Never say, 'I'll play Mum!' and avoid the shame of the Solo Brew: Middle Class handbook reveals the Dos and Don'ts of tea round etiquette

Never say, 'I'll play Mum!' and avoid the shame of the Solo Brew: Middle Class handbook reveals the Dos and Don'ts of tea round etiquette

By Deborah Arthurs

PUBLISHED: 11:32 EST, 17 January 2013 | UPDATED: 11:32 EST, 17 January 2013

Awkward: The Middle Class handbook says we are lacking when it comes to rules about 'who to include in a communal cuppa'

It used to be a matter of remembering who took milk and sugar.

Now our growing taste for fruit blends, hot water and lemon and soya milk have made the office tea round the stuff of nightmares.

For those who feel paralysed in the face of a 15-cup round but are too scared to opt out, help is at hand.
The popular Middle Class handbook blog has issued a set of ground rules to guide those struggling with the social intricacies of the work tea round.

The popular blog said it was inspired to come up with the guidelines because it says we are 'awkwardly lacking when it comes rules about who to include in a communal cuppa.'

Most importantly, is recommends never leaving out your neighbour.

'You never know when you might need them to cover for you when you slip out for that clandestine job interview or spend the morning online trying to get tickets for the National,' it says.

Rule two is to keep the invitation short and sharp. 'Extending the invitation to your island of desks (six max) shows team spirit. But if you don't get a reply after the second ask, let it go. You don't want to sound too needy.'

To avoid what it terms the 'discomfort of a solo brew', if the initial invitation falls on deaf ears it suggests widening the circle but being careful to avoid a situation that leads to regular '15-cup
rounds'.

On striking the balance between office geography and friendship groups, it recommends saving the invite until you are in the same part of the office.

'Where geographic groupings are less meaningful than social groupings, save interdepartmental beverage-based fraternisation for when you have a tough problem to crack over the same computer screen or you need a favour (someone to design your wedding invitations, sharing illegally downloaded US TV series).

Helping hand: The Middle Class handbook blog regularly tackles the day-to-day dilemmas that plague Brits - including, of course, the perils of getting the tea round wrong

When it comes to tea rounds and meetings, the Middle Class handbook remains firm: 'Be wary of offering to make other people a cup if the number of participants is greater than two or three. You don't want people to think you're the workie.'

It adds: 'Note if it's the kind of meeting where a subservient has already set out a pot of something, on no account use the phrase 'I'll be mum.' Not even as an ice-breaker.'

Finally to those who like to incorporate social media banter on the tea round, forget it.

'Resist tweeting 'just putting the kettle on, anyone fancy a brew?', it says, adding: 'That joke's over now.'