The Language of Coffee.

"When traveling with someone, take large does of patience and tolerance with your morning coffee." 
~ Helen Hayes

Photographer Unknown

When traveling domestically, this advice is easy to follow. Drive through a Starbucks or Caribou Coffee and order a beverage. The trip continues without the added drama of the uncaffeinated.

Traveling abroad is another story.
On a tour of Europe you could encounter over 230 spoken languages. 

In the European Union there are
23 official languages: Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish and Swedish.

I have tried to learn Spanish, French and Latin.

After three semesters of Latin in college, all I can remember is what Dead Poets Society taught me:
agricola, agricolae, agricolas, agricolas, agricolatis, agricolatus.
The ability to parse the latin word for farmer won't help me order coffee.

My best friend from high school now lives in Austria. My husband and I have plans to visit her in the next couple years. Coffee will be a necessity against jet lag. 

What to do to get coffee when you can't speak the language? Charades? Mime? 

While these two options may be successful, the embarrassment might not be affordable. 

Using pantomime to get a cup of coffee is bad enough, but the embarrassment will last only a short while. However, the pictures friends or family will take of your desperation for coffee will last forever. 

I have compiled a few key phrases to prevent international embrassment.
Learn what you can say in French, Italian and German to order coffee.

French 
Is there a coffeehouse nearby?
Y a-t-il un café tout près? 

An espresso, please. 
Un café espresso, s'il vous plaît.

I would like to take it intravenously. 
Je le voudrais en intraveineuse.

A black coffee, please.
Un café noir, s'il vous plaît.

I am about to fall asleep.
Je suis sur le point de tomber de sommeil.

Italian
An espresso, please. 
Un caffè, per favore.

An espresso laced with brandy, please.
Un caffè corretto, per favore.

An espresso macchiato, please.
Un caffè macchiato, per favore.

I'd like a double cappuccino, please.
Vorrei un doppio cappuccino, per favore.

A black coffee, please.
Un caffè nero, per favore.

I am about to fall asleep.
Sto circa per cadere addormentato.

German
Is there a coffeehouse nearby?
Gibt es hier ein Café in der Nähe?
 
An espresso, please. 
Einen Espresso, bitte.

A latte, please.
Einen Milchkaffee, bitte.

I'd like a double cappuccino, please.
Ich hätte gern einen doppelten Cappuccino, bitte.

A mocha, please.
Einen Mokka, bitte.

A black coffee, please.
Einen schwarzen Kaffee, bitte.

I am about to fall asleep.
Ich schlafe gleich ein.

Coffee may be a global commodity, but language isn't universal.

Even if bad pronunciation abandons you to face jet lag coffeeless, the written word can save you. 
Print the list and place it in a pocket. It is as valuable as your passport.

I would love to here your coffee adventures, international and domestic. Share them in the comments box below or email me directly at sarahjorichards@gmail.com.

Coffee Shops: Logic vs. Emotions

First loves are hard to forget and so are second ones.
What if you could have both on the same night?

photographer unknown

My first love was my first boyfriend who gave me my first kiss. I married that man, so it is hard to forget my first love.

My second love is coffee.

It was a winter's night in Minnesota during college when I went into my first cafe. My husband, then boyfriend, and I were waiting for a bus to take us back to campus but it didn't come.

To say that night was a cold winter's night would be redundant. Winters in Minnesota would stop New Englanders from calling their  winters bitterly cold.

The warm glow from a cafe promised to fog up my glasses the instant I walk through. I couldn't see, but I can still remember the smell. Nothing had ever been so delightfully aromatic.

I ordered my first peppermint mocha. It warmed my body from the inside, filled me with holiday cheer and gave me the energy to keep warm by jumping until the bus finally came.

Seasonal drinks like a pumpkin spiced latte or a peppermint mocha might be what draws us through the doors of some cafes,but what is it that keeps us going back to coffee shops?

It is...cheaper at home.
A medium espresso based drink cost about $4. If you get one four times a week it equals $16/week and adds up to $832/year. The cost of an mid grade espresso machine with a steamer will pay for itself in less than 2 months. Saving you $700/year.

It is...healthier to do it yourself.
At home you can make espresso based drinks and flavor them with syrups just like a barista in a cafe does. Being able to control the amount of cream, sugar and syrups that go into you drink makes a home cafe a healthier option.  (Espresso Based Drink Guide)

It is...Eco friendly.
In the morning it is difficult to take a coffee mug on the road. A drive through cafes offer an alternative, paper cups with plastic lids and a cardboard sleeve. These three things, can be purchased in grocery stores, Target and other retailers, but so can travel mugs and reusable sleeves.

If consumers take the time to recycle these disposable coffee cups and utilize reusable sleeve options instead of using travel mugs, this becomes an Eco friendly addition to your home cafe.

The budget, health and need for environmental responsibilities are not in favor of coffee shops.
Logically, a home cafe makes perfect sense, but the strong emotions of a first or second love leave little room for logic. 

So, what is it that keeps driving  us out of our kitchens and back into coffee shops?

It is the atmosphere.

Coffee shops are a place to meet up with friends and family. A place for business meetings. A place of inspiration for the artistic. They are a  place to be with others.

Life is not meant to be lived alone.

People gather in bars and clubs as well, and it isn't always for the alcohol. Personally, I do not like bars or clubs. The light is to hectic or dim. Music is always too loud and the drinks are expensive for the bad taste. The atmosphere isn't as good as a cafe.

I never feel comfortable, because wasn't in the company of like minded people held together through a commonality, coffee.

I love solitude. I revel in a calming atmosphere where I can hold more than one thought in my head. Sometime though, I feel the need to surrounded by people sharing a common interest.

This is the is why we spend up to $10 for a drink we could have made ourselves at home for a fraction of the price, because we take away more than just coffee or seasonal drinks.

We gain a sense of community,  a sense of belonging.

In my first love, I didn't marry a perfect person, nor did I with my second love, coffee. With emotions driving logic off the road, the important thing is to see the imperfect perfectly.

What makes you go to coffee shops? I would love to hear you answers. Use the comments box below or email me directly at sarahjorichards@gmail.com.