Aquest cafè és massa fort.

Aquest means this for a masculine singular noun that is near the speaker.

Its main forms are:

• aquest = this (masculine singular)
• aquesta = this (feminine singular)
• aquests = these (masculine plural)
• aquestes = these (feminine plural)

So with cafè, which is masculine singular, you use aquest.

In Catalan, nouns have grammatical gender. Cafè is masculine, so the basic form is el cafè.

Because of that, words that agree with it also appear in the masculine singular:

• aquest cafè
• cafè fort

If the noun were feminine, those forms would change. For example:

• Aquesta beguda és massa forta.

So the sentence shows normal agreement:

• aquest agrees with cafè
• fort agrees with cafè

Because aquest already functions as a determiner, just like this in English.

English says:

• this coffee

Not:

• the this coffee

Catalan works the same way:

• aquest cafè

Not normally:

• el aquest cafè

És means is. It is the 3rd person singular present form of ser:

• jo sóc
• tu ets
• ell/ella és

The accent is important because it helps distinguish és from other short words, especially es.

It also tells you about pronunciation: és has a stressed e sound.

This is a very common question.

• molt = very
• massa = too, too much, overly

So:

• Aquest cafè és molt fort = This coffee is very strong.
• Aquest cafè és massa fort = This coffee is too strong.

So massa implies that the strength is excessive, not just high.

Yes. Fort is the normal adjective for strong with coffee.

You can also use fort for other things like:

• te fort = strong tea
• olor forta = strong smell
• gust fort = strong taste

Like many adjectives, fort can have different English translations depending on context, such as strong, loud, intense, or hard. But with coffee, strong is the natural meaning.

Because cafè is masculine singular, the adjective must match it.

So:

• cafè → masculine singular → fort
• beguda → feminine singular → forta

Compare:

• Aquest cafè és massa fort.
• Aquesta beguda és massa forta.

This is standard adjective agreement in Catalan.

In this sentence, ser is the safest and most standard choice.

• Aquest cafè és massa fort.

With qualities like flavor, strength, or general character, Catalan often uses ser.

By contrast, estar is more commonly used for temporary states or conditions, such as temperature:

• El cafè està fred. = The coffee is cold.

So for too strong, és massa fort is the form learners should aim for first.

A simple approximate pronunciation is:

uh-KEST kuh-FEH ess MAH-suh FORT

A few useful points:

• cafè is stressed on the last syllable: ca-FÈ
• és is a separate stressed word
• massa has stress on the first syllable: MAs-sa
• fort ends with a clear t in careful pronunciation

Depending on the dialect, the unstressed vowels may sound more like a or more like a neutral uh sound.

Yes. In some varieties, especially Valencian speech, you may also hear forms like este.

So alongside standard aquest cafè, you may hear:

• Este cafè és massa fort.

But aquest is the standard form and is understood everywhere, so it is a very good form to learn first.