Which classic coffee should a first-time visitor order?
Ordering at a coffee shop for the first time does not require knowing the whole menu. Describing the flavors you enjoy to the barista is enough, and most will analyze your preference and recommend something suitable. The approach mirrors a scene from the Korean drama The Glory, where a vague request for strong cold coffee becomes an iced americano with an extra shot.
Cafe americano coffee and similar standards are common choices for regulars because they are easy to adjust. In the drama, one character orders an iced americano and a hot mocha with light cream and extra chocolate sauce, showing how specific orders are built from simple components. Beginners can follow the same route: name a base drink, then adjust strength, milk and sweetness.
Many people feel at a loss the first time they step into a coffee shop, facing a dense menu, and even worry that ordering wrong will make them look like an amateur. Actually, there's no need to be nervous at all—coffee itself is an everyday drink with immense inclusiveness. This article draws on the classic coffee-ordering scene from the hit Korean drama The Glory to discuss how beginners can communicate with baristas, how to choose a coffee that suits their taste preferences, and what categories coffee connoisseurs typically favor. It also shares a practical tip: if you really can't make up your mind, just describe the flavors you like to the barista, and they'll be happy to help you choose.
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When you first walk into a coffee shop and don't know how to order, try chatting with the barista, clearly explaining your taste preferences, or directly telling them what kind of flavor you'd like to drink. At this point, most baristas will enthusiastically help you analyze and recommend a coffee that suits your taste.
Recently, a dialogue from the Korean drama The Glory in which the female lead orders coffee has been frantically shared online, with many saying the writer captured it perfectly—it was exactly like a scene they had experienced themselves.
In the drama, Song Hye-kyo's character Dong-eun seems to order smoothly, saying: "I'll have a cold coffee, the strongest one you have." The clerk immediately "translates" it into professional terms: "One iced Americano with an extra shot, does that sound okay?" The female lead pauses for a moment, then answers yes.
The male lead behind her, however, orders with great proficiency: "I'll have one iced Americano and one hot mocha with light cream, lots of it, and please squeeze extra chocolate sauce for me too, thank you." The female lead quietly listens nearby, and after coming back to her senses, a faint trace of self-mockery appears on her face.
This brief dialogue struck a chord with many netizens, who recalled being extremely nervous the first time they entered a coffee shop, staring at the wall-to-wall menu with no idea where to start, and in the end just randomly ordering a drink they didn't even like.
Actually, there's really no need to feel nervous about it—coffee shops are inherently places close to daily life, and nowadays they can be found everywhere on every street.
On your way to work, you can often see all kinds of coffee on colleagues' desks; these days, coffee shops have even opened inside some schools and next to vegetable markets.
That feeling of panic may arise because many people feel that walking into a coffee shop is like stepping into a brand-new social circle, where the people working and consuming inside all seem to carry a distinctive aura. The first time you go, you feel out of place with your surroundings, so you get nervous, worried about being seen as a "clueless" newbie and afraid of losing face.
But then again, it's completely normal not to know how to order the first time you go to a coffee shop. Everyone has a first time, everyone has things they're unfamiliar with, and no one is born knowing everything. We all start by learning gradually, so if you don't know how to order, just ask boldly—baristas are more than happy to recommend delicious products for you. After all, they want customers to have a good experience, and they especially hope that after drinking the coffee they've carefully brewed, customers will sincerely say: this coffee is really good.
As an everyday drink, there's no need to think of coffee as something mysterious and profound—it's just a little spice in our lives, a good thing that adds charm to our days.
Coffee itself is extremely inclusive; you can savor it slowly in a beautifully decorated shop, or simply grab a cup at a roadside stall. In the end, it's just an ordinary crop, an ordinary beverage.
More and more people are becoming interested in coffee and willing to learn about it and delve into it, which is something to be happy about for the coffee industry, coffee shops, and every coffee professional.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
