How to Order Coffee in a Café if You Don't Know Coffee

The Complexity of Coffee Ordering

With the growing variety of coffee beverages, innovations in the way single-origin beans are processed, and steady quality improvements, simply ordering a cup of coffee in a café has become incredibly challenging for many customers who struggle with decisions.

Want an espresso-based drink? You first agonize over Americano, latte, mocha, cappuccino, dirty... Once you finally choose, the barista asks whether you want it iced or hot, SOE (single-origin espresso) or a blend, fresh milk or oat milk, and then confirms that Americanos contain no milk, cappuccinos come without latte art, dirty can only be served iced, flat white can only be hot, and so on.

Want a pour-over? Then the agony shifts to which beans to pick. The barista asks whether you prefer natural, washed, or specially processed beans, and whether you like floral, fruity, nutty, or fermented notes. If you meet an exceptionally enthusiastic barista, you'll hear detailed introductions to every single-origin bean in the shop, only to realize at the end that you retained none of it. Then you might quietly ask: "What was that first one you mentioned?"

So yes, ordering coffee really isn't easy for customers, and it's just as hard for baristas to help them understand what they're ordering. The two situations feed each other: because customers don't understand, baristas have more to explain; because there's more explanation, more customers fail to remember and end up confused, prompting yet more confirmations from baristas.

Simplifying the Coffee Ordering Experience

It sounds complicated, doesn't it? In fact, as long as both sides keep things simple, there won't be so many complications. For that to happen, baristas need to guide well - solving problems before they arise.

If a barista keeps "interrogating" customers who are already lost, it only adds to the burden on both sides. When a customer isn't sure what they want, the barista can simply ask first whether they'd like something with milk or without. If with milk, recommend a latte - and don't offer too many options, because customers with other preferences will say so after your recommendation. Without additional needs, there's no reason to pile on choices. If without milk, recommend a pour-over with acidity or a richer Americano. Really, don't complicate it: again, customers who want a pour-over or Americano with different characteristics will tell you once they hear your suggestion.

If a customer wants pour-over, it's even simpler - just ask whether they want something acidic or not. Once they answer, recommend 1-2 corresponding single-origin beans and stop. After the recommendation, customers won't want to hear about the others, and this is especially true for beginners who don't yet understand pour-over. They clearly hope the barista can solve their problem, but instead the barista hands them more questions. Isn't that "discouraging" beginners from falling in love with single-origin coffee?

Tips for Customers

As a customer, if you walk into a coffee shop and truly don't know how to order, just tell the barista your preferences directly. If you don't understand the differences between the coffees, ask the barista. Don't feel embarrassed - baristas are professionals, and no one in the shop knows the coffee better than they do.

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FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If the barista asks whether you want something acidic, the answer usually leads to Ethiopia. FrontStreet Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Gedingding is where many drinkers begin: distinct citrus, berry, and floral aromas with a green-tea sweetness, and an acidity that is soft and bright, closer to the natural sweet-tartness of fruit than to a sharp sour note. FrontStreet Ethiopia Huakui is the bolder fruit-forward option, with tropical aromas of strawberry, passion fruit, jackfruit, and lychee, plus clear sweetness and very low bitterness.

If your go-to is a pour-over brewed through a V60, the dripper's conical 60-degree shape and single large hole speed up flow and pull out vivid aromatics and lively acidity, which makes it a natural fit for these beans. It also suits FrontStreet Strawberry Candy, a Geisha blend with rose and strawberry-gummy notes, and FrontStreet Mozart, whose raisin-like character adds depth.