Café Staff Vocabulary 1

Vocabulary exercise for café staff and baristas — essential English for café service.

Vocabulary in context

Coffee culture has developed its own language so quickly and so specifically that working in a café without knowing it can feel like starting a new job in a foreign country. Flat white, cortado, pour-over, single origin, extraction time — these are not just drink names, they're part of a vocabulary that customers use fluently and expect staff to match. But café English also includes the broader hospitality vocabulary of taking orders, handling payments, managing queues, and the pastry and food terms that come up at the counter every day. This exercise builds both sides of that vocabulary so that working a busy café counter in English feels natural rather than stressful.

Ready to practice? Let's go!

Fill in each blank with the correct word. If both words can be used, choose the one that sounds more natural in each situation.

1. All of our coffee drinks are espresso- (rooted/based).

2. This drink has two (shots/shoots) of espresso. It's very strong.

3. The milk is on the little table at the end of the (counter/floor).

4. A tip- (jar/compartment) is a container where customers can leave tips for baristas.

5. (Decaf/Caffeinated) is short for "decaffeinated."

6. If someone is lactose- (intolerant/introspective) it means that they can't drink milk.

7. This is the smallest (size/dimension) cup we have.

8. A (hot/heat) cup is a paper cup that is designed to hold hot liquids like coffee.

9. Starbucks is an example of a (chain/keychain). ( = a cafe/restaurant which has multiple locations)

10. Your coffee will be in a ready in a (couple/few) of minutes. I'll call you.

11. An Americano is a shot of espresso (poured/placed) into a glass of hot water.

12. If you prefer, we can (substitute/change) the regular milk with soy milk.

13. Our muffins are (baked/cooked) fresh every morning.

14. All of our coffees are made from high- (worth/quality) beans.

15. Make sure you grind the coffee beans right before you (brew/do) the coffee.

16. A cappuccino is a combination of coffee, (steamed/steam) milk, and foam.

17. Milk foam is commonly referred to as "" (froth/freight).

18. This is our most (populist/popular) coffee. = This is the coffee that we sell the most.

19. All the tables inside are occupied, but our outside (patio/zone) has plenty of free tables.

20. "" (Java/Brownie) is a very common slang word for "coffee."