sollen or sollten?
b1One form serves two purposes: sollten is the past of sollen and at the same time the Konjunktiv II used to give advice. In the present sollen sounds like an instruction, in the subjunctive like a recommendation.
sollen
Present tense: another person’s will, an instruction, or a message passed on. The source is often named in the sentence.
Du sollst deine Mutter anrufen, sagt sie.You are to ring your mother, she says.
sollten
Konjunktiv II: a recommendation, polite and non-binding. It corresponds to English should. You can tell because no past time is meant.
Du solltest mehr schlafen.You should sleep more.
The mistake
Du sollst weniger Kaffee trinken - gemeint ist ein freundlicher Rat.
Du solltest weniger Kaffee trinken.
In the present the sentence sounds like an order from someone entitled to give it. Advice between equals goes in the Konjunktiv II.
Rule of thumb
If you are advising rather than instructing, take sollten. The same shift makes könnten politer than können and würden politer than werden.
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