A1German

Ordering Coffee at a Café

Use these phrases to order drinks, choose your cup size and milk, and pay at a German café counter.

Key Phrases

Voice
Ordering coffee · 2 ways to say it

Einen Kaffee, bitte.

casual

A coffee, please.

Short, natural, and very common at a busy counter.

Ich nehme einen Kaffee.

neutral

I will have a coffee.

A standard, complete sentence to place your order.

Asking for tea

Haben Sie auch Tee?

neutral

Do you also have tea?

Use this to check for tea options on the menu.

Specifying the size · 2 ways to say it

Groß, bitte.

casual

Large, please.

Quick, direct response when asked for your cup size.

Einen großen Becher, bitte.

neutral

A large cup, please.

Asking for milk options

Haben Sie Hafermilch?

neutral

Do you have oat milk?

Standard question when asking for a plant-based alternative.

Ordering to take away · 2 ways to say it

To go, bitte.

casual

To go, please.

Widely used and completely normal in German cafés.

Ich nehme den Kaffee to go.

neutral

I will take the coffee to go.

Asking the price · 2 ways to say it

Was macht das?

casual

How much is that?

Very common spoken question to ask for the total price.

Was kostet das?

neutral

How much does that cost?

Paying by card

Ich zahle mit Karte.

neutral

I am paying by card.

Say this before presenting your card to the terminal.

Saying thank you

Danke schön!

polite

Thank you very much!

Polite fixed formula when receiving your drink.

Practice Dialogue

Customer
Hallo! Einen Kaffee, bitte.
Barista
Gerne. Groß oder klein?
Customer
Groß, bitte. Haben Sie Hafermilch?
Barista
Ja, natürlich. Hier oder to go?
Customer
To go, bitte.
Barista
Alles klar. Das macht vier Euro.
Customer
Ich zahle mit Karte.
Barista
Das geht. Hier ist der Kaffee.
Customer
Danke schön!
Barista
Einen schönen Tag! Tschüss!

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