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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Coffee in baby chino

293 replies

nousername2 · 12/05/2023 08:57

Long story short but I ordered a baby chino at a soft play place and before I gave it to her I tried abit- which I never usually do but luckily I did as it tasted like coffee! Asked the barista and she said yes there was 2 shots of coffee in there! She didn't seem to know a baby chino was just frothy milk. If I had given my almost 18 month old a double shot of espresso I dread to think what would have happened!

Will be tasting them from now on but just thought I'd put the word out there that babychinos may contain coffee if the person making thinks it's literally a mini cappuccino.

This woman was very young and I've emailed the place to suggest the staff have more training 😵‍💫

OP posts:
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5
MonumentalLentil · 12/05/2023 19:38

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Improbablecat · 12/05/2023 19:41

I remember my mum buying these for my wee brother (who is in his mid 20s) as a tot. They were the cool new thing in the 90s.

Saying that, this has also happened to me! Thankfully my toddler took one swig and vociferously objected

Sissynova · 12/05/2023 19:44

Hummingbird10 · 12/05/2023 19:09

Just be an adult. Don’t worry about what they have written on their menu. This experience, as you say, has taught you to know that you should check the drink. One way to keep your child safe and avoid uncertainty is to tell your child you are ordering them a babyccino and request a frothy milk thus avoiding risk. It really is as simple as that.

What an odd comment, in what way is ordering something from a cafe’s menu not being an adult??

llamallama6384 · 12/05/2023 19:45

Lamelie · 12/05/2023 09:24

Reminds me of when I bought my primary school aged dcs a bottle of alcohol free Buck’s Fizz to celebrate the end of term. It wasn’t.
They were drunk as skunks 💃🎤🍾

This is hilarious and absolutely something my mum would have done.

She bought my friends as I WKD for a sleepover (year6) she thought they were posh soft drinks 😂

SimonsCow · 12/05/2023 19:52

LiquoriceAllsorts2 · 12/05/2023 19:37

Normally I try and use the name for things that they use on their menu, why would you not.

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This has made me laugh!! Can you imagine just describing everything you order in a cafe..

’Can I have a half coffee half milk hot drink with a load of foam?… oh and 2 slices of bread with some cheese in between them’

Sissynova · 12/05/2023 19:53

SimonsCow · 12/05/2023 19:52

This has made me laugh!! Can you imagine just describing everything you order in a cafe..

’Can I have a half coffee half milk hot drink with a load of foam?… oh and 2 slices of bread with some cheese in between them’

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You don’t want to be mistaken for middle class by asking for a cappuccino and a panini!

SleepingStandingUp · 12/05/2023 20:22

Hummingbird10 · 12/05/2023 19:09

Just be an adult. Don’t worry about what they have written on their menu. This experience, as you say, has taught you to know that you should check the drink. One way to keep your child safe and avoid uncertainty is to tell your child you are ordering them a babyccino and request a frothy milk thus avoiding risk. It really is as simple as that.

So tell the kids "I'll get you a babyccino, a cheese sandwich and a fruit pot" then ask the batista for a cup of frothy milk but with some cold milk in, two slices of white bread buttered with cheese on, and a selection of fruit cut into small pieces?

ostentatiousocelot · 12/05/2023 20:31

I raised an eyebrow the first time I heard of one (SIL ordered one for nephew). Then I had DC myself and realised that they're actually a great idea. Independent cafe versions are almost never free ime (have been known to charge up to £1.50, though I don't really mind as long as they're not the really miniscule ones). They're good because it's a way of making your small children feel grown up and sophisticated while giving them something healthy. The alternatives on offer for kids are usually awful - big cartons of sugary juice/"juice drinks", or enormous hot chocolates - most cafes don't even offer smaller hot chocolates for young children, just the adult size ones. I don't want my preschoolers drinking such a large amount of sugar every time we visit a coffee shop. "A glass of warm milk" wouldn't really cut it past the age of about 2, nor is it usually even on the menu, but a coffee cup like mummy's with an exotic looking foamy drink with chocolate and cinnamon sprinkled on top (in a pattern, if they're lucky) is still exciting to them for quite a while. And they're a very affordable treat. I'm a total convert.

SnackSizeRaisin · 12/05/2023 20:36

Begsthequestion · 12/05/2023 10:11

Again, I imagine if they do, the non-middle class ones just order warm milk.

Nuances.

Show quote history

Lol. The non middle class ones would give them some fizzy pop in their bottle and a bag of crisps not warm milk. Apart from it's a very middle class thing for a dad to take a child to a cafe so in reality I doubt that would happen. Ever. If we're doing classist stereotypes.

Anyway a babyccino is not the same as warm milk. It's like the difference between a coffee with milk and a cappuccino.

Questionsforyou · 12/05/2023 20:41

herringboner · 12/05/2023 14:30

@Questionsforyou

If you don't have the spare cash, do you buy yourself a coffee then? Or do you just go in and ask for a frothy warm milk? Genuinely curious.

To the others saying im angry, it was a lighthearted joke. Chill😂

Yes you have to buy a coffee, you can't just get a free drink. So sometimes I get a coffee and my 4 year old gets a babyccino.

