Take a flask

[Frogslegs]

Absolutely fed up with ordering coffee and not getting what I want...ask for a petite cafe creme and often it is served up in a thimble. Sometimes there is no choice between the thimble size and a huge cup. Often the milk is served cold. Often the coffee is cold. Cups have been sent back because of cracks and stains. As for tea....don't even start me there....how difficult is it to provide a pot...that has been prewarmed....and with tea leaves? So I am going to take a flask of filtered coffee (black) and save myself £2.00-£3.50....yes I still think in ££££s after all these years. and will have a decent cup of tea on my return.

[Belle]

Absolutely, Frogslegs, we have been taking a flask of coffee out with us for months now, gave up asking for tea, coffee, and chocolate, all arrived cold, and a waste of money.

[Anton Redman]

There I was thinking it was brandy. My pet hate is paying bar prices to use a mini bar in a hotel room. So normally end up smugling flask of brany and a canned ginger ale for Isabel's aperitif.

[Maricopa]

[quote user="Frogslegs"]Absolutely fed up with ordering coffee and not getting what I want...ask for a petite cafe creme ....... So I am going to take a flask of filtered coffee (black)[/quote]

If you don't mind black coffee, why ask for a café crème?  Why not ask for a café, and save problems of it being cold etc[8-)]

Not a criticism, genuine confusion.

[Chancer]

Frogslegs.

It sounds like you have been served with exactly what you asked for, perhaps you really wanted a large café with a little crême?

I think that you are being unreasonable to expect a cup of tea served in the (English) way that you are used to, the French definitely have their own ideas about tea, I dont like their type of tea so never ask for it, I know that I cannot try to change the taste of the nation.

I do sympathise with you especially if it is your language or accent causing the problem, throughout the length of Latin America I never managed to get (what I call) a decent cup of coffee, the first reason being that all the decent stuff is exported and most cafes sell instant, the second being that no matter how many times I asked in properly accented Spanish for a "café con poco poco leché" (a coffee with a tiny bit of milk) the very mention of the word milk was guaranteed to get me a coffee made entirely of almost cold milk.

Not once did I succeed, so much for my intensive course of Spanish although I had no other real problems and was able to get my coffee fix when I got to New Zealand.

[Âme]

"Un crème, svp"

On the Riviera, I get a cafe au lait (hot milk). In other places I've received a coffee with cold cream, or what I'd call a noisette; an expresso with a dash of cream/milk.

I was told (by an English person) that NOBODY says café au lait these days; that it is schoolboy French. I disagree. If you want café au lait then ask for un café au lait chaud. It never hurts to explain what you want clearly.  If what you want is a single expresso in a medium cup

filled up with hot milk, then specify that.

BTW  'un petit crème'...?? I think saying 'petit' specifies a thimble.

un petit café = un expresso

un crème = (usually) un café au lait = tea cup sized cup, made with a single expresso and hot milk

un grand crème = (usually) un grand café au lait = mug capacity cup, double expresso and hot milk

Forget tea. [Www]

[Théière]

How about a Latte [6]

[Âme]

Ask for a latte in Italy...  but only if you want a glass of milk.

[Stan Streason]

OK whilst people are talking about this.

I must admit in some cases I get muddled between the correct way to pronounce and ask for certain things in Spain/France/Italy.

So please, in France what is a double espresso?   (2 shots - nothing else).  I will probably find I have been asking for it in Italian for years.

Thanks

[Frogslegs]

Un creme? I shall try asking for that and see if it works, however in 7 years of asking different establishments sometimes they only have two size cups...the expresso size and the very large. Sometimes they give me the large cup but with just one shot of black and I fill up the rest with milk.

 Why do I take the flask of black coffee?...I prefer black coffee..but if I order in a cafe it makes a change, and sometimes the coffee is so bl***y strong!

 As for being unreasonable? If I go in to a salon de the.....I expect a decent cup of tea....not with a bag of tasteless tea that resembles  the contents of an ashtray!

As for explaining or for that matter complaining if I do not get what I have requested? Have you ever tried to complain in France.....a line from a film I saw recently, Russel Crowe said "remember in France...the customer is always wrong"[:D]

[Âme]

[quote user="Stan Sreason"]OK whilst people are talking about this.So please, in France what is a double espresso?   (2 shots - nothing else).  [/quote]

Caffè doppio = double expresso

I'd ask for 'un double express' (pronounced: an doobl' ess-press)

I am a bit confused about the spelling of espresso.  It is often spelt expresso in English and French. [8-)]

[dave21478]

Grande creme = big cup of coffee with milk, petit creme = small cup of coffee with milk. I only use these phrases and have never had a problem anywhere yet.

Asking for tea is pointless, as I guarantee you, you will never, ever get an "english tea" in france (assuming its not an english owned place!), no matter what you tell them. French tea is different. Take it or leave it, but dont expect them to produce something they dont know.

 

[Frogslegs]

Take it or leave it, but dont expect them to produce something they dont know.

I only drink Earl Grey without milk so never ask for English tea! Why open a salon de the if you can not even warm a pot?[:(]

[Clair]

[quote user="Frogslegs"]Why open a salon de the if you can not even warm a pot?[:(][/quote]

Because they can??? Presumably they also sell chocolate, ice-cream, cakes, coffee.....

Your idea of tea-making is British, but this is France.

