As a yank, it’s because you’re saying tea where the correct phrase uses coffee /s
But for real, it’s because over here we offer dinner to mean dinner, and coffee to mean "no obligation to sit through a meal or anything, but please come over/stay a while longer. A coffee can turn into a dinner, but it involves the intermediary offer of “I’m getting kind of hungry, would you like to stay for dinner?”
Its much the same here, honestly in context it would be fairly clear what is meant. I mostly say dinner rather than tea myself. But yeah, the social thing to come and sit with a hot drink, regardless of tea or coffee, is generally to offer it as tea before asking if they want tea or coffee.
Offer of a hot beverage:
Even less ambiguous if cuppa/brew etc. is used Typically only offered in the morning or afternoon if you have just ‘popped round’.
Offer of dinner:
Typically if you you weren’t intending on staying or are being explicitly invited over.
Don’t see how any of this could be confusing at all to people not born into it with innate understanding 😅
As a yank, it’s because you’re saying tea where the correct phrase uses coffee /s
But for real, it’s because over here we offer dinner to mean dinner, and coffee to mean "no obligation to sit through a meal or anything, but please come over/stay a while longer. A coffee can turn into a dinner, but it involves the intermediary offer of “I’m getting kind of hungry, would you like to stay for dinner?”
Its much the same here, honestly in context it would be fairly clear what is meant. I mostly say dinner rather than tea myself. But yeah, the social thing to come and sit with a hot drink, regardless of tea or coffee, is generally to offer it as tea before asking if they want tea or coffee.
OK, I thought I had a good handle on Tea. I was wrong. T(ea)IL