Tea & hot water customs

Tea is the default hot drink offered to a guest almost immediately after they sit down, often before any real conversation starts. Declining is fine, but a cup will often be poured anyway as a matter of course — it's a gesture more than a genuine question.

Topping off someone else's cup before your own — especially for someone senior to you — is a small, noticed courtesy called 添茶. A light tap of two fingers on the table when someone pours for you (叩指礼) is a silent thank-you that started in Cantonese custom and is now recognized much more broadly; it saves you from interrupting the conversation with a verbal thanks every time.

热水 (hot water) is the everyday default far beyond just tea — restaurants commonly offer free hot water on request, many people carry a thermos to work, and asking for hot water instead of cold or iced drinks is completely normal, not just something reserved for when you're unwell. Older relatives may specifically recommend 多喝热水 ('drink more hot water') as general health advice, almost as a reflex, for everything from a cold to period pain to just feeling off.

Beyond hot water, tea itself is a real category worth a little vocabulary — green, oolong, and pu'er are common everyday types, and a full gongfu tea ceremony (功夫茶) is a more deliberate, occasion-specific ritual rather than something expected at an ordinary meal.