To think most people offer a brew as soon as visitors arrive

[CoheedandCambria]

Light-hearted

If I'm going over to someone's house (invited), most people I know will offer a hot drink pretty much as soon as I've walked through the door. And I will do the same if anyone comes over.
This is the proper way isn't it?!

Whenever we go to PIL we have to wait aaaaages before we're offered anything and recently we only had time to pop by for just over an hour and we didn't have owt moist!

YANBU - a brew as soon as you're over the threshold
YABU - patience is a virtue

It’s funny to read this as a British person who has lived in the U.S. for many years. I always offer drinks but not hot drinks. I don’t think I have ever been to someone’s house and been offered hot drinks either. No one I know drinks tea and most people my age only drink coffee in the early am. Wouldn’t cross my mind to offer coffee unless someone specifically asks as it just wouldn’t be the done thing. Same with anyone working in my house, just cold drinks and never snacks. Not the norm
at all.

"Will you have a cup of tea?"
"No thanks. I'm grand"
"Ah you will."
"No I just stood up from my tea."
"Ah sure you'll have a cup of tea just to please me."
"I'll just have a cup out of me hand, so."

In the car home: "She didn't even offer us a biscuit."
🤣

Yes, horrible!

I grew up with so much of an enforced hospitality thing, ranging from ‘Go on, go on’ to my mother producing three-course meals for visitors who had explicitly said they had jist eaten and could only stay ten minutes, that I actually enjoy visiting someone who’s not too food and drink-focused, and I’m not one to press tea or coffee on people. If I know you’re coming, I might bake a cake, but I never have biscuits. I never offer tradesmen a drink, I direct them to the kettle.

Yes, but having grown up with that, and then living in more direct cultures, I decided to stop playing that game. I offer tea/coffee. If you say no, I’m not playing the ‘Go on, go on’ game.

Yes, I always offer tea pretty straight away. (Then they ask for coffee and I have to faff about because we don't have instant!) But MIL lives five hours' drive away and when we get there, she doesn't offer. I'm always gasping when we get there. Once I asked if it was alright if I made myself tea and she was a bit sniffy and said I could if I made one for everybody! So DH just puts the kettle on now, without asking.

Brew and cuppa are both to be avoided IMO. Brew reminds me of a witches brew, and any way tea infuses not brews, and cuppa just sounds childish to me. I'd just ask a visitor if they'd like a drink, or if it's the morning a coffee :)