builder's tea

{{Short description|British colloquial term for strong tea}}

File:Mug of Tea.JPG

Builder's tea, also known as a builder's brew or gaffer's tea, is a British English colloquial term for a strong cup of tea.{{cite book |author=Colman Andrews |title=The British Table: A New Look at the Traditional Cooking of England, Scotland, and Wales |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BniqDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT637|date=8 November 2016 |publisher=ABRAMS |isbn=978-1-61312-211-2 |pages=637–}}{{cite book | last=Souter | first=K. | title=The Tea Cyclopedia: A Celebration of the World's Favorite Drink | publisher=Skyhorse Publishing | series=EBL-Schweitzer | year=2013 | isbn=978-1-62873-548-2 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u2ktAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT77 | access-date=28 May 2018 | page=77}} It takes its name from the inexpensive tea commonly drunk by labourers taking a break. A builder's tea is typically brewed in a mug with the tea contained in a teabag (as opposed to loose leaves in a teapot), with milk added, either after stirring the tea, or leaving it to stand and infuse. Builder's tea is often sweetened with one or two teaspoons of white sugar, but can also be consumed unsweetened.

Builder's tea is typically robust and has a rich, dark beige colour.{{cite news |last1=Edwards |first1=Adam |title=Liquid assets: builder's tea |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/3289673/Liquid-assets-builders-tea.html |access-date=22 June 2016 |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=23 June 2001}} The name was chosen because workers in the British building trade typically drink many cups of tea during their working day.{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/rich-house-poor-house/british-class-and-customs/ |title=Are you posh or a pleb? Cuppas, class and other British obsessions |first=Norman |last=Miller |date=17 March 2017 |newspaper=The Telegraph |access-date=26 May 2018}}{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/minor-british-institutions-builders-tea-2216484.html |title=Minor British Institutions: Builders' tea |date=19 February 2011 |newspaper=The Independent |access-date=26 May 2018}} The term has widespread use throughout both Great Britain and Ireland.{{cite book |author=John Ayto |title=The Diner's Dictionary: Word Origins of Food and Drink |url=https://archive.org/details/dinersdictionary0000ayto|url-access=registration |date=18 October 2012 |publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-964024-9 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/dinersdictionary0000ayto/page/50 50]–}}{{cite book |author1=Karen Bescherer Metheny |author2=Mary C. Beaudry |title=Archaeology of Food: An Encyclopedia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fD0xCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA176 |date=7 August 2015 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |isbn=978-0-7591-2366-3 |pages=176–}}{{cite magazine |url=http://www.newstatesman.com/2012/06/will-self-why-i-hate-builders-tea |title=Will Self: Why I hate builder's tea |magazine=New Statesman|access-date=26 May 2018}} Research from the Social Issues Research Centre found that people performing construction work found tea "both soothing and stimulating".{{cite web |url=http://www.sirc.org/publik/tea_and_diy_first_timers.html |title=Two Great British Obsessions - Tea and DIY - First-Timers |publisher=Sirc.org (Social Issues Research Centre)|access-date=27 May 2013}}

A 2013 article in the Daily Express noted that builders were drinking less tea than they used to, preferring alternatives such as coffee (especially cappuccino and latte), as well as soft drinks and energy drinks.{{cite web | last=Sheldrick | first=Giles | title=Builder's tea no longer preferred drink for construction workers | website=Express.co.uk | date=10 July 2013 | url=https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/413904/Builder-s-tea-no-longer-preferred-drink-for-construction-workers | access-date=5 June 2018}}