I was guilty of this once back-in-the-day at a Caffe Nero, asking for a Mocha pronounced Motch-a rather than mock-a.

I had no idea at the time how it was pronounced, it was a busy time of day and I fancied trying something new, so was literally trying to read it off the menu which always has far too many options whilst the impatient barista rolled her eyes, before scalding me for saying it wrong.

Legend has it, to this day she is still complaining about people saying Mocha wrong as her number one pet hate, as the same barista was when I visited the same branch 6 years later. Makes a change from British people just complaining about the weather I suppose and themed to the workplace.

Some independent coffee shops are helpful to provide a phonetic representation of how to pronounce drinks but big chains seem not to care.

Anyhow, a steady stream of customers, probably 1-in-3 from what I have witnessed say Mocha wrong. Some say Motch-a and others Mow-cha. It is pronounced Mokka but baristas should respect you and determine what you mean without being an arse about it.

I personally take the approach of confirming orders back with the drink names pronounced properly, I do not take the view of embarrassing or trying to educate people, after all there is no other drink on the menu that can be confused with the mispronunciation.