So, my drink of choice at the moment is a mocha.
However, almost every time, seriously, I ask for a mocha, the person serving me responds by asking “Latte…?”, which sounds nothing like what I said. The first time it happened, it was funny, but it just keeps happening.
Or instead I may simply be served a latte, as the person serving is somehow sufficiently sure that I said that.
I don’t get it. Is there some Italian word maybe that sounds like mocha but means latte? (I’m aware that they are similar drinks though)
Actually, Italians use the word “moka” to refer to a stovetop espresso maker and sometimes “a moka” as a coffee made in of those. The word “mocha” meaning coffee, milk and chocolate doesn’t exist in Italian and I haven’t seen the drink served here either.
In an English speaking country, though, that usuge is common so I really don’t know why your waiters are having difficulties.
Ah, Wiki’s definition of Cafe mocha is that it’s usually a latte variant. Maybe they’re just confirming that you want a mocha latte versus “chocolate in some kind of coffee-type beverage.”
Hmm, a good theory but it doesn’t explain why I’ve even been served a (non-chocolate) latte a couple of times.
You know, I think I’ve figured this out just now – that it’s actually the decoration that I tend to give my requests that’s the problem:
e.g.
“Hi, could I have a mocha please?”
“Hello, I would like a mocha please.”
I try to say “mocha” super-clearly, but as a native english speaker, perhaps I spit out the padding too quickly (as they are very frequently used words), and I confuse the person serving me, who is rarely someone whose first language is english.
I’ll try to say the whole thing clearly or just be more terse
Thanks for the responses (to what was a very mundane pointless thing I had to share…)
Actually, I think you’re on to something, this happens to me all the time. I think it’s just that many more people order lattes than mochas combined with the fact that they are absolutely not listening to you. The way I know this is that I smirk in bemusement as I am asked and answer “No whip” approximately six times in any given 2 minute interaction.
I usually get a mocha because all coffee needs chocolate, IMHO.
I decided to push the envelope last week and ordered a Latte. I have never worked so long, so fast and so ZIIIIIPPPPPPP ever. It was like a moment of Zen, or something.
At the Taco Bell drive-through (so I get what I deserve), after placing my order, the automaton asks, “Hot or mild sauce?” I answer, “No sauce, please.” Then when I pull up: “That will be $5.97. Did you say hot or mild sauce?” “No sauce, please.” As they pack the napkins and receipt in the bag, yelling across the station out the window, “Hot or mild sauce?”
Meh, speaking as someone who’s had to work similar jobs, it really becomes routine to ask certain questions and there are a lot more people who complain that they were never offered something than those who complain that they were offered something after refusing it.
I don’t know why the baristas are confusing mocha and latte, though. That’s just weird. (That being said, I much prefer lattes to mochas. They always make em super sweet.)
Me too. That happens pretty much every single time I get a coffee from a store. I used to find it perplexing, then irritating, then amusing, and now it doesn’t even raise an eyebrow.
