What is 'white tea' when builders ask for it?

[Liriope]

Not from the UK, and currently living in Cambridge. Every time I've offered tea or coffee to builders, plumbers, electricians they ask for 'white tea'.

Is this just normal tea with milk?

DH says they mean Silver Tip White Tea.

Well it’s tea with milk......

Bless your dh. When I have people doing work, I then ask the question - builders, weak or average.

I remember an Italian colleague offering to make tea (in an office in the UK). She said "white tea?", so I nodded, expecting tea with milk. Turns out she had actual white tea leaves, which are very young, minimally processed tea leaves.

Having said that, I don't think white tea is as common as expression as white coffee?? Usually I'd say tea with milk.

Silver tip white tea!

Thanks for all the quick responses and for solving this mystery for us!

I do have Teapigs silver tip white tea in the house, and DH has indeed served it... and with Sproud (pea milk) as we don't drink milk at all and have none in the house.

Does it help that the technician we've given the tea to is calibrating our home theatre system?

Additional note: he is British

Ffs OP that has got to be the most middle class thing I’ve ever read. And considering that this is MN which is notoriously middle class that’s quite the achievement! I’d love to know what he thought of the tea 😂

Normal (cheap) tea with proper milk. It might get left if it's a milk alternative, I didn't even know you could get pea milk!

How does one milk a pea

I love silver tip white tea, and other white teas. (You do not put milk in them usually)

Builders tea is actually black tea with milk. But of course they mean everyday tea, like PGTips, with milk.

NATO standard is milk and two sugars.

Your DH is hilarious OP

I would kindly suggest that you nip to the shops and get a pint of semi skimmed and some tetleys.

Be a good host and all that.

'Would you like a cuppa?'

'Yes, silver tip white tea please' 😂

Pea milk? Every day's a school day!

My favourite way of having tea could be called a 'builders deluxe' - strong tea, lots of sugar, and evaporated milk.

You'll struggle to get tradespeople to come back if you serve them weak dishwater tea with pea milk Liriope ...

I've converted some of my German clients and co-workers to scalding hot builders tea with milk as it makes me disproportionately happy on a late / night shift and they wanted in Insipid lukewarm herbal infusions are no substitute!

I always say 'white tea' when I mean tea with milk in when people from other countries are around as otherwise im liable to get either herbal tea or tea with no milk in.

Yorkshire tea is the only option. All others (apart from fancy loose stuff) is an abomination

Agree, Yorkshire Tea is the way to go.

Silver Tip white tea? Only if served in a bone china cup and saucer with the little finger extended... Can just imagine it!

Builders tea is tea so strong a spoon will stand upright it in.

Otherwise known as a normal brew up north.

Tea with milk at builders strength
Means very well brewed and strong, with less milk than the pale tea you may see.

All the builders we had didnt eat biscuits and were fussy coffee drinkers who brought there own in thermos cups. It was lots of 'i grind my own'. I would totally expect them to only drink some fancy tea pig tea.

And proper builders' tea should be served in a thick, straight up and down shaped, china mug.

My dad works on ships and goes on about this for hours. Greeks and Philliinos suposedly make the worst tea whilst russians know what theyre doing.

My neighbour has 5 sugars.

Patroclus white tea (Tee) is something else to people from many other countries though. What British people mean when they say tea is a strong black tea blend with milk.

White= with milk.
Black=no milk.

Xxxx