Saat cuaca panas, saya lebih suka es kopi daripada teh hangat.

Saat means when or at the time when. In this sentence, Saat cuaca panas means When the weather is hot.

You could also hear:

• ketika cuaca panas = a bit more formal/literary
• kalau cuaca panas = if/when the weather is hot, a little more conversational

So saat is a very natural choice here.

In Indonesian, adjectives usually come after the noun.

So:

• cuaca panas = hot weather
• teh hangat = warm tea

This is different from English, where adjectives usually come before the noun.

Indonesian often does not need a word like is/are in simple statements or phrases.

So:

• cuaca panas literally looks like weather hot
• but it naturally means the weather is hot or hot weather, depending on context

This is very normal in Indonesian.

This is a very common pattern for expressing preference:

• lebih suka X daripada Y = prefer X to Y

So:

• saya lebih suka es kopi daripada teh hangat = I prefer iced coffee to warm tea

Breakdown:

• lebih = more
• suka = like
• daripada = than / rather than

Literally, it is close to I more like iced coffee than warm tea.

Yes, but the meaning changes a little.

• saya suka es kopi = I like iced coffee
• saya lebih suka es kopi daripada teh hangat = I prefer iced coffee to warm tea

So lebih suka ... daripada ... is specifically about a comparison between two things.

Here, daripada means than in a comparison.

Examples:

• lebih besar daripada = bigger than
• lebih mahal daripada = more expensive than
• lebih suka X daripada Y = prefer X to Y

In everyday Indonesian, daripada is often shortened in speech to daripada with relaxed pronunciation, but the standard written form is still daripada.

This is a good question, because it does not follow the most basic noun-modifier pattern in an obvious way.

With drink names in Indonesian, es + drink is a very common set pattern meaning iced ... or ... served with ice.

So:

• es teh = iced tea
• es jeruk = iced orange drink / orange juice with ice
• es kopi = iced coffee

So even though Indonesian often puts modifiers after nouns, many food and drink names are fixed expressions, and es kopi is the normal, natural way to say iced coffee.

Hangat means warm, while panas means hot.

So:

• teh hangat = warm tea
• teh panas = hot tea

Both are possible, but they are not exactly the same:

• hangat sounds milder and more comfortable
• panas sounds hotter

In this sentence, teh hangat gives a softer contrast with es kopi.

Not always exactly, though they can overlap.

• es kopi usually means coffee served with ice, or an iced coffee drink
• kopi dingin means cold coffee

So:

• something can be dingin without necessarily having ice in it
• es kopi strongly suggests the iced-drink idea

In everyday use, es kopi is the more natural phrase for iced coffee.

Yes. You could say:

• Saya lebih suka es kopi daripada teh hangat saat cuaca panas.

This is understandable and natural. Putting Saat cuaca panas at the beginning gives it a stronger time/topic feeling, like setting the scene first.

Beginning:

• Saat cuaca panas, ... = When the weather is hot, ...

End:

• ..., saat cuaca panas. = the same idea, but less fronted for emphasis

The comma is used because Saat cuaca panas is an introductory time clause.

So the structure is:

• Saat cuaca panas, = introductory clause
• saya lebih suka es kopi daripada teh hangat. = main clause

In casual writing, Indonesians do not always use commas consistently, but in careful writing this comma is appropriate.

Yes, if the situation is informal.

• saya = neutral, polite, standard
• aku = informal, personal

So:

• Saat cuaca panas, saya lebih suka es kopi daripada teh hangat. = neutral/polite
• Saat cuaca panas, aku lebih suka es kopi daripada teh hangat. = more casual

A learner will usually be safest with saya unless speaking with friends or in a relaxed context.

By default, it sounds like a general preference.

So it means something like:

• When the weather is hot, I tend to prefer iced coffee to warm tea.

It does not strongly sound like just one specific moment unless the larger context makes that clear.

Yes. In natural English, that part could be understood in either of these ways:

• when the weather is hot
• in hot weather

Indonesian often allows this kind of broad, context-based interpretation without needing extra words.

Yes, it is natural and correct.

It has a very standard structure:

• time clause first
• subject saya
• preference pattern lebih suka ... daripada ...

A native speaker would understand it immediately. If you wanted a slightly more conversational version, you might also hear:

• Kalau cuaca panas, saya lebih suka es kopi daripada teh hangat.

But the original sentence is perfectly good Indonesian.