Kopi Order Decoder: How to Order Kopi & Teh Like a Local
Tell the uncle
“Kopi”
The default, sweetened condensed milk.
How this works
Kopitiam orders stack modifiers onto the drink: the milk (none = O, evaporated = C, default = condensed), the strength (po = weaker, gau = stronger, di lo = undiluted), the sweetness (kosong = no sugar, siu dai = less, ga dai = more) and the temperature (peng = iced).
Words come from Hokkien and Malay, and stalls vary a little, but this order of words is understood at almost every coffeeshop and hawker drinks stall.
FAQs
What is Kopi-C?
Kopi-C is coffee with evaporated milk and sugar. The C is often traced to Hainanese for 'fresh' or to the Carnation brand of evaporated milk. Plain 'Kopi' uses sweetened condensed milk instead.
What does kosong mean?
Kosong is Malay for 'zero': no sugar. Kopi-O kosong is black coffee with no sugar. Because condensed milk is already sweet, 'Kopi kosong' can still taste sweet; order Kopi-C kosong for milk without sweetness.
What does siu dai and ga dai mean?
Siu dai (Hokkien) means less sweet; ga dai means extra sweet. Teh siu dai is tea with condensed milk, made less sweet.
What is Kopi Peng?
Peng means iced. Kopi peng is iced coffee with condensed milk; Kopi-O peng is iced black coffee with sugar.