Use of mögen vs gern

Question

From my understanding, the general meaning of the word mögen is to like. And the addition of the word gern in a sentence such as Ich trinke Kaffee gern means that you like to drink coffee.

But is there any semantic difference between saying Ich mag Kaffee zu trinken and Ich trinke Kaffee gern?

It seems like they both generally translate to I like to drink coffee.

Answer 1

»Mögen« is a verb:

Ich mag Kaffee.
I like coffee.

Ich mag es, Kaffee zu trinken. I like to drink coffee.

But »gern« is an adverb:

Ich trinke gerne Kaffee
Verbatim: I gladly drink coffee.
(same pattern as in: I often drink coffee = Ich trinke oft Kaffee)

But you don't have an adverb in english that means the same like the german adverb »gern« So you have to build the sentence in a different way:

I like to drink coffee.

But if you translate this verbatim into German, then you get this:

Ich mag es, Kaffee zu trinken.