# Ordering a coffee in Spanish

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Updated 2026-10-23 · HTML version: https://learnwithkin.com/spanish/phrases/ordering-coffee

> In Spain, say *¿Me pone un café con leche, por favor?*; in Mexico and most of Latin America, *¿Me da un café americano, por favor?* Then answer *para tomar aquí* (to stay) or *para llevar* (to go), and ask *¿Cuánto es?* to pay.

Capitals mark the stressed syllable. Spanish vowels are short and clean: *a* as in father, *e* as in bet, *i* as in machine, *o* as in more, *u* as in rule.

## What to say

- **Buenos días.** (BWEH-nohs DEE-ahs): Good morning.
  Greet first, always; going straight to the order sounds abrupt. After lunch it's *buenas tardes*.
- **¿Me pone un café con leche, por favor?** (meh POH-neh oon kah-FEH kohn LEH-cheh, pohr fah-BOHR): Could I have a coffee with milk, please?
  Literally: "Will you put me a coffee with milk?"
  The usual way to order in Spain. It sounds odd translated, but it's warm and normal there.
- **¿Me da un café americano, por favor?** (meh DAH oon kah-FEH ah-meh-ree-KAH-noh, pohr fah-BOHR): Could I have an americano, please?
  Literally: "Will you give me an American coffee?"
  The everyday way to order in Mexico and most of Latin America. *¿Me pone…?* would mark you as someone who learned in Spain.
- **Quería un cortado.** (keh-REE-ah oon kohr-TAH-doh): I'd like a cortado.
  Literally: "I wanted a cortado."
  The past tense softens the request. Polite everywhere.
- **Con leche de avena, por favor.** (kohn LEH-cheh deh ah-BEH-nah, pohr fah-BOHR): With oat milk, please.
  Almond is *de almendra*; soy is *de soja* in Spain and *de soya* in Latin America.
- **Sin azúcar.** (seen ah-SOO-kahr): No sugar.
  In Spain the *z* sounds like the *th* in think: ah-THOO-kahr.
- **Para tomar aquí. · Para llevar.** (PAH-rah toh-MAHR ah-KEE · PAH-rah yeh-BAHR): To have here. · To go.
  In Mexico you'll also hear *para aquí*.
- **¿Cuánto es?** (KWAHN-toh EHS): How much is it?
- **¿Puedo pagar con tarjeta?** (PWEH-doh pah-GAHR kohn tahr-HEH-tah): Can I pay by card?
- **¿Me cobras?** (meh KOH-brahs): Can I pay?
  Literally: "Will you charge me?"
  Spain, at the bar, when you're ready to go. At a table in Latin America ask for *la cuenta, por favor*.

## What you'll hear

- **¿Qué te pongo?** (KEH teh POHN-goh): What can I get you?
  Literally: "What do I put you?"
  Spain. Bar staff use *tú* with almost everyone.
- **¿Qué va a querer?** (KEH bah ah keh-REHR): What would you like?
  Literally: "What are you going to want?"
  Polite *usted*, common in Mexico.
- **¿Para tomar aquí o para llevar?** (PAH-rah toh-MAHR ah-KEE oh PAH-rah yeh-BAHR): For here or to go?
- **¿Algo más?** (AHL-goh MAHS): Anything else?
  *Nada más, gracias* means that's all.
- **¿Con tarjeta o en efectivo?** (kohn tahr-HEH-tah oh ehn eh-fehk-TEE-boh): Card or cash?

## Which coffee is which


| Ask for | What you get |
| --- | --- |
| un café solo | an espresso (Spain); in Latin America ask for *un expreso* |
| un cortado | an espresso with a splash of milk |
| un café con leche | about half coffee, half hot milk |
| un americano | espresso topped up with hot water |
| un café de olla | Mexico: coffee brewed in a clay pot with cinnamon and *piloncillo* (raw cane sugar) |
| un carajillo | coffee with a shot of liquor, often brandy in Spain and Licor 43 in Mexico |
| un descafeinado | a decaf; in Spain, say *de máquina* if you don't want instant |

## Questions

### Is ¿me pone…? rude? It sounds like an order.

No. In Spain *¿me pone…?* is the normal, friendly way to order. It's the tone and the *por favor* that make it polite, not the verb.

### Should I use tú or usted with the barista?

In Spain, *tú* is normal in cafés. In Mexico, *usted* is the safer default with people you don't know, and the request forms on this page (*¿Me da…?*) work with either.

## Related

- [Meeting the family in Spanish](https://learnwithkin.com/spanish/phrases/meeting-the-family.md)
- [Numbers in Spanish](https://learnwithkin.com/spanish/numbers.md)
- [How long does it really take to learn Spanish?](https://learnwithkin.com/spanish/how-long-to-learn.md)

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