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Real Easy English

Easy level

Talking about coffee

Episode 260821 / 21 Aug 2026

(Photo: Getty)

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Introduction

Georgie and Neil have a real conversation in easy English about coffee – the hot (...or cold!) drink that gives us energy when we are tired. Learn how to talk about whether you take your coffee black or white, and find out what surprising ingredient Georgie sometimes adds to her coffee...

Vocabulary

take (your) coffee (white/black)
prefer your coffee (with milk/without milk)

caffeine
chemical which naturally occurs in coffee and tea, as well as other food and drink, which helps people to stay alert

decaffeinated / decaf
with caffeine removed or reduced

cut down on / cut back on
have less of something

 More about feelings

Transcript

Georgie
Hi Neil. How are you?
 
Neil
I'm very well thank you, Georgie. Are you enjoying your coffee?
 
Georgie
I am, but it's got a bit cool now. I prefer my coffee hot, but... oh well! Are you enjoying yours?
 
Neil
I've finished mine.
 
Georgie
Oh, that's a shame.
 
Neil
It's a sad moment when I've finished my second coffee of the day, because that's it. I don't have more than two.
 
Georgie
So, we're talking about coffee in this episode, aren't we?
 
Neil
We are. But before we start, of course, everyone needs to know that there is a free worksheet on our website. That's at bbclearningenglish.com.
 
Georgie
Yes, they can also find a free transcript, can't they?
 
Neil
They can, yes, at the same address. So, Georgie, we're talking about coffee. How much coffee, or how many coffees if we're talking about cups of coffee – how many do you have a day?
 
Georgie
I usually have two, and I know that you do as well, because we drink them both in the office, don't we? We have one cup of coffee in the morning and one usually in the afternoon, when we need to regain some energy and alertness.
 
Neil
Yeah. And so, we all know because we make each other... At BBC Learning English, we make each other coffee, so we know how we takeour coffee.
 
Georgie
Yes. How we takeour coffee is how we like it – what we like to put in it. For example, sugar or milk. I know that you don't like milk in your coffee. You takeyour coffee black.
 
Neil
I do. I like black coffee and you takeyour coffee white and you used to have sugar, but you don't anymore.
 
Georgie
That's right. Occasionally when I'm at home I put some honey in my coffee to make it a bit sweeter.
 
Neil
Eurgh! Honey in coffee?
 
Georgie
Yes. Is that surprising?
 
Neil
I've never heard of that.
 
Georgie
Really?
 
Neil
Sugar, but not honey.

Georgie
But why would that be so bad?
 
Neil
Well, I don't know. It's just I've never heard of it.
 
Georgie
It's really good. I would recommend.
 
Neil
OK. So, Georgie, what happens if you don't have your coffee?
 
Georgie
Well, in the morning if I don't have coffee, I feel very grumpy and very tired. In the afternoon if I don't have a coffee, it's not terrible, but I would prefer to have my afternoon coffee. How about you?
 
Neil
Yeah, I need my coffee, especially in the morning, but I don't have my coffee first thing in the morning.
 
Georgie
Oh, interesting.
 
Neil
I have it, kind of, I don't know... work time – nine o'clock.
 
Georgie
Why is that?
 
Neil
I think it's too strong, too powerful. Or maybe just the way I drink it.
 
Georgie
What happens if you drink too much coffee?
 
Neil
Ooh, then it's difficult to sleep because of the caffeine. Caffeine is that chemical in coffee and tea that makes you feel awake and alert. But too much means you're too alert.
 
Georgie
I don't think that caffeine has a big effect on me. I don't think I have trouble sleeping if I drink too much coffee. It's strange. Yeah, because sometimes I'll have an espresso after dinner.
 
Neil
Really?
 
Georgie
Yeah. And I can still sleep.
 
Neil
That's crazy.
 
Georgie
Yeah. Lucky me.
 
Neil
Lucky you!
 
Georgie
Neil, have you ever tried to cut down on coffee?
 
Neil
Cut down on... You mean have less? No, I haven't tried to cut down on coffee, but I've tried to cut down oncaffeine.
 
Georgie
OK.
 
Neil
So, I... for a while, I only drank decaffeinated coffee, or decaf, as we call it.
 
Georgie
OK. And how was that?
 
Neil
Well, I didn't miss caffeine at the time, I don't think. It lasted for a long time, but now I drink caffeine. I don't care.
 
Georgie
OK. Neil, it's time to recap the vocabulary we used in the conversation. We used the verb take. So, Neil, how do you takeyour coffee?
 
Neil
I takemy coffee black, and I know you takeyour coffee white.
 
Georgie
Yes. We also heard caffeine, which is the chemical that is in coffee, which makes you feel more awake.
 
Neil
Yes, but you can also get decaffeinated coffee or tea – it means there's no caffeine. And we usually shorten that just to decaf – decaf coffee.
 
Georgie
Yes. We also heard the phrasal verb cut down on, which means you have less of something.
 
Neil
Yep. And you can also say cut back on. It means the same thing.
 
Georgie
OK. Well, that is the end of this conversation about coffee in Real Easy English.
 
Neil
Yes, and if people want to watch more episodes of Real Easy English, what should they do?
 
Georgie
They should go to our website, bbclearningenglish.com, where they can find a free worksheet to test what they've learned. Goodbye for now.
 
Neil
Goodbye!

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