ESL Podcast 795 - Ordering Coffee and Tea

decaf - decaffeinated; without caffeine (the substance that makes people feel alert and awake)

Xander can only drink decaf in the evening, or else he has trouble falling asleep.

coffee - a drink made from passing hot water over ground coffee beans

Hal begins each day with a cup of hot coffee.

to go - to be packaged so that one can eat or drink something outside of the store or restaurant where it is sold

Are you going to sit at a table, or do you want this to go?

roast - a measure of how long the coffee beans have been cooked over a hot fire, especially how dark in color they appear

This is a medium-roast coffee with flavors of chocolate and cinnamon.

drip - coffee that is brewed (made) by passing hot water over ground coffee beans; the way coffee is typically made in someone's home

This drip coffee is really bitter. I think you used too much coffee and not enough water.

espresso - very strong, dark coffee made by pushing steam (hot water vapor) through coffee beans very quickly

Many people like to drink espresso after their meal.

Americano - a drink made by adding hot water to a small amount of espresso

The coffee shop didn't have any brewed coffee, so they made me an Americano for the same price.

latte - a drink made by putting espresso in a cup and then adding steamed milk that has a lot of air in it

Jillian's favorite drink is a vanilla latte.

room - space; an area that is set aside for some particular purpose

Do you have room in your garage to store these boxes for a few months?

cream - a high-fat dairy product; the fatty substance that rises to the top of a container of cow's milk

Yevgeny's doctor told him to try to lower his cholesterol by using nonfat milk instead of cream in his morning coffee.

sweetener - a substance that makes something taste sweeter, such as sugar, honey, and saccharin

People with diabetes need to use artificial sweeteners instead of real sugar.

pump - the amount of liquid dispensed (released from a bottle) by pushing the top of the bottle down one time

Becca uses one pump of lotion for her face and neck, and another pump for her elbows.

syrup - a thick, sweet liquid used to sweeten other foods

Do you want some maple syrup on your pancakes?

packet - a small container made from paper or cardboard, usually containing a single portion (something meant to be used or eaten by one person at one time)

Just pour the contents of the packet into a 20-ounce bottle of water to make lemonade.

sugar - glucose, fructose, sucrose, etc.; a sweet-tasting substance with the chemical formula CnH2nOn

How many teaspoons of sugar are in a can of regular soda?

foam - many very small bubbles in a liquid; froth

Why do these ocean waves have so much foam on them?

to start over - to begin again, usually because one's first attempt failed

About one minute into her speech for her Italian class, Candy forgot what she had planned to say. She asked, "Can I start over?"

loose leaf - small pieces of dried tea leaves that are put in hot water to make a cup of tea

Randy used too much loose leaf tea, so the drink was really strong.

tea bag - small pieces of dried tea leaves that are held in a small paper bag that is put in hot water to make a cup of tea

Mariah's tea had a lot of small pieces floating in it, because the tea bag broke open.