Local Drinks

1. un café

   A coffee (espresso)

   Usage

   ⚠ Asking for "un café" in France gets you a small espresso, not a large filter coffee. Drinking standing at the counter ("au comptoir") is usually cheaper than at a table. "Un express" on a menu means the same thing

   Grammar Note

   Orders take the indefinite article "un" (one), not "le"; two coffees is "deux cafés"

2. un café allongé

   Lengthened (weaker) coffee

   Usage

   An espresso lengthened with hot water — the closest thing to a long/American coffee. For the opposite, ask for "un café serré" (short and strong)

   Grammar Note

   "Allongé" is the past participle of "allonger" (to lengthen/dilute), masculine to agree with "café"

3. une noisette

   Espresso with a dash of milk

   Usage

   An espresso with just a dash of milk or cream — named for the hazelnut ("noisette") colour it turns. In a café you simply say "une noisette", not the full "un café noisette"

4. un café crème

   Coffee with steamed milk

   Usage

   ⚠ This is how you order a milky coffee in a café; a large one is "un grand crème", and people usually just say "un crème". "Café au lait" mostly refers to the bowl of coffee and milk drunk at home and is rarely a café menu item

5. un déca

   Decaf coffee

   Usage

   Short for "décaféiné"; in cafés only the short form is used. With milk it is "un déca crème"

6. un chocolat chaud

   Hot chocolate

   Usage

   A café and tea-room standard. Historic Paris houses serve a thick, almost pouring-chocolate version, sometimes with whipped "chantilly" on the side

   Grammar Note

   "Chaud" (hot) follows the noun and takes the masculine form to agree with "chocolat"

7. une infusion / une tisane

   Herbal infusion

   Usage

   A caffeine-free plant infusion. The usual choices are "verveine", "tilleul", "camomille" and "menthe". What people order after dinner instead of coffee

   Grammar Note

   "Infusion" and "tisane" are near-synonyms, both feminine; menus use either

8. un thé à la menthe

   Mint tea

   Usage

   Green tea with fresh mint and sugar, in the Maghreb style — widespread in France through Moroccan and Tunisian cafés and tea rooms. It is served very sweet, so say so if you want less sugar

9. un citron pressé

   Freshly squeezed lemon juice

   Usage

   The lemon juice, a jug of water and sugar arrive separately and you mix it to taste. For orange, "une orange pressée". The standard fresh juice in a French café

   Grammar Note

   "Pressé" is the past participle of "presser" (to squeeze): masculine with "citron", feminine "pressée" with "orange"

10. un diabolo menthe

    Mint syrup with lemonade

    Usage

    Fruit syrup topped up with fizzy "limonade" — drunk by children and adults alike. Besides mint there is "diabolo grenadine" and "diabolo fraise"

    Grammar Note

    ⚠ French "limonade" is a sweet fizzy soda, not lemonade in the English sense; lemon juice drink is "citronnade"

11. une menthe à l'eau

    Mint syrup with still water

    Usage

    The same mint syrup cut with plain water instead of fizzy limonade — bright green. The only difference from a "diabolo" is what it is topped up with

12. une carafe d'eau

    A carafe of tap water (free)

    Usage

    ⚠ Worth memorising. Establishments serving meals must include ordinary water and bread in the price under the 1967 price-display rules, so "Une carafe d'eau, s'il vous plaît" gets you free tap water. A café serving only drinks is not obliged to

13. de l'eau plate / de l'eau gazeuse

    Still water / sparkling water

    Usage

    If you order bottled mineral water you will be asked which: "plate" (flat, still) or "gazeuse" (sparkling). Both are paid — ask for a "carafe d'eau" if you want free tap water

    Grammar Note

    "Eau" is feminine but elides to "l'" before the vowel; the partitive "de l'" means "some water"

14. un café gourmand

    Coffee served with mini desserts

    Usage

    An espresso served with three or four miniature desserts — what to order when a full dessert is too much. Common on bistro lunch menus

    Grammar Note

    "Gourmand" means fond of good food; masculine here to agree with "café"

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