Coffee Break Languages

Here's Licheng Gu with his copy of 50 Chinese Coffee Breaks 📚

Licheng wrote all the activities in the book. He's a professor at Northwestern University in Chicago, and working with him on this book has been a real pleasure from start to finish. While he took part virtually in our launch event early this summer, it's great to see him with the finished copy in his hands.

The 50 Chinese Coffee Breaks book works the way the rest of the series does. 50 short activities, sorted by how long they take, so you can pick a five-minute one on a busy day and a longer one when you've got more time. This is the perfect way to take your learning on the go, and enjoy switching off your phone and writing your answers on the pages of the book. Perfect for your commute, a quiet ten minutes before bed, or your coffee break!

50 Chinese Coffee Breaks is out now in all good bookshops, and the series is also available in French, Italian, German, Spanish, English, Swedish and Scottish Gaelic. More languages coming soon!

Mark goes live at 4pm UK, five minutes from now, with the answers to The Great Coffee Break Treasure Hunt.

He'll name the city behind each of the four clues, in order, then the spot where the treasure was hidden, and he'll announce the prize draw winners, one for each language.

There's some learning in it as well. Each clue carried more vocabulary than it looks like at first, so Mark will go back over it in a live quiz across all four languages. If you followed the clues in the language you're learning, this is a good chance to see how much of it has stayed with you.

Everyone who named all four cities correctly gets a free month of Coffee Break TV, and that starts today.

The chat is open, so come and tell us how many you got. If you'd still rather work the clues out for yourself, watch the four clue videos first, because the answers are all in this one.

https://www.youtube.com/live/4lsEZulRw6Q?si=h7zU7WxkeJ0XBBBg

Clue 4 is up, and that's the last one.

We've featured a different language with each clue this week, and the last one is the German.

"Stadt voller Kuppeln, ein Fluss, grün und breit". A city full of domes, and a river, green and wide.

This clue works differently from the other three. It starts with the city and gets narrower with every couplet, until the final lines are pointing at one particular spot. You only need the city to enter, so don't worry if the last few lines are harder than the rest. Read to the end anyway.

The entry form is open. Send all four cities in one go before 11:59pm UK on Monday 31 August. All four languages are on the Treasure Hunt page, so if you've been following in French, Italian or Spanish, everything you need is there too.

Get them all right and you get a free month of Coffee Break TV in your language, plus a place in the draw for the complete collection of Coffee Break courses in that language. Mark reveals every city, and the hiding place the last clue points to, on Tuesday 1 September.

Same as before, please: tell us you've got them, but don't name them until Tuesday.

https://coffeebreaklanguages.com/treasurehunt

Clue 3 is up. One to go.

A different language with each clue this week, and clue 3 is the Italian.

"Qui in un palazzo si sfida la sorte", and a few lines later you're travelling "tra un tunnel e un tornante, tra folla e clamori". Both worth looking up if they're new to you.

If you're finding these hard, don't worry. The language in the clues is not everyday language, because poetry often uses more complex structures or different words. Try to see what you understand at first and feel free to look up any new words.

Read it today and come back to it tomorrow. A lot of people find the answer comes once they've left it alone for a while.

The clue is on the Treasure Hunt page in French, Italian, German and Spanish, with the podcast and video versions. Clue 4 goes live on Sunday at 1pm UK, and the entry form opens with it.

Please don't put your answers in the comments. Tell us you've solved it by all means, but naming the city spoils it for everyone still working on it.

https://coffeebreaklanguages.com/treasurehunt

Clue 2, in French.

A different language for each clue this week, and clue 2 is the French. The four teams wrote their own sets from scratch rather than translating, so the French rhymes and scans the way French does, not the way English does.

"Des suivantes de cour sous les sombres fenêtres". Suivantes de cour means ladies-in-waiting. Worth looking up if it's new to you.

There's still time if you're behind. All four answers go in together on one form at the end, so you can pick up clues 1 and 2 now and stay with us for the rest. Clue 3 goes live at 1pm UK today, and clue 4 on Sunday.

If the language feels hard, don't worry. These are poems, so they use more complex structures and less everyday vocabulary. See what you understand on a first read, then go back and look things up.

The full clue is on the Treasure Hunt page in French, Italian, German and Spanish, with the podcast and video versions.

Same ask as always: tell us you've cracked one if you have, but don't name it.

https://coffeebreaklanguages.com/treasurehunt

Clue 1, in Spanish.

The hunt runs in four languages, and the teams wrote their own sets rather than translating each other, so each one is its own poem. We're featuring a different language with each clue, and this one is the Spanish.

"Limones dorados, café bien cargado", golden lemons and strong coffee. Good vocabulary to pick up whether or not the city comes to you.

If you're only joining now, you haven't missed your chance. All four clues stay up all week and the answers go in together at the end, so there's still time to catch up. Clues 1 and 2 are up already, clue 3 goes live tomorrow at 1pm UK and clue 4 on Sunday.

If you're finding the language hard, don't worry. Poetry uses more complex structures and less everyday vocabulary than you're used to hearing. See what you understand first, and feel free to look up anything new.

The full clue is on the Treasure Hunt page in French, Italian, German and Spanish, with the podcast and video versions alongside it.

Please don't name any cities in the comments. Telling us you've solved one is welcome.

https://coffeebreaklanguages.com/treasurehunt

Something you may not know about Coffee Break…

Here at Coffee Break there are many of us who are huge fans of Dolly Parton and her music. So much so, that a life size Dolly watches over us in Coffee Break HQ as we make all the podcasts, courses and videos.

If we have a question about anything, you will often hear, “What would Dolly do?” If a Team member has a problem or situation (from exams, to hoping their car will pass its MOT) it’s Dolly we look to for wisdom - and there’s always a quote from her or one of her songs that makes the day that little bit better.

It was said by her family that she “lived in the light”. She also brought so much light into so many peoples’ lives with her personality, talent, kindness, music... and of course her rhinestones! She will continue to be a presence in our office.

Thank you for all you brought to the world Dolly! 🩷

Four clues, four mystery cities. The Great Coffee Break Treasure Hunt starts tomorrow, so here are the dates for your diary.

Clue 1: Monday 24 August
Clue 2: Wednesday 26 August
Clue 3: Friday 28 August
Clue 4: Sunday 30 August

All at 1pm UK, on the Treasure Hunt page, on the podcast feeds and on the YouTube channels.

Entries close at 11:59pm UK on Monday 31 August, and Mark reveals all four cities on Tuesday 1 September.

The hunt runs in French, Italian, German and Spanish. Pick your language and we'll see you tomorrow.

https://coffeebreaklanguages.com/treasurehunt

The Great Coffee Break Treasure Hunt is back for 2026, and it starts on Monday.

Four clues, four mystery cities, one week. Each clue is a short poem that describes a European city without ever naming it, and your job is to work out which one.

The hunt runs in French, Italian, German and Spanish, so pick the language you're learning and follow along. It's free, and you don't need to be a Coffee Break customer to take part.

Name all four cities correctly and you win a free month of Coffee Break TV in your language. Everyone who gets them right also goes into a draw for the complete collection of Coffee Break courses in that language.

First clue goes live Monday 24 August at 1pm UK.

https://coffeebreaklanguages.com/treasurehunt