Ordering coffee: a cortado and a café solo
In a Madrid office, Marina wants a cortado and Leo wants a café solo with no sugar. She nearly presses hot water, then gives Leo the dark cup.
Pedir café en la oficina
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About this article
What you'll learn
Polite coffee orders, the contrast between café solo and cortado, and questions with qué and quieres.
Marina and Leo pause at the office machine in Madrid. Leo asks for a café solo, coffee without milk. Marina wants a cortado, coffee with a little milk. She avoids the hot-water button, skips the sugar, and each person drinks the cup they asked for.
After reading
Article learning block
Phrases, words, grammar, and quick practice from this text.
Phrases for training
Add useful phrases to SRS or mark them as already known.
por favor
newplease
A polite expression used when asking for something.
It makes a request sound courteous.
Para mí
newfor me
A short way to state your own order.
Useful when several people order together.
No, gracias
newno, thank you
A polite way to refuse an offer.
Useful for declining food or drink politely.
Key words
Vocabulary that carries the school-day topic.
Coffee machine
la cafetera
the coffee machine
An appliance used to prepare coffee.
A common workplace and kitchen word.
Sugar
azúcar
sugar
Here azúcar appears without an article; the noun can be masculine or feminine.
Useful when ordering drinks.
Milk
leche
milk
A feminine noun in Spanish.
Useful for describing coffee and other drinks.
Buttons
tres botones
the buttons
The plural of el botón is los botones.
Useful for machines and devices.
Cups
las tazas
the cups
The plural of la taza is las tazas.
Essential vocabulary for hot drinks.
A tray
una bandeja
a tray
A flat object used to carry cups or food.
Useful in offices, cafés, and homes.
Grammar in context
Patterns from the text worth noticing after reading.
Quiero for an order
Quiero un café solo
I want a black coffee
Quiero is the first person singular of querer.
It lets you state what you want.
A yes or no question
¿Quieres azúcar?
Do you want sugar?
Spanish can form this question with question marks and rising intonation.
It is a direct way to ask about another person's choice.
Third person present
Marina prepara dos tazas
Marina prepares two cups
Prepara agrees with the third person singular subject Marina.
It helps describe what another person does.
With or without
con leche o sin leche
with milk or without milk
Con introduces what accompanies something, while sin marks its absence.
Useful for specifying a drink order.
Tiene with a singular subject
La cafetera tiene tres botones
The coffee machine has three buttons
Tiene is the third person singular present form of tener.
It describes what a person or object has.
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