Hugespoonofpeanutbutter · 12/05/2023 21:02

My Dd had one today in Starbucks, was almost €2 😳

GirlOfTudor · 12/05/2023 21:06

So I definitely thought the title was referring to a baby in a pair of chinos 😂
Maybe the staff member misheard what you said and thought you said cappuccino?
I personally wouldn't expect a soft play area to serve babycinos. I wouldn't even know what they were if it weren't for me watching a random American blogger get one for her daughter. I wouldn't expect others to know what they are.

MenoRageisReal · 12/05/2023 22:27

MaidOfSteel · 12/05/2023 12:16

Just when I thought coffee, with its many aliases, couldn't get any more pretentious.

It's not coffee. That's the point Grin

MenoRageisReal · 12/05/2023 22:28

SparklyBlackKitten · 12/05/2023 12:25

Just stop ordering this rediculous baby chinos in the first place.

As ridiculous as your spelling? Confused

MenoRageisReal · 12/05/2023 22:40

Hummingbird10 · 12/05/2023 19:02

Then tell your child you are ordering a babyccino and request a cup of frothy milk!!!! Is it so important to you to use the phrase babyccino to a barista that you are prepared to risk your child being given a shot of caffeine? Please try ti be sensible. This is ridiculous

Anyone trained and worthy of the name barista in the U.K. in the last 15 + years will know exactly what a babyccino is.

Sounds like a new trainee at OP's soft play.

Hummingbird10 · 12/05/2023 22:46

I don’t think I should have used the phrase Barista. My daughter worked in a soft play area cafe as a teen with about half an hour of training. Let’s face it they are not baristas in soft play areas, they are poorly paid and poorly supported staff. We have to take some personal responsibility for our choices. I have ordered babyccinos for my kids and I have always checked what’s in them.

ScottBakula · 12/05/2023 22:54

OctopusComplex · 12/05/2023 12:12

Apparently they've been around for 20 odd years, starting in Australia, which makes sense because 17 yr old ds had them as a toddler in Sydney.

All this bickering is ridiculous.

Attached is some info from coffee professionals.

What is a babyccino

I'm so fed up with people saying if they've never heard of something or doesn't exist, or no one should be expected to know it. The pride in knowing LESS is just so sad.

@OctopusComplex , thank you ! , at last,, amongst the sniping , name calling and finger pointing posts on this thread you have come up with the most straight forward and sensible aswer.😉

A babycchino/ babychino/ babycappa or however you want you say /spell it imo is fine as a way to keep your LO happy as you have a brew , as a insta / fb / making memories post please stop it * *

Hummingbird10 · 12/05/2023 22:58

I’m not angry. It’s you who used the phrase horrified (understandably) and you who posted originally because you were angry about what happened. Now you are irritated when people express different views to your own which is inevitable when you post on Mumsnet. If anyone needs to chill, it’s you.

ScottBakula · 12/05/2023 23:00

nousername2 · 12/05/2023 19:25

Wow. Mumsnet never ceases to amaze me. Why are people getting so worked up ffs. Bottom line is- it shouldn't have happened. Some of you have never heard of a baby chino. Don't know why you're getting so worked up this clearly dosent concern you.
This person shouldn't have made one if she didn't know what it was. Also she should know because she works there.

Some really nasty comments. Absolutely no need.

@Hummingbird10 chill. I ordered what was written on the menu. I don't know why you're so angry ffs

@Thinkingpod aren't you a delight

There is a whole lot of knickers getting twisted over a coffee here isn't there

Oooh sorry a mlik frothed drink 🙄

SleepingStandingUp · 12/05/2023 23:14

Hugespoonofpeanutbutter · 12/05/2023 21:02

My Dd had one today in Starbucks, was almost €2 😳

That's not right, really. I order them fairly frequently for my twins. It should def be free for just the babychinno, and not much for baby hot choc. Did you have extra stuff like marshmallows?

Hummingbird10 · 13/05/2023 01:10

I’m not referring to that but to the reaction.

Sissynova · 13/05/2023 07:02

@GirlOfTudor I personally wouldn't expect a soft play area to serve babycinos. I wouldn't even know what they were if it weren't for me watching a random American blogger get one for her daughter.

Just because you didn’t know what they are doesn’t mean they are not common place in cafes that cater to lots of young children!
They are probably the most common drinks for 1-3 year olds so not expecting a soft play to serve them isn’t the same as not knowing what they are.

Nanny0gg · 13/05/2023 13:30

MonumentalLentil · 12/05/2023 15:30

Maybe if it was called what it is the mistake wouldn't happen. It's a stupid name for a warm milk and asking to be made as a little coffee.

There's nothing in the word that actually means 'coffee'

Nofurme · 13/05/2023 18:24

shammalammadingdong · 12/05/2023 09:06

Well, a cappucino is coffee, and a babycino just sounds like a tiny cappucino. If it's just frothy milk why is called such a stupid name?

Exactly this!

Mrssu · 13/05/2023 18:46

PuttingDownRoots · 12/05/2023 09:11

Babycinnos were available 11years ago when my now Secondary school child was a toddler. Normal... hot frothy milk. And chocolate, with a bit of chocolate powder in. I remember Costa charged 50p for them!

Costa does the hot chocolate ones...60p I think perfect little treat!

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