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

💬 置いてますか literally asks "are you placing it?", but it's the casual way to ask if a shop carries something. Put the item first: エチオピアは置いてますか "Do you have Ethiopian?"

🇯🇵 When staff open with あいにく, the next words are almost always "we don't have it" or "we can't". It softens the no, so you can already start thinking of a second choice.

💬 切らしております is the polite staff version of 切らしています, meaning they've run out. It's worth recognizing because it's the standard way you'll be told something is sold out.

💬 Ending a taste word with 味 or み turns it into the noun for that taste: 苦い "bitter" → 苦味 (nigami), 甘い "sweet" → 甘み (amami), 酸っぱい "sour" → 酸味 (sanmi).

🇯🇵 コク has no neat English match. It's the deep, full, lingering quality Japanese people praise in coffee, ramen broth or beer, and baristas use it constantly when describing beans.

💬 もの "thing" after a description gives you "something that's ~", which is handy when you don't know a product's name. For example, 甘いもの means "something sweet" and 軽いもの means "something light".

💬 って here is a casual way of marking what you're asking about, like saying "something like that, do you have it?" Reuse it as ~ってありますか with anything you describe: 甘いものってありますか "Do you have anything sweet?"

💬 深煎り (fukairi) is "dark roast". Its opposite is 浅煎り (asairi) "light roast", and in between is 中煎り (chūiri) "medium roast".

💬 いかが is the polite version of どう "how", so いかがでしょう is a soft way to suggest something. Put the item before は: ラテはいかがでしょう "How about a latte?"

🇯🇵 Japanese cafés routinely describe beans on a scale of 酸味 versus 苦味, often printed on a chart next to the menu. If you dislike sour coffee, saying 酸味が少ないもの "something low in acidity" will get you a clear recommendation.

💬 Changing the い at the end of a describing word to くて lets you link it to another description: 少ない → 少なくて, 苦い → 苦くて. Then add the next point, as in 苦くて、甘い "bitter and sweet".

💬 Use ~のような between two words to say "a ~-like": ナッツのような香り "a nutty aroma". チョコ is the everyday short form of チョコレート.

💬 で after an option means "in that form" when you're ordering: アイスで "iced", Mサイズで "medium size". You can chain them together, as in アイスで、Mサイズで.

💬 それをお願いします "that one, please" lets you order whatever the staff just recommended without repeating its name. じゃあ "well then" is the natural way to show you've decided.

🇯🇵 になります is the standard cashier phrase for stating a total. Place your cash or card in the small tray on the counter instead of handing it over directly.

💬 で marks how you pay. Swap in other methods, like 現金で "in cash".

💬 まで "up to, as far as" marks where something is brought: お席まで "to your seat". Staff add お to 席 to make it polite, since it's your seat.

💬 少々 (shōshō) is a polite way to say "a little", softer than ちょっと.

🇯🇵 Many Japanese cafés take your order and payment at the counter, then bring the drink to you, especially for slow hand-drip coffee. Just find a seat; there's no need to wait at the counter or listen for your name.