Your coffee, your way

Today we tackle coffee lovers’ worst nightmare: ordering your coffee when you’re abroad. It might seem a mere mundane matter, but don’t let appearances fool you. We all want our coffee our way. So how do you order a coffee in English?

First and foremost, you need to let the waiter /barista know you want a coffee. Here you have some suggestions:

• Can/Could I have a coffee, please?
• I’d like a coffee, please.
• Just a coffee, please.
• Hi, a coffee please.

If you simply ask for a coffee, the barista will probably start grilling you with quickfire questions about the coffee blend, size, temperature, milk, sugar, syrup, shots, extras… but fear not. Ordering your coffee will be smooth sailing thanks to our tips.

COFFEE BLEND

The blend is the mixture of coffee beans. Beans can have different roasts, origins or flavour profiles. There are two main kinds of coffee beans:

• Arabica. Supposed to be of the highest quality. Smooth caramel aftertaste and a rich aroma.
• Robusta. Stronger flavour but lower quality.

The roasting process has also an influence in the resulting taste. The longer the roasting, the stronger the flavour.

Some fancy coffee shops offer a selection of blends to choose from. In that case, just ask for advice if you don’t know which would fit your taste best.

VARIETIES OF COFFEE

In English, varieties of coffee are named using Italian words.

• Espresso. Quite strong and bitter. Made by forcing hot water through crushed coffee beans and served without milk, usually in a small cup.
• Latte (also Cafe Latte). Espresso coffee with a cup of steamed milk.
• Cappuccino. Espresso coffee with a cup of 50% steamed milk and 50% frothed milk.
• Mocaccino (or Café Mocha). Espresso coffee with a cup of steamed milk and chocolate syrup or cocoa powder.
• Macchiato. Espresso coffee with a teaspoon of steamed milk.
• Americano. Espresso coffee with a cup of hot water. This way the taste is lighter.

All these varieties can also be prepared without caffeine (decaffeinated /diːˈkæf.ɪ.neɪ.tɪd/), leaving all other ingredients the same. In this case you would order a ‘décaf’ /diːˈkæf/ (short for decaffeinated). For instance, ‘A décaf espresso, please’.

THE SIZE

This should be an easy one: do you prefer it small, medium, large…? Coffee shops usually display sample cups so that you can see how big each cup is. Stick to the terms small, medium or large for brewed /bruːd/ coffee, and single, double or triple for espresso drinks.

THE TEMPERATURE

Just say whether you want a hot or an iced coffee. If you don’t specify, they often take it for granted that you want it hot.

THE MILK 

Some coffee shops offer the possibility of choosing a certain type of milk.

• Whole milk, semi-skimmed or skimmed milk. Whole milk has nothing added or removed, while semi-skimmed has a reduced content of fat and skimmed has nearly no fat at all. If you drink your latte with skimmed milk, you may call it a ‘skinny latte‘.
• Soya (or soy) milk. Obtained from soya beans (suitable for vegetarians).
• Lactose-free milk. Ideal for lactose (a type of sugar found in milk) intolerants.

SUGAR

Luckily, at most sit-down coffee shops or restaurants the sugar will be at the table or at a self-service stand, so you can surely have what you want. Just in case, the most common types of sugar are:

• White sugar. Fully refined sugar.
• Brown sugar. Partly refined sugar. Considered to be healthier than white sugar.
• Artificial sweeteners. It sweetens your drink without using sugar.

SYRUPS, SHOTS AND EXTRAS

If you’re feeling adventurous, you can spice up your coffee with a bewildering range of syrups /ˈsɪr.əps/, shots and extras for a unique experience.

Some of the most popular flavour syrups added to coffee are:

• Vanilla
• Caramel
• Chocolate
• Mint
• Orange
• Hazelnut
• Almond

Shots of liqueur can also be added to coffee, and are mostly served as an after-dinner drink. In these cases, you can order the coffee by naming the liqueur country. For instance:

• Irish coffee. With Irish whiskey. 
• Spanish coffee. With Tia Maria® coffee liqueur.
• French coffee. With Cointreau® orange liqueur.
• German coffee. With Kirschwasser® cherry brandy.
• Bavarian coffee. With peppermint schnapps /ʃnæps/.
• Jamaican coffee. With dark rum.

Finally, if you want to indulge yourself, why not trying the Vienna coffee? In a standard sized coffee cup, you put your regular espresso and then infuse the coffee with whipped cream (as a replacement for milk and sugar) until the cup is full.

And one last warning: not all English-speaking baristas will ask you the same questions. Have a look at this article about differences between the UK and the US.

Check this pdf file to know more about the meaning and pronunciation of the key expressions of this post.

Ready to order now? Here are some sample sentences:

• I’d like a large skinny latte with caramel and 2 sugars (= spoonfuls or lumps of sugar), please. 
• Can I have a small decaf cappuccino with soya milk, please?
• Hi, an iced double espresso, please.
• A medium mocaccino with double chocolate, please.

After talking about the extensive amount of additions you can use to customize your coffee, we wonder how many of us are truly coffee lovers. This is what they think at the DogHouseDiaries. What’s your guess?