Ordering a Coffee in Spanish Some Practical Help

The most popular video.

Recently we uploaded a very brief video of Cynthia and myself in a cafetería in Madrid. It wasn’t a particularly long or complicated video and yet it has been one of the most popular ones we’ve uploaded in a long while. here you can find the transcription of the video.

What’s so important about ordering a coffee in Spanish?

More and more it seems that the coffee culture that used to be found around the Mediterranean countries has made its way into most of our modern day society. Thanks to Costa and Starbucks, most people find themselves having a coffee more often than ever. (There’s something to be said for our addiction to strong coffee that keeps us coming back!) So, whilst on holiday in our favourite Spanish speaking country, more than anything else, we find ourselves ordering a coffee in Spanish, or at least attempting to get the waiter to bring us what we want. Having the required vocabulary, then,  is vitally important.

Spain loves its strong coffee.

There is no country more in love with it’s coffee culture than Spain.  Every morning, lunch time and evening you’ll find the street cafés filled with Spaniards having a coffee and chatting with friends. One of the clues to just how important coffee has been in Spain over the years is the way it has insinuated itself into the language.

A tomar un café.

When Spanish people want to meet up, they just about always refer to the forthcoming meeting this way: ¿Quieres ir a tomar un café? It certainly isn’t the case that everyone will have a coffee. In fact, many times no-one will have one. Yet, they still refer to the act of going out for a drink and a chat as “Ir a tomar un café.”

Es por eso…

So, that’s probably why our video in the café was so popular. Most people want to be able to do the basics in Spanish. Most people want to be able to order a coffee in Spanish, well, and no amount of verb conjugation training or understanding when to use the subjunctive will take the place of simply knowing how to. In this video, however,  you don’t see us ordering the coffees but rather talking about them. To know how to order a coffee in Spanish then you should also listen to our podcast on this very subject. You can find the transcript for this video here. Then, if you ever meet us in Madrid you can maybe invite us “a tomar un café” with you.  🙂 Un saludo, Gordon 🙂

Video & Transcript for This Spanish Lesson