as a habitual tea drinker my entire life i appreciate the constant presence of tea in this show. it also makes things feel more british to me since the defining traits i associate with british people are 1) drinks tea and 2) really anal about forming a line, which the show has also managed to incorporate

Giles is confronted with the stuffiest Watcher you ever saw, one who is played by another English person too, and yet he offers her tea the American way.

I've been around English people a lot since I last saw Buffy and I just cannot believe that Giles would ever forget how to brew a proper cuppa, especially when confronted with Gwendolyn Post.

I would believe he could pour the milk in first to piss her off and he would be forgiven for not having proper biscuits in Sunnydale.

But half the reason why he would be enamoured with the magic shop is because he could use it to import good tea at a discount.

It's not even a question of specifically liking tea. That's not what this is about. Tea is for English people what 'good bread' is for Germans and what good cheese is for Dutchmen. It's a staple with a minimum quality and a specific way of preparing, and if your country or residence doesn't have it, you either go without or import it, but you don't sink under that minimum level of quality, especially with a compatriot. I used to think my Brits were not that big on tea until it turned out we were serving it wrong, yeah. They'd rather abstain in that case. Now, when I'm in England, and I ask my family for tea, my sister asks me if I want a proper one, which is very strong and steeped minutes before it is served, preferably with milk.

I would believe it when Giles apologised and said he'd run out of the good stuff, with Ms Post condescendingly offering an array of superior blends she carries with her at all times. He would not stoop so low as to offer her American store brand with the tea bag in the cup. What even is that, the least he could have done is serve it in a mug.

And they should have had a scene with Wesley getting on Giles' good side, at least for a moment, by offering him some ginger nuts. You know, Giles berating Wesley before going "Ooh!" mid sentence and then dropping it.

The entire UK would've gone into a state of national mourning, she would've had a state funeral, everyone would have got a day off to watch the live BBC coverage, the whole HP cast would be in attendance, a sea of tears streaming down everyone's face as we listen to Elton John play Candle in the Wind on the piano as they lower her casket into the ground, and everyone would be holding up their The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™ – Diagon Alley™ wands in the air like that one scene from the movies.

Sadly, that timeline does not exist.

Instead we live in the bad timeline in which Joanne let's us all know how much of a huge transphobe she is every fucking day and as such will be remembered as a huge transphobe every fucking day once she's gone.

So less Queen Liz and more Maggie Thatch.

I actually can't remember if it was ever used in canon. But when I read fics where people call Stiles a spaz, I have to mentally reorientate. In the UK it's a pretty derogatory word, short for spastic, and you wouldn't say it to your friend.