_{Image source}

Buongiorno Steemians!

I'm imagining sipping foamy cappuccino at one of the bars in Italy....mmm what an amazing treat!

Talking about coffee bars in Italy, in Malaysia we refer places to have a cup of our local coffee as coffee shops/kedai kopi (malay)/kopi tiam (chinese hokkien dialect). Even then, our coffee are prepared differently from the west. Malaysian coffees are made with liberica beans which is usually roasted in butter/margarine and sugar. Its generally dark and robust and brewed using a cloth filter to filter out the grounds, and coffee is usually taken with sugar, condensed(sweetened) milk or evaporated milk.

Like every country in the world, Malaysia has the its own unique yet challenging way of ordering a cuppa. Do take note that letters that come with the drink like 'C', 'O', 'kosong' are like codes that unlock secrets to how you like your drink and the list is pretty comprehensive

_{Image source}

Here’s how to order a cup of local kopi;

Coffee – Kopi this is hot coffee, with sugar, and condensed milk; so it doesn't mean black coffee

Black coffee – Kopi O (the O is pronunced 'awe')

Coffee with evaporated milk – Kopi C ("C" in hainanese dialect means "fresh")

Iced coffee – Add ‘ping’ at the end ("ping" in mandarin means "ice")

Extra thick coffee – Add ‘kau’ at the end ("kau" in hokkien dialect means "thick")

Sugarless coffee – Add ‘kosong’ at the end ("kosong" in malay language means "empty")

Less sugar – kurang manis

Take away – bungkus or ta pao

It could also be best describe using the infographic below;

_{Image Source}

Therefore in Sabah or Malaysia, one can say almost all the dialects in a single order.

"Satu kopi C kau kosong ping" - One extra thick ice coffee with evaporated milk without sugar please!