Ordering a coffee (Advanced): Choice of bean which can vary by origin, roast type, or blend.

💬 Adding -lich to Geschmack "taste" gives "in terms of taste." Same pattern: preislich "price-wise."

💬 unterscheiden needs sich to mean "to differ": die unterscheiden sich "they differ." In speech, die often replaces sie for "they."

🇩🇪 nicht so gern is a soft way to state a dislike. It sounds friendlier to staff than a flat Ich mag das nicht.

💬 Ihnen is the polite "to you" and is always capitalised. Reuse it: Ich kann Ihnen helfen "I can help you."

💬 Coffees get named after their origin like a person: der Brasilianer, der Äthiopier. They are masculine because der Kaffee is.

💬 When a sentence starts with Dann, the verb comes next and the person comes after it: Dann würde ich, not Dann ich würde.

💬 Adding -ig turns a food into a flavour word: Schokolade becomes schokoladig, and Nuss becomes nussig. Also fruchtig "fruity."

💬 den here stands in for "that one," pointing back to den Brasilianer. For a feminine item it would be die: Dann nehme ich die.

🇩🇪 Filter coffee in German cafés is often brewed in batches and kept in a pot, so it can run out.

💬 gerade also means "straight," but before a description like this it means "at the moment." Ich esse gerade means "I'm eating right now."

💬 aufbrühen splits in a sentence, and auf goes to the end: Ich brühe ihn frisch auf.

💬 wäre "would be" softens a suggestion into a gentle offer. Reuse it: Wäre das okay? "Would that be okay?"

💬 Adding -er makes the comparison "darker," just like in English. Note that dunkel drops an e to become dunkler.

💬 deutlich literally means "clearly," but before a comparison it works like "much." deutlich teurer means "much more expensive."

💬 Die here means "that one" and refers back to die Espressomischung. Pointing back with der, die or das instead of "it" is very common in speech.

💬 -arm literally means "poor," so it's added to a noun to mean "low in" that thing. Same pattern: zuckerarm "low in sugar."

💬 beim is short for bei dem. bleiben bei means "to stick with": Ich bleibe beim Wasser "I'll stick with water."

💬 lieber after the verb adds "rather" or "prefer." Reuse it: Ich trinke lieber Tee "I'd rather have tea."

💬 lieber after a verb turns it into a preference: ich bleibe lieber means "I'd rather stay". Swap the verb freely: ich trinke lieber Tee "I'd rather drink tea".

💬 Literally "What does that make?", so macht here is about adding up the total, not making anything. You'll also hear Was macht das zusammen? "What does that come to altogether?" when paying for several things.

💬 Prices are read with the cents after the word Euro, and the word "cents" is dropped: 3,20 € is drei Euro zwanzig. Euro also stays the same for any amount, never Euros.

💬 Ihnen is the formal "you" when something is given or brought to you. Compare Sie: Ich sehe Sie "I see you" but Ich gebe Ihnen das "I give that to you".

💬 an den shows movement toward a spot. Once the coffee has arrived, it's am Platz "at the seat". The same switch happens with an den Tisch "to the table" and am Tisch "at the table".

🇩🇪 In many German cafés you order and pay at the counter, and staff then bring the drink over. If you hear this, you can go sit down rather than waiting at the counter.

💬 German often uses the present tense for something about to happen: ich zahle covers both "I'm paying" and "I'll pay". No separate future form is needed.

🇩🇪 Cash is still common in Germany, and some small cafés don't take cards. Asking before you order is completely normal.

🇩🇪 Cash is still common in Germany, and some small cafés don't take cards or set a minimum amount. Saying this up front, or asking Kann ich mit Karte zahlen? "Can I pay by card?", saves an awkward moment.

💬 gerne literally means "gladly". It works as a reply to danke, and also as an eager yes: Noch einen Kaffee? "Another coffee?" can be answered with Gerne!.

💬 gleich here means "in a moment", even though it can also mean "same". Compare bis später "see you later" and bis morgen "see you tomorrow".

🇩🇪 Staff say this when they'll see you again shortly, for example when bringing your order to your table. It's friendly, everyday service talk, so a simple danke back is all you need.