Coffee
Common Kopi Orders
Now that you know what the basic terms mean, it’s time to put them together to order kopi exactly the way you want.
Still struggling to mix and match these terms? Not to worry, here’s a comprehensive list of possible kopi orders in a Singaporean kopitiam:
- Kopi – Coffee with sweetened condensed milk
- Kopi-O – Black coffee with sugar
- Kopi-C – Coffee with evaporated milk and sugar
- Kopi-O Kosong – Black coffee only
- Kopi-C Kosong: Black coffee with evaporated milk
- Kopi Siew Dai – Coffee with less sugar
- Kopi-O Siew Dai – Black coffee with less sugar
- Kopi-C Siew Dai – Coffee with evaporated milk and less sugar
- Kopi Siu Si – Coffee with slightly less sugar
- Kopi-O Siu Si – Black coffee with slightly less sugar
- Kopi-C Siu Si – Coffee with evaporated milk and slightly less sugar
- Kopi Gau – Strong coffee with condensed milk and sugar
- Kopi-O Gau – Strong black coffee with sugar
- Kopi-C Gau – Strong coffee with evaporated milk and sugar
- Kopi Gah Dai – Black coffee with extra condensed milk
- Kopi Kosong Gau – Strong black coffee without sugar
Bonus: Cham/Yuan Yang – Equal parts black coffee and black tea with condensed milk. The result is a beverage that balances the robustness of coffee with the aromatic, slightly tannic qualities of tea.
This list should cover most of the common variations you’ll encounter in a Singaporean kopitiam! These are hot coffee orders, so if you want iced coffee, just add “Peng” at the end (e.g. Kopi-C Siu Si Peng).