Juan Valdez Café • Liberia

I went to the drive thru Juan Valdez to get a cup of tea and a slice of chocolate cake. Unfortunately the cake was very stale and dried out. More frustrating was the barista’s unwillingness out put a small amount of milk in my tea. I asked if she was out of milk and she said, ‘no’. I then asked why I couldn’t get milk. She said it was because I hadn’t ordered it with milk. This sounded ridiculous. But I then offered to pay for it. She tried to ring it up but the computer wouldn’t allow her to. Begrudgingly, she offered me the milk free of an upcharge. This place serves lukewarm warm tea and stale cake. What a drag. And it cost 4,200 colones / $8.45. Too much! No wonder locals go to Starbucks. At least they serve hot beverages (even if I don’t like the company).

My wife and I went on Saturday, July 5th, 2025, for coffee, but the service was terrible. From the moment we walked in, the staff was cold and unfriendly. We had to wait quite a while without anyone helping us properly, and in the end, we left with a very bad experience. A brand like Juan Valdez should pay much more attention to its customer service, especially in such a busy area as Liberia. We hope they improve, because we like the coffee, but the service leaves much to be desired.

Good coffee, obviously the prices are not the same as those in Colombia, but I think they exaggerate a bit with the price. A mini empanada costs 1800.