Vocabulary to ask for a cup of tea with milk

Question

Can anybody help me with a Spanish phrase to get a cup of tea with milk (English, South African style)? I end up with a cup of hot milk and a tea bag when I ask for 'té negro con leche caliente'. And I'd also like a phrase to use if I want the tea bag in the cup before they pour the hot water.

Also any Spanish/Castallano words used for sweetener will help me out... sometimes 'endulsante' does not work in some of the countries.

endulzante.. - Agora, Jul 18, 2011

I knew it didn't look right when I typed it in... thanks... endulZante! :o) - katydew, Jul 19, 2011

Katy< do you really have it with hot milk? In England the milk is straight out of the fridge and the tea stewed to resemble soup. - annierats, Jul 22, 2012

I usually drink it with hot milk because otherwise they don't let the tea steep & I get cold, weak tea. At home, I do it properly with steeping then pouring cold milk. - katydew, Jul 30, 2012

Answer 1

Well, you are asking for it correctly but that is not a common beverage in Latin America. So ask for the té negro en agua caliente y un poco de leche caliente en una jarrita separada.

Ponga la bolsita de té en la taza antes de agregar el agua caliente.

Sweetener - since endulsante doesn't work for you, ask for Splenda, Equal, o sacarina. My husband always asks for Splenda (his Spanish is very limited) and that is always understood.

Anyone ever use "filtrante" for tea bag?... Curious how common it is.... :) - cristalino, Jul 17, 2011

That's good to remember with the Splenda. I remember now I've been corrected using the word Splenda. - katydew, Jul 19, 2011

Answer 2

I am amused by this post because it speaks to the fact that we travel for excitement and different experiences, but while we are traveling, we hunger for something simple and comforting that we used to get at home.

In our quest to get our simple creature comforts met, we are also met with concepts that don't translate very well.

Tea is an English drink. The Spanish-speaking countries drink coffee. They don't know what you want and they give you something related to something they understand (café con leche).

For years I was a tea drinker, but mostly herbal teas. During the year I spent in Spain, this seemed just too difficult to find. When in Rome, do as the Romans, I figured. That year I became a coffee drinker. Now, back in the states, I can't give it up.

I am further affected by how now I consider Spanish café con leche to be the gold standard of coffee, making most American diner coffee undrinkable to my tastes.

¡Dios mío!

amen sister golden hair to the American diner café - HowardO, Jul 22, 2012

I vote for café con leche, it's different and it is good! And always much the same.. - annierats, Jul 22, 2012

American diner coffee is swill, plain and simple. I make expresso with a expresso maker I purchased at a bodega with Cafe Bustelo. I cannot believe that that brand of coffee is so inexpensive when it's so delicious! A best kept secret in the U.S.! - JoyceM, Jul 22, 2012

Answer 3

In Spain, people widely ask for and use "sacarina." Saccharine.

Bring your own, it take s up no space..If you like it! - annierats, Jul 22, 2012

Thanks Joyce. - katydew, Sep 4, 2012

Answer 4

A year later, I get the best results with this phrase all over the Americas:

Quisiera té negro. Podría pedir leche caliente a lado y edulzante.

I'm still open for suggestions of better phrasing.

And if anyone wants to know in Brazil it's chair preto. - katydew, Jul 22, 2012

oops 'chai' you don't want a chair.... ;o) - katydew, Jul 22, 2012

Answer 5

when I ask for 'té negro con leche caliente'.

Well there is a problem even I can see you asked for black tea with hot milk

That's what she wants - black tea with hot milk and she is asking for it correctly. - margaretcorwin, Jul 17, 2011

not as I see it, she said she ends up with it, that is not meaning that is what she wanted. - Yeser007, Jul 18, 2011

When I say I 'end up with it", I mean that they fill the cup with hot milk and plunk a tea bag into the milk, rather than getting tea made with water, topped off with hot milk. - katydew, Jul 19, 2011

yuk! - ian-hill, Jul 22, 2012

Why is the milk hot? - annierats, Jul 22, 2012

The milk is hot because they don't pour the tea until it's starting to cool down so that way at least I have a chance of hot tea that really steeps. - katydew, Sep 4, 2012

Answer 6

I should give up on this horrible English drink, if I were you! Even after 35 years in England I dislike it..

I always ask for té con limon and get it..

In one of the' Cuentos de las selva' ( Horacio Quiroga) there is a parrot who is extremly fond of his 5o'clock tea and always says ' té con leche'.

This is , however the only time I've seen this in Spanish. The parrot is from Argentina.

I've only added this for interest, obviolusly, it's milk you want, not lemon. - annierats, Jul 22, 2012

I shall never give up on gettting a good cup of tea... hahaha I am glad to know that this parrot from Argentina can get a good cup of tea... shows how important it really is! If I drank it like the S.Africans I might ask for leche condensada! :o) - katydew, Jul 22, 2012

Anyway, your comment made me smile before leaving for work. Perhaps in your 36th year the magic will happen. - katydew, Jul 22, 2012

typo on getting... oops - katydew, Jul 22, 2012

Answer 7

If "té negro con mucho leche" doesn't work, then you could use the adjectival form of milk: "té lechoso."

Secondly, artificial sweetener can be translated as "edulcorante." ¡Buena suerte!

ok, so if I order "té negro con mucho leche" or "té lechoso", will it be tea steeped in water with some hot milk to top it off? - katydew, Jul 17, 2011

yes, it should work. if you're worried about the first because it's too similar to what you've already tried, then just use the second. - randomaccount65, Jul 17, 2011

except, maybe, omit the word "negro". - randomaccount65, Jul 17, 2011

Don't omit "negro" because people are drinking lots of green tea now - té verde - margaretcorwin, Jul 17, 2011

con mucha leche... - Agora, Jul 18, 2011