Somebody asked how Brits make ‘a quick cup of tea’ and the answers were as impassioned and silly as you’d expect

12.

‘Paramedic here, I make plenty of cups of tea for strangers. I’d guess that about half of people I make tea for have sugar, although there may be a bias because the majority of people I deal with are older.

Tea is the natural British response to most situations. Someone’s died? Cup of tea. Someone’s been born? Cup of tea. Picked someone up off the floor? Cup of tea. Queue at the hospital? Cup of tea. Diabetic hypo? Cup of tea with 4 sugars even if they don’t normally take sugar.

Genuinely not uncommon for us to attend a death, certify that the person is dead, and then sit with the family having a cup of tea while we do the paperwork. Most of the time they offer us the tea. If they’re in too much shock we offer to make the tea, and 95% of the time they say yes.’
–baildodger

13.

‘In the US if the paramedics made us tea we would eventually get a bill for at least $800 and they’d charge us for using our own tea bags too. This would be on top of the 3-5k for the actual ambulance.’
–MoltenCorgi

14.

‘Tea is absolutely considered a medicine in the NHS. Yet another reason why it’s a wonderful institution.’
–P_T_W

15.

‘If only it was always as simple as ‘just a dash of milk’. One of my wife’s friends is ‘Well, you know how your wife likes only a teaspoon of milk? Can I have about 2/3 of that amount? I like the tea a bit weaker, though’.

I don’t mind because we all know how important tea is. Forcing bad tea on someone should be a crime.’
–paulcager

16.

‘I’ve worked in offices where they have a tea colour chart with people’s names written on so that you know how to make tea for colleagues to their preferred colour. Everyone loves it when that one person who gets it just right makes the tea.’
–lockedintheattic74

17.

‘If making tea for tradesmen it’s traditionally middle class to provide sugar on the side rather than in the cup. This allows the host to make a fuss about getting the sugar from the cupboard (‘of course we don’t use sugar ourselves’), then to tut at the number of spoons, and finally to enjoy the discomfort of the worker left with a wet spoon and nowhere to put it down. Bonus tutting if they put it back in the sugar. Microagression is how the class hierarchy is maintained in Britain.’
–Potential-Glass-4482

18.

‘I offered a tradesmen a tea and he requested coffee. I nearly said ‘Bloody hell mate I’m not a Starbucks’ but I didn’t because I’m scared of tradesmen. He got his coffee and then he sawed a hole in my ceiling and left.’
–rubthewrongway

19.

‘Depends who’s making it.

If it’s my dad, he’ll boil the kettle, pop a teabag in the cup, leave the room. Then, some hours later, I’ll find his dry teabag still sitting in the mug, next to a kettle of tepid water.

I personally do what most others do and stand next to it. There’s an old saying: ‘A watched pot never boils’, but luckily kettles do.’
–showquotedtext

20.

”Quick tea’ makes me think you mean a quick dinner/evening meal, so I was going to say beans on toast. You don’t make a quick cup of tea, you simply make a cup of tea.’
–Fishfingerrosti

21.

‘You’ve made me smile and made my day! What a lovely person you must be, taking delight in we Brits and our tea-making habits!’
–Delicious_Link6703

Source r/AskUK Image Screenshot