{{Short description|British colloquial term for strong tea}} thumb|Builder's tea refers to a strong cup of tea.
'''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 black tea.<ref name="Andrews2016">{{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 |page=637 ff}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref> 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 the tea is stirred or after it is steeped. Builder's tea is also often sweetened with one or two teaspoons of white sugar.
Builder's tea is typically robust and has a rich, dark beige colour.<ref>{{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 Daily Telegraph |date=23 June 2001}}</ref> The name was chosen because workers in the British building trade typically drink many cups of tea during their working day.<ref>{{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 Daily Telegraph |access-date=26 May 2018}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref> The term has widespread use throughout both Great Britain and Ireland.<ref name="Ayto2012">{{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 |page=[https://archive.org/details/dinersdictionary0000ayto/page/50 50 ff]}}</ref><ref name="MethenyBeaudry2015">{{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 |page=176 ff}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.newstatesman.com/2012/06/will-self-why-i-hate-builders-tea|authorlink=Will Self|first=Will|last=Self |title=Why I hate builder's tea |magazine=New Statesman|date=6 June 2012|access-date=26 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120617022422/https://www.newstatesman.com/2012/06/will-self-why-i-hate-builders-tea|archive-date=17 June 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> Research from the Social Issues Research Centre found that people performing construction work found tea "both soothing and stimulating".<ref>{{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}}</ref>
==See also== {{portal|Drink}} *Tea in the United Kingdom
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{teas}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Builder's Tea}} Category:Blended tea Category:English drinks Category:Tea in the United Kingdom Category:Construction in the United Kingdom Category:Irish drinks