To be feel a little bit annoyed when they ask me if I want milk with my Americano?

[said]

Um, obviously not, hence why I've specified an "Americano". I know whose fault it is - people asking for one and then asking for "a bit of milk" as well

OP YABU!

If I ask for a white coffee, I get a latte. One of my colleagues asks for a flat white, which turns out to be a latte with no froth which is still too milky for me. I like a black coffee with a tiny bit of milk. What I get is what they call an Americano with milk on the side. I don't care what they call it so long as I can drink it!

I like macchiato with a splash of milk

All the coffee shops sneer at me for this. I don't care - I am paying. I. Am. The.Customer. I'll order what I blardy well like. S'there.

i thought the whole point of a macchiato was that it already comes with a bit of milk in

Well, its supposed to. More often than not they put a bit of froth on top instead. I don't want froth. I want milk.

"it's hardly a big deal is it?"

^ This.

taffetacatski: the reason baristas may sneer at you when you ask for a macchiato with a splash of milk is because a macchiato is an esspresso with a splash of milk and foam in it.
If you want milk and no foam in it you should say id like milk rather then foam in it.

Yes, Tanso I do this. They normally point out that this isn't a macchiato its an espresso with a shot of milk. What.Ever.

I think maybe I just need to order an espresso and sneak in my own milk.

The problem is that many people like to think of themselves as coffee drinkers but don't actually like the taste so drink frothy milk with a tiny bit of coffee added. Therefore if you actually want white coffee you have to add the milk yourself - so my parents tell me anyway - personally I think that adding anything to a decent cup of coffee is sacrilege and an act only preformed by people who like ice in their whiskey.

If I had a pound for every time that I have had this conversation....

"One large black Americano please"

"Would you like milk"

"No, black"

..... I would be a wealthy woman

No you wouldn't, you'd still be a couple of pounds out of pocket ...

taffetacatski - When you said 'sneak in my own milk' I had a vision of you asking for an espresso, then getting a boob out to add the splash of milk... Although that would be warm milk obviously.

YCIR? Explain please and I will use it everywhere I can

Your coffee is ready?

"an act only preformed by people who like ice in their whiskey"

or like me, adding lemonade to my Southern Comfort !

Southern Comfort you can do what you like with NG! It's the single malts that people worry about

pmsl Limburg

< snorts macchiato up nose >

YCIR - Your complaint is ridiculous...coined by Tanso

I thought that Southern Comfort already had the lemonade added

Americano is the Italian name for 'Coffee served the way Americans like it'. So it's been around since there were lots of Americans in Italy and Italians in America.

We call it a black coffee in this country, don;t we?

What's wrong with black coffee? Filter coffee at a push.

I used to love it at the cafe where I worked when people would ask for a cappuccino 'without the froth'.

Thanks StealthPolarBear - was just about to say the same but you've done it for me "why do these sorts of threads always attract the "don't you have anything more important to worry about?" lot? Have you never posted a light hearted / trivial thread? You need to lighten up a bit and learn to join in with some of the less serious stuff"

Haven't read whole thread but IMO when you are paying in excess of £2 for a cup of coffee you can ask for it EXACTLY as you like it!

The local park cafe has a sign up which says "Our black coffee is served without milk. If you put milk into it, you will find it magically becomes white coffee. See menu for more details."

And YANBU, it's a stupid question.

In theory YANBU but in practice yes, you are. I always ask for an Americano with cream. Reason being, in most places you will have a choice of 'normal' coffee (that is not a cappuccino or a latte for example) being either from a filter machine or cafetiere, OR from the same machine as the espresso, with added water, ie. an Americano.

Therefore you need to specify which type of coffee you want first. Unless there is a separate Italian term for a long white coffee from the espresso machine, in which case I'd like to know it.

But coffee is very important! Yanbu to care about your coffee order and you did say you were only a little bit annoyed.

I've just had a lovely americano with cold milk on the side. So refreshing.