Please help me make a cuppa!

One thing you might want to pick up instead of instant coffee (which I actually like) are those individual coffee filter packs. It's a plastic cup that has a filter full of coffee in the base. You set it on top of a cup, pour hot water in it, put a little lid on it, and let it filter through. They're actually nicer than instant coffee and dead easy to use. They're perfect if you only need to make a few cups.

Heee! And it's a great excuse to get a cute jug if you don't have one. I love jugs!!

My jugs are fabulous.

My jugs are fabulous.

Likewise, my dear.

Thing about doing it buffet-style, is that I don't have cute (or even basic) sugar bowl and milk jugs. So...I'd rather not buy those. And I already need to buy more mugs, as my husband and I only have two that we use for the occasional cocoa. (Hitting up TK Maxx next week for some cheapies).

I shouldn't need to worry about the herbal stuff...we usually have 10 reg teas and two coffees in our group, so I should be covered there.

Thanks about the milk--I probably would've just used skim, which is what we use for all our milk needs.

You can just use a pretty bowl for sugar and leave the milk out in the carton if you don't want to buy anything. Otherwise, TK Max is good, as are charity shops for cute sugar bowls and milk jugs.

It'll be fine!

You can put the milk in a glass and the sugar in a cereal bowl

I have a milk jug that I use 90% of the time, not for milk, but for mixing scrambled eggs in, or heating up syrup in the microwave, or mixing up salad dressings/marinades. So it needn't go to waste either.   

Definitely put the sugar in a bowl; putting out an open bag is tacky, plus people will drip clumps of coffee in it and spoil the whole lot.

I usually make a pot of tea with 3-4 bags in it (or if I use loose tea, one teaspoon per person plus an extra tsp for the pot) and let everyone else help themselves to milk and sugar as some can be particular about their tea, I have a friend who likes tea very weak but once I accidentally made it strong and thought I could get away with adding milk - no so! I got a talking to about that and how they don't like milky tea, just weak tea with a drop of milk haha! I love tea but coffee isn't my thing, I can do instant coffee, but we have a cafetiere now which confuses the heck out of me. Got some extra mugs in Ikea (I think they were 19p each or something!) and I have a tea set which was pretty cheap too. Sugar can go in any old bowl really and milk in a jug like others have said. My favourite tea to serve is Tetley but I personally like Lady Gray or Earl Gray.

I thought I would share this video with you though as I came across it a few days ago and found it pretty funny. A woman is sent to a 'Tea Instructor' where she learns the 6 golden rules to a good cup of tea. The instructor seems kind of intimidating but he knows his tea! It was made in 1941 and you learn helpful tips like...not to store tea near cheese and disinfectant and always warm the pot beforehand. I made a cup of tea just like it was shown in the film and it came out brilliantly, my favourite part of the clip though are the 1940's accents!

Link:  Tea Making Tips (1941)

I've got to disagree with people who say "don't bother with a teapot", to me tea made in the cup tastes foul, it's usually forced the flavour out rather than letting it brew (steep) in the pot.
1 tea bag for every 2 cups you are making (I prefer PG Tips or Yorkshire Tea).....depends on the size of the pot.....we have a smallish tea pot that still makes 4 mugs of tea. Pour a little boiling water into the pot first, swirl it round and empty out (called "warming the pot"), put in the tea bags and then just off the boil water. Stir and then leave for 5 minutes to brew. Stir again and pour.

Brits will have no problem if you are offering them instant coffee.

I usually make a pot of tea with 3-4 bags in it (or if I use loose tea, one teaspoon per person plus an extra tsp for the pot) and let everyone else help themselves to milk and sugar as some can be particular about their tea, I have a friend who likes tea very weak but once I accidentally made it strong and thought I could get away with adding milk - no so! I got a talking to about that and how they don't like milky tea, just weak tea with a drop of milk haha! I love tea but coffee isn't my thing, I can do instant coffee, but we have a cafetiere now which confuses the heck out of me. Got some extra mugs in Ikea (I think they were 19p each or something!) and I have a tea set which was pretty cheap too. Sugar can go in any old bowl really and milk in a jug like others have said. My favourite tea to serve is Tetley but I personally like Lady Gray or Earl Gray.

I thought I would share this video with you though as I came across it a few days ago and found it pretty funny. A woman is sent to a 'Tea Instructor' where she learns the 6 golden rules to a good cup of tea. The instructor seems kind of intimidating but he knows his tea! It was made in 1941 and you learn helpful tips like...not to store tea near cheese and disinfectant and always warm the pot beforehand. I made a cup of tea just like it was shown in the film and it came out brilliantly, my favourite part of the clip though are the 1940's accents!

Link:  Tea Making Tips (1941)

Thank you.  I enjoyed the video.

Thank you.  I enjoyed the video.

Me too! The video was classic, thanks!