Making teas for 10 and getting them all right!
Have you had your cup of tea yet this morning? I love having English Breakfast in the morning with plenty of milk and one sugar (sometimes just half a sugar). A few years ago I didn’t even know what it meant to ask how many sugars. Are we talking individual crystals here? Once I was told (jokingly by a half American) that as an American I am genetically unable to make a cup of tea.
I think I am pretty good at it these days. I even worked out how to make a less disgusting cup of instant coffee. But at work, or in someone’s home if you go to put the kettle on you must ask each individual person in the room if they want a cuppa.
My work office is fairly small. It is enough to stand near the kitchen and ask “Does anyone want a hot drink?” but in our office the culture is to then address everyone by name and ask them if they want a cup. And then if say 6 people say yes you must go through the routine.
Step 1: Would you like tea, coffee, herbal tea or hot water?
Step 2: Milk or sugar or sweetener?
Step 3: How weak/strong?
Step 4: How many sugars?
Step 5: Repeat for every person in the room.
Step 6: Remember what everyone said and make drinks accordingly.
AAAGGGGHHHHH! It makes me crazy. So usually I just don’t have drinks at the office. An American employer might view this as a big waste of your work time. And the minute you have a drink, people start taking note of how often you do the dishes.
It is the little things….
Related posts:
- Back in America, people forget to make teas and coffees Not long ago I was posting about what a waste...
- Moving Away: making the first new friends and the glow that comes with it I’ve noticed my constant use of titles with colons included...
- Descaling your tea kettle as a feisty American in the UK:the why and how Let’s remind ourselves of The Mysterious Things you might discover...
- Meeting People – Finally choosing to be fearless… I started to write a comment in response to Lisa’s...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
Dreamer…unrealistic?…do i care? on 
yankeebean on 
After 2 years in the US, I have lost the ability to drink instant coffee. It really is quite bad isn’t it?
oh ohoh oh Yes, that ritual drives me a bit mad. So, when I ask a British someone if they want a cuppa and they say yes, I get bit nervous. Will I make it right? I have this complex that because I am American I will taint it with unproper tea making skills.
Umm… I guess you cant really ruin a cuppa tea unless the tea kettle isnt unscaled (haha– see our headline at top of blog page) or you put the milk in first. Or wait if its real china you put the milk in first. Wait. Dont forget the tea strainer, wait, do you put the sugar in first too?
Or was that splenda you wanted?
See, its a lot of work!