[Cafe Business Notes] Words that don't actually get through? 3 English terms in the coffee world

I currently run a coffee shop called Laughter in Kyoto.

Speaking of Kyoto, it's full of "inbound tourists."
Tourist spots are so overflowing with visitors, mainly foreigners, that the term "tourism pollution" has even been coined.

The Nishijin area where our shop is located is a residential neighborhood a bit away from the downtown area, but there are guest houses scattered around, so we actually get quite a few foreign customers.

"Do you interact with foreign customers in English? Oh, so you can speak English! That's amazing!"
The local elderly people say things like this to me, but since I have the menu in English and the interactions are basically simple, I don't have that much trouble.
(Besides, there's Google Lens these days. The evolution of technology is truly amazing!)

However, just as there is the term "Japanese-made English," there are words that surprisingly don't get through.

This time, I will introduce some words that I feel "Wait, that didn't get through?" while standing in the shop.
*Please note that this is just based on my personal experience.

1. Drip Coffee (Hand Drip)
Huh!? Drip coffee is perfectly good English, isn't it? That's how I feel, but there are times when this surprisingly doesn't get across.
I hear that "drip" has the meaning of "to fall in drops," so I think it describes the state of dripping when brewing, but since espresso-based drinks have developed more in English-speaking countries, they don't seem very familiar with the term "drip coffee."

However, in recent years, hand drip has been gaining popularity in those countries as well, and it seems that "Pour over" has become common, derived from the meanings of "pour" and "over."

For those who look puzzled at "Drip?", saying "Pour over" often gets the point across.

2. Cafe au Lait
Cafe au lait is made by mixing drip coffee and milk.
It is often confused with cafe latte, but a cafe latte is made by mixing espresso and milk.

This cafe au lait also often doesn't get through surprisingly.
As I wrote earlier, since espresso-based drinks are mainstream globally, they might not be very familiar with cafe au lait.

Saying "coffee with milk" often gets the point across.

3. Takeout
"Takeout," which received a lot of attention during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It means to take home rather than eating in the store, but this is said to be a famous Japanese-made English term, not limited to the coffee world.
I hear that "take out" is used to mean "to take out" or "to extract."

If you want to express "taking home," it seems that "to go" or "take away" is correct.

Even if you can't speak fluently, there are quite a few English words that we use unconsciously in daily life.
However, among them, there are words that are actually not common.
This was a story about realizations I had because I interact with foreigners.