Builders Tea

What do you think of when you think of tea?

If you are a red blooded American male, tea is the stuff that is served iced. Or it is the stuff your mother and grandmother drink once a year when the go for “Tea” (with a capital t). Or it may remind you of what that hippie girlfriend drank, a bunch of potpourri shavings, barks, twigs, and dried flowers in a kettle.

But to the average guy on the street in the UK, it is something different. There is no bone china to be had. There are no finger sandwiches. Nothing herbal to be found.

Nope, for most, tea is “Builder’s” tea. Nicknamed after the workmen who consumed the stuff on their job sites.

It is a black tea. Drunk from a mug. Shot of milk. Teaspoon(s) of sugar. Ochre-y adobe colored.

On a road trip up the California coast I stumbled into a British import shop where I discovered a brand of this type of tea appropriately named, “Make Mine a Builders.”

It is really good stuff. The tea comes in circular bags that brew very quick. Like 20-30 seconds quick. And the taste is flavorful, smooth, and not bitter. I have found myself skipping a mid-morning cup of coffee for this stuff the past few weeks.

So guys, give tea a try. On your terms.