Coffee in Singapore does not necessarily mean coffee. The whole concept of plane easy black coffee with or without sugar and milk does not really work here.
In the country of synonyms not even the good old coffee keeps it origin.
First it changes from the global word “Coffee” to the malay word “Kopi (which I still kind of understand since the “national language” is Malay).
However, Kopi might already sound like coffee but in reality is not, although it is the direct translation of the word “coffee”.
If you order Kopi you will get coffee with condensed milk, if you want black coffee you have to order kopi-o, and dont mix kopi-o with kopi-c, that would be coffee with evaporated milk then. And to keep the standart of minimum synonyms in one sentence there are many more for “more sugar” or “less milk” and so on…
To stay awake and exactly the coffee you are longing for I have created the below guide/list with all Coffee synonyms to order at the next kopishop!
Kopi, Kopi-O, Kopi-C, Coffee!? The Complete List
- Kopi: Coffee with condensed milk
- Kopi-O: Coffee without milk and only sugar
- Kopi-C: Coffee with evaporated milk
- Kopi-gau: Coffee (strong brew – “gau” is “厚” in Hokkien)
- Kopi-po: Coffee (weak brew – “po” is “薄” in Hokkien)
- Kopi-C-kosong: Coffee with evaporated milk and no sugar (‘kosong” means empty in Malay)
- Kopi-O-kosong: Coffee without sugar or milk
- Kopi-O-kosong-gau: A strong brew of coffee without sugar or milk
- Kopi-bing or Kopi-ice or Kopi-Peng: Coffee with milk, sugar and ice
- Kopi-xiu-dai: Coffee with less sugar
- Kopi-gah-dai: Coffee with extra sweetened mil-
- Kopi-Di-Lo: All coffee, no water
You can also attach the following two at the end of your order for the respective amount of sugar:
Ga dai: More sugar
Siu dai: Less sugar
A Plastic Bag Instead Of A Mug?
Its not uncommon to present you your coffee kopi in a little plastic bag with two plastic bands to hold instead of a mug. I havent figured out if its the space they safe through this or if the plastic bags are really cheaper then plastic mugs, however, it works.
Although sometimes it can be really annoying if you want to relax at some bench or the beach and you cant just simply place your coffee next to you but have to hold it the whole time…
by an Asia experienced 26 year young expat living and surviving in Singapore since years!
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7 Comments for this post
Jan 8, 2009 at 10:16 am
Maybe kopi comes in a plastic bag so it can be hung on a motorcycle handlebar.
Jan 8, 2009 at 10:38 am
Hehe, thats a good one :) I never thought of that possibility…but what would the cabbies do then?
Jan 8, 2009 at 11:35 am
The lock on the car door. ;)
Jan 8, 2009 at 8:03 pm
Interesting post. Helps others to understand Singaporean culture more. :) Nice one!
Jan 8, 2009 at 11:45 pm
# Kopi-C: Coffee with evaporated milk AND SUGAR
the default is for the drink to be sweet unless otherwise stated. (default 1 = sweetened condensed milk; default 2 = 2 teaspoons of white sugar if not using sweetened condensed milk)
Jul 13, 2009 at 6:03 pm
Before the plastic bag, they reuse the empty tin cans from condensed milk. They poked a hold in the middle of the top lid (which are not opened all the way), yep you can definitely feel the sharp edges. Then they place a string (plastic) through the hole, make a little note from inside the lid. Kopi or tea would be filled in this container. The aroma is so much better than having the hot beverages in plastic bags. I’d rather drink them at the coffee shop.
Feb 11, 2011 at 12:30 pm
Have been living in Singapore for many years now and in my family (local Indian) kopi is called “Chinese Coffee” and are not considered to be “real” coffee. Chinese coffee have some more ingredients than regular coffee (that is pure coffee) and that is why my family make this difference. And I agree because the taste is different.
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