Recently, a client at Confident Speech expressed his frustration with buying coffee. Every day on his way to work, he would stop to buy a cup of coffee to take with him. Although he spoke English with an accent, he was puzzled. Why did the counter person never seem to understand him?
We asked him to tell us what he was saying. “Regular coffee,” he said. His pronunciation was clear enough to understand the words without any difficulty. What then was the problem?
The problem is that regular coffee, no matter how clearly it is pronounced, has many different meanings nowadays. Years ago in New England, before all kinds of espresso drinks became popular in the United States, regular coffee meant traditional American brewed coffee with both cream and sugar. In 2007, however, people understand many different things by regular coffee. Here are some examples of what people mean by regular coffee:
Traditional American brew (not espresso type)
Not decaffeinated
Black (no sugar or cream)
With cream/milk
With cream/milk and sugar
Regular size (not large)
Without additional flavoring
Hot, not iced
So, what is the correct way to order coffee? Obviously, avoid using the word regular! If the counter person adds the cream and sweetener, state exactly how you want it! Light means a lot of cream or milk. Dark means just a little cream or milk. Here are some examples:
I’ll have a large black decaf, please.
A medium coffee, light (with cream), with no sugar, please.
A small coffee, dark, with two sugars, please.
A small coffee, with skim milk, dark, with Splenda, please.
For specialty coffees, state exactly what you want. You may find that each store or chain of stores has its own particular customs. For example, you will need to ask for espresso, cappuccino, or latte. You need to say what size, whether you want “decaf,” how many shots (measures) of ground coffee you want, and whether you have special requests such as soy milk or non-fat (skim) milk instead of whole milk. Here are some examples:
I’ll have a large soy decaf latte, please.
I’ll have an espresso, two shots, please.
A medium decaf cappuccino, please.
For many people, having a cup of coffee is an essential pleasure. Why risk misunderstanding? Here at Confident Speech, Everett Leiter (director) enjoys nothing more than taking a short break in the afternoon to buy coffee and something sweet at one of his favorite neighborhood shops!