Non-uncountability of caff=?iso-8859-1?Q?=E9_?=latte

[Benjamin Barrett]

I talked to two native speakers of English today and got FB confirmation from two others that "I'm drinking caffé latte" is bad.

It seems that coffee drinks such as latte and mocha are count nouns, though the citations I found indicate that they might be in flux as they are being absorbed into the language.

Benjamin Barrett
Seattle, WA

On Jul 1, 2013, at 1:59 AM, Benjamin Barrett <gogaku at ix.netcom.com> wrote:

> I just discovered I don't have a non-count form for "caff=E9 latte" even =
> though I drink about one a day. I have it only in countable form.
>
> "I'm drinking a caff=E9 latte" is fine, but if I want to talk about just =
> part of it, I use "my caff=E9 latte" or just "coffee."=20
>
> A lot of the applicable hits on Google for "drink caff=E9 latte" seem to =
> be written by non-natives, but there are some clear cites for the =
> non-count form:
>
> -----
> http://www.datehookup.com/Thread-755083.htm
> Civilized! Cause you drink caffe latte from a dioxin tainted paper cup?=20=
>
> -----
> http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,3604,326502,00.html
> They drink caffe latte in their Tuscan-tiled kitchens
> -----
> =
> http://scallywagandvagabond.com/2009/05/can-a-hipster-still-be-a-hipster-i=
> f-he-takes-him-or-herself-seriously/
> Sure, one can look like a hipster, wear trucker hats (they still don=92t =
> wear them anymore, do they, but last time we checked they were still =
> into skinny jeans), drink caffe latte all day long and quote some =
> obscure writer
> -----
>
> I have this problem with other drinks like cappuccino and mocha. I'll =
> try to observe others.

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