Debenhams says "ciao ciao" to cappuccino and espresso

New 'simple coffe' menu (from eater.com)

As reported under the alarming (well: sort of) "too Italian" label by main Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, UK department store Debenhams has decided to change the names in its coffee menu at the store's Oxford Street location in London to describe coffee in simple terms, rather than using confusing names such as 'cappuccino' or 'espresso'. 

As explained in the store's press release,

"The new-look drinks menu which [has been launched on 29 October last and] describes coffee in simple terms has been created in direct response to customer feedback that revealed over 70% of coffee drinkers have experienced ‘coffee confusion’ in cafes, bars and restaurants." 

The hot beverage warning
never discourages Merpel

Wishing to allow shoppers to spend less time playing coffee Cluedo (as stated by the Director of Food Services at Debenhams), "caffelatte is now described as ‘really really milky coffee’, cappuccino as ‘frothy coffee’ and caffe mocha as ‘chocolate flavoured coffee’. Black coffee is ‘simple coffee, with or without milk’ with espresso shot labelled as ‘a shot of strong coffee’. In addition, rather than offering confusing ‘tall’ (meaning small) ‘grande’ (meaning large) or ‘venti’ (meaning extra large) coffee sizes as found in other shops [eg Starbucks, suggests promptly caffeine-addict Merpel], the high street retailer has also scrapped different size options, instead offering thirsty shoppers simply a ‘cup’ or a ‘mug’ of their favourite drink."

The Plain English Campaign ("fighting for crystal-clear communication since 1979") has welcomed Debenhams' move. As declared to the Daily Mirror, "whether tea or coffee, it needs to be in plain English ... If customers can read the menu clearly, they’re more likely to try something new and they may come back." 

This Kat, while recalling Tom Hanks's explanation as to the effects of Starbucks onto human decision-making, is not 100% sure about Debenhams's move. She concedes that consumers may feel confused about the meaning of "tall" or "grande", but it is difficult to believe that a percentage of consumers as high as that reported in the survey are more likely to be confused by "espresso", "cappuccino" (by the way: do you know where this term comes from? You can learn it here) and "Americano", rather than descriptive terms such as "really really milky coffee" and "frothy coffee". It would be also interesting to know whether the consumers interviewed for the survey were just UK-based, or there were also people from abroad. For these, it might be hard to believe that 'a shot of strong coffee' would be clearer than ‘espresso’. Merpel adds that it might be even more difficult to believe (at least for those from Italy), that you can drink a mug of real espresso (which is usually 8 oz or 236 ml) in one shot and still be able to walk away as nothing happened ...