119 - How to Order Coffee in French
Want to order a coffee in France but unsure how? ☕️ In this episode, I'll guide you through how to order a coffee in French, and the different types of coffee orders.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Transcript
Intro: Welcome to the French Made Easy podcast, where I give you all the basics you need to speak French clearly and confidently. I'm your host, Mathilde, and I'm a French teacher, mumpreneur, and bread and cheese lover. Join me as I dive into all things French for beginners, and deliver to you bite-sized and easy-to-follow lessons every Tuesday. Let's get started, "on commence"!
Hello everyone, bonjour tout le monde. 💖 Welcome back to the French Made Easy podcast, this is episode number 119, numéro 119!
I’m very excited about this episode, because I’ve received many requests from you over the years for this topic, and finally, it is here: today, we're going to talk about coffee! ☕️ We’ll learn a few different types of coffee and how to order it!
This episode is for coffee lovers, apologies if coffee is not your thing!
Now, I just want to preface this by saying that the world of ordering coffee can be a bit complex. Some coffee terms can mean different things depending on the French-speaking region you’re in or the particular café you’re in. So when you are in doubt, and you don’t want to get your coffee wrong, it's a good idea to ask the café staff to describe the coffees.
Before we start as always, if you're new to the podcast, please make sure you have your lesson's cheat sheet ready, so you can see the spelling of the words while you listen. And there are no exercises for this particular episode.
So let’s get started.
First, let's look at a few different types of coffee you can order:
Un Café (also known as un Café Noir, un Café Simple ou un Espresso): This is essentially a shot of espresso, served in a small cup. This is pretty much the default type of coffee in France. Just so you know, when you order ‘un café’, that’s what you’ll get.
Un Double Café (ou un Double Espresso): A double shot of espresso.
Un Café Noisette: A shot of espresso with a dash of hot milk. Now, 'noisette' means 'hazelnut' but just to be clear, there’s no hazelnut in this coffee! It’s called ‘noisette’ because of the hazelnut color that the milk gives to the coffee.
Un Café Crème: A café crème is somewhat equivalent to a cappuccino or latte. It’s made up of equal parts espresso, steamed milk, and foam.
Un Café Au Lait: Similar to ‘un café crème’ but usually has a lot more milk and is served in a bigger cup or even a bowl. Usually, people have it at breakfast time. Just a reminder, it’s not your traditional latte! I’d say the closest thing you’d get to a latte is the previous coffee on the list: ‘un café crème.’
Un Café Allongé (ou un Café Américain): This is a shot of espresso with extra hot water, similar to an Americano.
Un Café Serré: This is a stronger version of espresso, with less water used during brewing to create a more concentrated flavor.
Un Café Déca (ou un Café Décafféiné): This is simply decaffeinated coffee.
Un Café Viennois: Espresso with whipped cream on top, served in a larger cup.
Un Café Glacé: Essentially iced coffee.
Un Café Gourmand: Not a type of coffee in itself, but a dessert order where you get a café (espresso) served with a selection of small pastries or sweets.
Additional Vocabulary:
Sucre (sugar)
Sans sucre (without sugar)
Lait d’amande / lait de soja / lait de coco (almond/soy/coconut milk): For those who don’t consume dairy milk.
Now that you have some vocabulary, here are four phrases you can use to order your coffee:
‘Je voudrais’ + [your coffee order] + ‘s’il vous plaît.’ (I would like + [your coffee order] + please.)
Example: Je voudrais un café, s'il vous plaît.
[Your coffee order] + ‘s’il vous plaît’. ([Your coffee order] + please.)
Example: Un café allongé, s'il vous plaît.
‘Pour moi’ + [your coffee order] + 's’il vous plaît.' This is used when you’re ordering with someone else. (A [your coffee order] for me + please.)
Example: Pour moi, un café noisette s’il vous plaît.
‘Je vais prendre’ + [your coffee order] + ‘s’il vous plaît’. (I’ll have + [your coffee order] + please.)
Example: Je vais prendre un café serré, s’il vous plaît.
By the way, this is something I hear a lot from my students inside my French Grammar Made Easy course: when you’re ordering food or drinks, and you want to say “I’ll have…” don’t use “j’aurai,” even if it’s the direct word-for-word translation; instead use: “Je vais prendre” (I’ll take).
Et voilà! That is the end of today’s episode; now you know how to order a coffee in French! I hope you enjoyed it!