From the farm to the coffee shop, every step of the way to a tasting or a cup of coffee, in our language.”

Old coffee is unlikely to make you sick, so there’s no need to throw it away. However, you may want to avoid drinking black coffee. Making iced coffee is an easy way to mask missing flavor notes. Using an immersion coffee maker also allows you to steep the ground coffee longer to add a little more flavor after the coffee has faded.

6. Ignoring organic labeling

The array of brands of coffee at the grocery store can be overwhelming. To help understand the masses, Prabasi explains that the organic coffee label is a sign of quality, which is important in coffee.

“If you can, I think for coffee and tea, organics are really important because coffee and tea crops, especially from large farms, tend to be over-sprayed,” Prabasi said. Pesticides are sprayed directly onto the coffee cherries, and the coffee is not like an apple that can be washed or a banana that is peeled before eating. Tea leaves go through a similar process: whatever is left on the leaves is then dipped into your mug.

The coffee shop owner made it clear that she doesn’t think coffee has to be expensive to be considered “good.” Excellent coffee is prepared for different budgets. “I think I would be careful about sourcing it, roasting it, or just serving it,” Prabasi said. Organic labeling is a useful starting point.

7. Always take coffee with you.

Even if you don’t think of coffee as a means to an end, many of us view coffee simply as fuel. Grabbing coffee in a travel mug on the way to work is not a problem. Instead, Prabasi encourages coffee lovers to take advantage of any time and opportunity to enjoy a cup of coffee. Unlike the grab-and-go culture in the US, drinking coffee in Ethiopia is an opportunity to slow down and connect with people you care about. “And I like to say—for example, I lived in Ethiopia for eight years—I’ve never heard anyone say, ‘I’ll have coffee,’” Prabasi said. “It was always, ‘Let’s have coffee. Shall we have some coffee?

Even taking an extra 10 minutes to grab a drink at a coffee shop instead of asking for a to-go cup can make all the difference in the energy of a frantic morning. “I think there are a lot of rituals around coffee and how one enjoys it,” Prabasi said. By taking the time to create your own ritual at home or at a local store, you can enjoy all that coffee has to offer beyond the caffeine.

More information about coffee can be found here. how to read coffee labels And Best Travel Mugs of 2026, Reviewed by CNET.