café
standard, Colombia
In Colombia "coffee" is café, but a small cup of black coffee is a tinto. A pintado is a small coffee with a little milk.
Meaning: hot drink made from coffee beans (noun)
Ways to say it
| Spanish | Note |
|---|---|
| café | standard, Colombia |
| tinto | black coffee, Colombia |
| pintado | coffee with a little milk, Colombia |
Colombians offer a tintico to visitors, and offices often serve tinto in a small cup called a pocillo. For milk coffee you ask for a café con leche.
Which one should you use?
In most countries tinto is red wine. In Colombia tinto means black coffee, so ordering it in a cafe gets you a coffee.
When do people say it?
Coffee is a source of national pride in Colombia, and the Coffee Cultural Landscape was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2011.
Did you know?
- A tinto in Colombia is usually small and strong, and it is sold on the street by vendors with thermoses.
Examples in context
- ¿Me regala un tinto, por favor?Could I have a black coffee, please?
- Quiero un café con leche.I want a coffee with milk.
- Tomamos un pintado en la mañana.We drink a coffee with a little milk in the morning.
Example conversation
Hernán meets his colleague Adriana at a cafe in Manizales with a Mesero.
- HernánBuenos días. ¿Un tinto?Good morning. A black coffee?
- AdrianaMejor un pintado.A pintado is better.
- HernánDos cafés, uno tinto y uno pintado.Two coffees, one black and one pintado.
- MeseroCon gusto.With pleasure.
