Using the Chinese phrase "我要一杯咖啡"(Wǒ yào yī bēi kā fēi, I would like a cup of coffee), to order a cup of coffee really isn't sufficient these days. What about the size? Would you like it flavoured? How about the kind of coffee bean? None of this is covered by "我要一杯咖啡". Here are some other things you can say to order a coffee using Mandarin Chinese language to properly order a cup of coffee.

Core Chinese sentence structure

This is the general structure of how you would order coffee in Chinese. It looks complicated and long but keep in mind that you don't need to use all the elements, and it's likely that you have a favourite order that you can simply memorize for convenience.

Greeting + "I would like a " + size + iced + flavor + drink type + customizations + for here/to go + "thank you."

Greeting in Chinese

First, start with a simple "你好"(Nǐ hǎo, hello). Do not greet a barista with "你好嗎". If you say "你好嗎" with a big smile, it might appear that you're flirting…poorly!

Coffee size

Drink size might sound like one of the simplest aspects of ordering a coffee but thanks to Starbucks, it isn't.

Normal coffee sizing:

Small coffee: xiǎo bēi 小杯
Medium coffee: zhōng bēi 中杯
Large coffee: dà bēi 大杯

Starbucks coffee sizing:

Short: xiǎo bēi 小杯
Tall: zhōng bēi 中杯
Grande: dà bēi 大杯 ／biāo zhǔn bēi 標準杯
Venti: Chāodà bēi 超大杯

In order to increase revenue, the 'short' coffee size (小杯 xiǎo bēi) isn't usually displayed on the counter at Starbucks. Frequently what this means is that if you point at the smallest cup on the counter and say "我要一杯小杯咖啡"（Wǒ yào yībēi xiǎo bēi kā fēi, I want a small cup of coffee) , the nice barista will answer "對不起，這是中杯" (Duì bù qǐ, zhè shì zhōng bēi。Sorry, this is a tall.)

Describe your coffee in Chinese

Instead of "咖啡" (Kā fēi，Coffee), use one of the more descriptive words below. If you would like your drink iced or flavoured you simply add "冰" (bīng, iced ) and your flavour before your coffee type. For example, Iced mocha is "冰摩卡" (bīng mó kǎ).

Coffee types in Chinese

Espresso: yì shì nóng suō 意式濃縮
Double Espresso: shuāng fèn yì shì nóng suō 雙份意式濃縮
Americano: měi shì kā fēi 美式咖啡
Black Coffee: hēi kā fēi 黑咖啡
Cappucino: kǎ bù qí nuò 卡布奇諾
Latté: ná tiě 拿鐵
Mocha: mó kǎ 摩卡
Macchiato: mǎ qí duǒ 瑪奇朵

Chinese Coffee flavours

Caramel: jiāo táng 焦糖
Vanilla: xiāng cǎo 香草
Hazelnut: zhēn zi 榛子
Chocolate: qiǎo kè lì 巧克力
Mango: máng guǒ 芒果
Cherry: yīng táo 櫻桃
Peppermint: bò hé 薄荷
Cinnamon: ròu guì 肉桂

Coffee customizations

These are some of the possible customizations you can have with your coffee. Of course, there are many crazy coffee customizations that aren't included.

Whipped Cream: xiān nǎi yóu 鮮奶油
Milk: niú nǎi 牛奶
Skinny: dī zhī niú nǎi 低脂牛奶
Dry: duō nǎi pào, shǎo nǎi 多奶泡，少奶
Wet: shǎo nǎi pào, duō nǎi 少奶泡，多奶
Decaf: dī kā fēi yīn 低咖啡因

Coffee to go?

Finally, you can end up with "To go"(dǎ bāo 打包) or "Here" (zài zhè lǐ yòng 在這里用)

Example of a full Chinese sentence

I would like a medium skinny latte with a double shot.
Nǐ hǎo, wǒ yào yī bēi zhōng bēi ná tiě, yào shuāng fèn nóng suō, dī zhī niú nǎi.
你好，我要一杯中杯拿鐵，要雙份濃縮，低脂牛奶。

Source: goeastmandarin.com
Editor: wanwan