Builder's tea
What it really means
Strong English breakfast tea with milk, and often sugar — the everyday tea most British people drink. Called "builder's" because construction workers drink it strong.
Context, tips & common mistakes
Builder's tea is strong black tea with milk — brewed until properly dark ('let it stew' for the strongest), splash of milk, sugar optional — named for the tradespeople who run on it. It is the default 'tea' of most British households: ask for 'tea, milk, no sugar' and this is what arrives. The milk question ('milk and sugar?') and strength preference ('how do you like it?') are the two pieces of personal data every Brit carries about their friends.
Making a good one earns real credit: bag in mug is standard practice (teapots are for occasions), water genuinely boiling, bag squeezed to taste, milk after the brewing not before (the order is debated with religious intensity — milk-first belongs to teapot service). Offering to make tea for others whenever you make your own is the accompanying law; see the tea round.