If you already know that tea from a salon de thé is not going to be to your satisfaction, why keep ordering it? [8-)]

[Martin963]

With regard to taking a flask,  it was a long time before it was suggested to us to take one full of HOT WATER  rather than tea/coffee/soup etc.

That was about 16 years ago,   I don't know why we hadn't thought of it.    It has transformed my enjoyment of tea out and about,   as with a source of hot water one can make something - or indeed anything - fresh and delicious.   So we keep a supply of tea (all sorts),  coffee, etc in the car and take the flask and fresh cold milk with us whenever we're out for more than a couple of hours.   SWMBO can have coffee,   I have my tea.   Everyone happy.    And the flasks don't get tainted.

We have two jumbo-size flasks bought at Lidl,  so even the Britain to Perigord drive is well catered for with nearly 4 litres of hot water on board.

Problem is we've done this for so long that it doesn't give us the chance to save any money now there's a recession, as we're already doing it.

But it saves on having to have tea "out" as well;   I always considered tea in a National Trust Tea Shoppe the closest to hell on earth I knew,   but then I'm a bit peculiar at the best of times.

Now if it had been beer coming out of those teapots........

[Chancer]

[quote user="Frogslegs"]

 As for being unreasonable? If I go in to a salon de the.....I expect a decent cup of tea....not with a bag of tasteless tea that resembles  the contents of an ashtray!

[/quote]

It was me that suggested that your view was unreasonable, I am now more convinced.

Your definition of a decent cuppa may well be generally agreed with in the UK, but why in another country?

After 7 years I am surprised that you still visit Salon de thé's expecting something that you are never likely to find.

If you are rellly desperate then I suggest that you visit my area, there are a few "tea rooms" that cater for British tourists.

 

[Scooby]

[quote user="Stan Sreason"]

OK whilst people are talking about this.

I must admit in some cases I get muddled between the correct way to pronounce and ask for certain things in Spain/France/Italy.

So please, in France what is a double espresso?   (2 shots - nothing else).  I will probably find I have been asking for it in Italian for years.

Thanks

[/quote]

un café largeur

[chessfou]

[quote]un café largeur[/quote]

? wossat? a single espresso with a half of Carlsberg in it?

[Mr Coeur de Lion]

[quote user="Âme"][quote user="Stan Sreason"]OK whilst people are talking about this.So please, in France what is a double espresso?   (2 shots - nothing else).  [/quote]

Caffè doppio = double expresso

I'd ask for 'un double express' (pronounced: an doobl' ess-press)

I am a bit confused about the spelling of espresso.  It is often spelt expresso in English and French. [8-)]

[/quote]

If it is spelt expresso in English, then the person who has spelt it that way is wrong. It is spelt espresso. I guess the French spell it expresso to annoy the Italians.

[Scooby]

[quote user="chessfou"][quote]un café largeur[/quote]

? wossat? a single espresso with a half of Carlsberg in it?[/quote]

Not actually a double espresso but an espresso with a equal quantity of hot water added to it.  Neighbour suggested it so now we often order one to have with our croissant from the nearby bakery (usually when we are in the village early on market day).

[Clair]

[quote user="Scooby"][quote user="chessfou"][quote]un café largeur[/quote]

? wossat? a single espresso with a half of Carlsberg in it?[/quote]

Not actually a double espresso but an espresso with a equal quantity of hot water added to it.  Neighbour suggested it so now we often order one to have with our croissant from the nearby bakery (usually when we are in the village early on market day).[/quote]

I have never heard the expression either, but the description would match what I would call un américain / américano (an expresso with added hot water).

If I wanted a large expresso, I'd ask for either un expresso long  / un grand expresso / un grand noir (longer shot of hot water) or un double expresso (self-explanatory).

[Martin963]

I do feel like the poor country mouse with you lot describing all these drinks I've never even *heard* of.

Mind you,  someone had to explain to me recently what a Starbucks was.

Maybe I've been taking this flask business a bit far.   At least it costs me next to nothing.   Even if I can't save any more money than I already do.

[Âme]

[quote user="LyndaandRichard"]If it is spelt expresso in English, then the person who has spelt it that way is wrong. It is spelt espresso. I guess the French spell it expresso to annoy the Italians.

[/quote]

[:D][:D]

[Stan Streason]

[quote user="Clair"][quote user="Scooby"][quote user="chessfou"][quote]un café largeur[/quote]

? wossat? a single espresso with a half of Carlsberg in it?[/quote]

Not actually a double espresso but an espresso with a equal quantity of hot water added to it.  Neighbour suggested it so now we often order one to have with our croissant from the nearby bakery (usually when we are in the village early on market day).[/quote]

I have never heard the expression either, but the description would match what I would call un américain / américano (an expresso with added hot water).

If I wanted a large expresso, I'd ask for either un expresso long  / un grand expresso / un grand noir (longer shot of hot water) or un double expresso (self-explanatory).

[/quote]

Thanks for this.  I gave been using both "grand" and "double" so appear to have been getting it right.  (I never know if I was getting it right or getting it wrong and the cafe owner thinking "I know I'll give the stupid Englishman the most bitter and unpalatable coffee there is (which of course just happened to be exactly what I wanted in the first place))

[Scooby]

[quote user="Clair"]

I have never heard the expression either, but the description would match what I would call un américain / américano (an expresso with added hot water).

[/quote]

That's what it is - an americano - as my daughter also informed me!