British Slang For Tea (12 Examples!)

The British are internationally renowned tea drinkers.

Most of them can’t get by without it, and the nation seems to run on it.

With that in mind, it’s unsurprising that across all parts of Britain, there is a huge variety of slang terms for cups of tea.

Today, we’re going to look at some of the more common and some of the more obscure, and everything in between.

Let’s get started.

In This Article

Brew

Starting off with one of the most common British slang words for tea, first we have “brew”.

This one is typically used most commonly in the north of England, though you’ll also hear it in Scotland.

Further, very few people will not understand what you mean by “brew”—just about anywhere in Britain, people will know you mean “tea” when you say brew.

“Do you want a quick brew before you go?” for example.

The word “brew” itself is naturally very old, tracing its roots all the way to the Proto-Germanic language that predates any form of English entirely.

It arose in this modern sense sometime in the last couple of centuries when tea became popular, since you have to “brew” the leaves (or the tea bag) for a while to make the cup of tea.

Cuppa

Another of the most common slang terms for tea in Britain is “cuppa”.

This one is used throughout the country and again will be universally understood if not universally used.

You might be more likely to hear this one in the south of England, though it’s certainly used elsewhere too.

“I’m going to make a cuppa if anyone wants one,” for example.

This term is plainly simply a shortening of “cup of tea”.

This one, too, also arose sometime in the last couple of centuries, and seems to have been in popular use by the 1920s.

It may long predate that, but we aren’t sure with the lack of written examples.

Bilbo

This is a name you may well recognize from a beloved series of books and movies in J.R.R. Tolkien’s universe.

A “Bilbo” refers also to a cup of tea in which you leave the bag in while you’re drinking it—thus “Bilbo Baggins”.

This one is not the most common slang term but definitely still one that’s widely used. “I like a strong cuppa so just give me a Bilbo,” for example.

The Hobbit, which introduced the character Bilbo Baggins, was first published in 1937.

It has been enormously popular ever since, so when exactly this term was first used is very hard to say.

It was doubtless further popularized on the release of Peter Jackson’s film trilogy adaptation of The Lord of the Rings in the early 2000s.

Builder’s

Next we have “builder’s,” a common way to refer to tea based on the fact that builders stereotypically drink lots of cups of tea over the course of their working day.

This term is a bit more specific and usually refers to particularly strong and inexpensive blends of tea, although still English breakfast tea.

“I need a good builder’s in me,” for example.

This one is used throughout Britain in Scotland, England and Wales.

It is also sometimes known as “builder’s brew” or “gaffer’s tea”.

This term came into use sometime in the 20^th Century, although it’s difficult to be more precise than that.

It probably arose around the 50s and 60s, when commercially available tea bags were becoming cheaper and cheaper thanks to domestic mass production.

Rosie Lee

Next we have an example of Cockney rhyming slang.

This is a particular slang used in the East End of London, and really nowhere else.

So, this is perhaps the most regionally specific slang term on the list.

Cockney rhyming slang is precisely what it sounds like.

You take a different, apparently unrelated word and use it as slang based on the fact that it rhymes.

Thus, “Rosie Lee” becomes “tea”. “I’ll have a cup of Rosie Lee if you’re making one,” for example.

The first recorded use of this term comes from 1925, so it too probably came into use around the beginning of the 20^th Century.

Sometimes you might hear people simply use the first word “Rosie” for tea.

Chai

“Chai” is another slang term for tea that you may be familiar with in other contexts.

This one is used again throughout Britain to refer to tea, though less commonly than other terms. It has certainly become a lot more common and popular in the last few years and will perhaps continue to grow in use.

“I need a hot cup of chai when we get home,” for example.

“Chai” is simply the word for tea in a great many languages, including Hindi and other Indian languages.

It can refer to a specific thing in coffee shops such as specialty teas like masala chai, but at home British people most typically just mean breakfast tea when they use this term.

Char

Another, very similar slang term for tea is “char”. It may also be spelled “cha”.

The sense is essentially the same and will be broadly understood across Britain though it is certainly less commonly used than terms like brew or cuppa.

“I’ll make a pot of char to warm us up,” for example.

This term is simply an alteration of “chai”, perhaps an Anglicization first used in the latter half of the 20^th Century.

Tea jenny

“Tea Jenny” is a term you’ll hear in Scotland from time to time, and refers to someone who drinks an awful lot of tea.

It can also mean that the person is very fussy about their tea and how it’s made, as indeed many British people are.

“She’s such a tea jenny, no one can ever make it the way she likes,” for example.

The origin of this one is not entirely agreed on, although some suggest it is simply that “jenny” in Scots is slang for “a lot of”.

Thus, a tea jenny is someone who drinks a lot of tea.

Gunfire

This one is quite a bit more specific than some of the other terms on this list.

One profession where tea has always been central to morale is the Armed Forces.

The army has had tea as part of their rations since the 19^th Century, and it’s still a vital staple today.

The army is also a place ripe for the development of slang.

“Gunfire” refers to a cup of tea with rum in it, used to give the soldiers a bit of a kick.

“I’m going to need a cup of gunfire before we set out this morning,” for example.

It’s not known when this term was first used, but we can see that it was an established tradition by the 1890s.

It is typically served before a morning attack to give the soldiers some confidence or “Dutch courage”.

This is where it gets its name from since it usually precedes gunfire.

Herbal

Obviously, English breakfast tea is not the only kind of tea that is drunk in Britain.

Herbal tea has been massively popular for a very long time, too, and so many slang terms for tea describe herbal tea rather than English breakfast tea.

One very simple example of this is “herbal”, a simple slang term referring to herbal teas like green tea.

“I’ll have a herbal if you’ve got one,” for example.

Tea and biccies

An extremely popular English pastime of course is the “tea and biccies” you might have when you go round to someone’s house in the afternoon.

This slang phrase may simply include the word “tea”, but it’s an institution—more than simply an afternoon snack.

Having biscuits or “biccies” with your tea is a vital part of the whole experience.

This tradition even goes as far back as the 17^th Century.

For as long as the British have been drinking tea, they’ve also been eating biscuits alongside it.

Mashin’

In Yorkshire, you may hear someone say that they are “mashin’”.

What this means is that they are making tea, and they may often say this to offer you a cup.

This one, plainly, is very regionally specific, so you won’t hear it everywhere.

But if you are in Yorkshire, it’s good to be prepared.

“I’m just mashin’ at the minute if you’ve got time for a cuppa,” for example.

It’s thought that this term derives from the act of “mashing” the teabag against the side of the cup to make it brew faster, but it’s not completely clear.

There are plenty of ways to refer to tea in British slang, then.

From the most common and catch-all terms like “brew” or “cuppa” to the more specific slang words like “gunfire”, the British are not short on ways to talk about their favorite national drink.

More in British Slang

Founder - @PollyWebster

Polly Webster is the founder of Foreign Lingo and a seasoned traveler with a decade of exploration under her belt.

Over the past 10 years, she has journeyed to numerous countries around the globe, immersing herself in diverse cultures, traditions, and languages.

Drawing from her rich experiences, Polly now writes insightful articles about travel, languages, traditions, and cultures, sharing her unique perspectives and invaluable tips with her readers.

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