Practice your English listening & comprehension with a real life English conversation: ordering at the coffee shop.
For someone who has English as a target language hanging out at a coffee shop can be a frustrating experience if the person doesn’t know how to order in a way that can be understood. It was thinking of you that we made this video.
As you will see, there are many options when ordering coffee! This is true of many situations in the USA like going to the cereal or chip aisle at the grocery store! It can be shocking and overwhelming at first (and even for natives).
When you study this reel and this transcript below, you can invite your “crush” or friend and make a good impression with your English 😉
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Transcript of Real Life English at the Coffee Shop
Barista: Hi, how are you? What can I get started for ya?
Camille: What are your specials today?
Barista: So we have our normal drinks up here and then our specials are down here. We’ve got our garden latte, our butterfly latte, and our orange filled latte.
Camille: Maybe i’ll just do a vanilla latte
Barista: Yeah for sure.
Camille: Do you have coconut milk
Barista: So we have oat and almonds as our milk alternatives
Camille: I’ll take oat milk
Barista: That sounds great. All right would you like that iced or hot?
Camille: I’ll go with hot
Barista: Sounds great! Would you like that for here to go?
Camille: I’ll take it to go please
Barista: Fantastic, would you like to pastry to go with your latte today?
Camille: Not today!
Barista: Alright that’ll be $5.40. All right here you go!
Camille: Thank you so much
Barista: You’re welcome, have a good one
Camille: You too!
Explanation of key phrases and words:
How are you?”
A common greeting used to ask about someone’s well-being.
Explanation: This phrase is a polite way to inquire about the other person’s current state of health or mood.
“What can I get started for ya?”
An informal way to ask what the customer would like to order.
Explanation: This phrase is often used in casual settings like coffee shops and restaurants to ask customers what they want to order.
“What are your specials today?”
Asking about the special or unique items available on the menu for the day.
Explanation: In this context, Camille is interested in knowing what unique drinks are available as specials for that particular day.
“I’ll just do a vanilla latte.”
Expressing the choice of a specific coffee drink.
Explanation: Camille is specifying her coffee order, choosing a vanilla latte from the menu. Using “just” is optional but adds emphasis to the choice.
“Do you have coconut milk?”
Inquiring about the availability of a specific milk alternative.
Explanation: Camille is asking if the coffee shop offers coconut milk as an option for her latte.
“I’ll take oat milk.”
Making a choice among available milk alternatives like Whole milk, half and half, coconut milk, almond milk and oat milk. America is the land of choices and yes, it can be overwhelming!
Explanation: Camille is selecting oat milk as the milk alternative for her latte.
“Would you like that iced or hot?”
Asking about the preferred temperature of the drink.
Explanation: The barista is asking whether Camille wants her latte served cold (iced) or hot.
“I’ll take it to go, please.”
Requesting the order to be prepared for takeout.
Explanation: Camille wants her order packaged so she can take it with her rather than consuming it in the coffee shop.
“Would you like a pastry to go with your latte today?”
Offering an additional food item with the order.
Explanation: The barista is asking if Camille would like to add a pastry to her latte order.
“Thank you so much.”
Expressing gratitude for the service received.
Explanation: Camille is thanking the barista for taking her order and preparing her latte.
These phrases are commonly used when ordering at cafes and can be helpful for English learners to understand and practice in various social situations, particularly when ordering food and drinks.
Special thanks to Scandi Tiny Coffee https://www.scanditinycoffee.com
