Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Este café tem um sabor diferente.

Break it down word by word with approximate IPA and stress marks:
• Este /ˈɛʃ.tɨ/ (stress on the first syllable, “EH-sh-tuh”)
• café /kɐˈfɛ/ (stress on the second syllable, “ka-FEH”)
• tem /tɐ̃j̃/ (the “e” is nasalized, “tang” without a hard g)
• um /ũ/ (a nasal “oo” sound)
• sabor /sɐˈβɔɾ/ (stress on “bor”, the “r” is a tapped [ɾ])
• diferente /di.fɨˈɾẽn.tɨ/ (stress on “ren”, the final “e” is a reduced [ɨ])

Why do we use este instead of esse or aquele here?

Portuguese demonstratives depend on proximity:
• este = “this” (very close to the speaker)
• esse = “that” (close to the listener)
• aquele = “that over there” (far from both)
You choose este because you, the speaker, are pointing out the coffee you’re holding or near you.

Why is there no article before café? Shouldn’t it be este o café or o este café?

Demonstratives like este already function as determiners, so you don’t pair them with the definite article. You say este café, not o este café.

Why do we use tem (from ter) instead of é (to be) or está (to be)?

In Portuguese you “have” a taste rather than “be” one:
• tem um sabor = literally “has a flavor”
Using é um sabor diferente would translate as “it is a different taste,” which sounds odd. ter describes possession or qualities that something exhibits.

Why do we say um sabor diferente with an indefinite article? Could we omit it and say tem sabor diferente?

Including um emphasizes “a [distinct] taste” among many. Omitting the article (tem sabor diferente) is grammatically possible and sometimes used in headlines or very casual speech, but the full form tem um sabor diferente is more idiomatic in everyday conversation.

Why is diferente placed after sabor? Can adjectives go before nouns in Portuguese?

Standard Portuguese places descriptive adjectives after the noun: sabor diferente. Putting diferente before (diferente sabor) is not ungrammatical but feels poetic or emphatic. Most quality-describing adjectives follow the noun.

If I want to specify a particular flavor (like vanilla), do I still say tem um sabor diferente? For example, Este café tem sabor a baunilha—why a here?

When characterizing a specific flavor, use sabor a + noun (no article):
• Este chá tem sabor a limão (“This tea tastes of lemon”)
Here a means “of.” But for an adjective (diferente), you don’t use a—you simply describe the quality of the flavor.