Does “going” mean “available” here? Is this a common expression?

Yes, it means "available" or "up for grabs." It's fairly common but very informal British English, not sure if it's used elsewhere.

I’ve never heard of tea being referred to as char or the word “going” being used in this way. I wonder if it is a typo and was supposed to be chai since that actually is a way to describe tea. It also seems like they may be using the word “going” as the tea being made but I have no idea.

In this case ‘going’ means ‘being prepared / being used’. The tea may not be ready, but it’s in process. “Is the washer going?” = is the washer running currently? “Is breakfast going?” = Is breakfast being made?

This would not be considered comprehensible English where I’m from. It’s slang and I don’t understand it at all

It means available but it's very colloquial. I would rather say "do you have any tea available" or simply "do you have any tea" or a restaurant setting "do you serve tea". As one commentor mentioned you're more likely to find it in UK English. "Any tea or coffee going mate?". The word char is also not commonly used. A 'cuppa" is more common usage. Like "a cuppa tea" or "do you fancy a cuppa tea".

“Going” would be similar to “being made” in this example, though “available” isn’t necessarily incorrect. As an American, I might say “I have a pot of coffee going” to mean that I am currently making a pot of coffee, but it’s not necessarily ready yet.

going adjective [ after noun ] uk /ˈɡəʊ.ɪŋ/ us /ˈɡoʊ.ɪŋ/ UK available or existing Examples: I wouldn't trust him if I were you - he's the biggest crook going (= he's the most dishonest person that exists). I don't suppose there's any left-over pie going, is there? https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/going

I would read it as "is there any tea being 'made' or 'boiled.' Like if I called and asked my wife if she has dinner 'going yet because I want to go out for dinner instead. I'm there asking if she's already cooking dinner, not if dinner is 'available' already.

Seems very English. In Australia you might say "on the go" instead "Is there any tea on the go?". If someone asked I would assume they are asking if anyone is making tea.

I throughly enjoying the differences between UK English and North American English in this thread. I had no idea the other interpretation was a thing.

'going' = cooking, heating, boiling, in the process of being made Get some tea going. Get some coffee going. Get some dinner going. All of these mean 'start the process of preparing/cooking the thing'

I've heard this used more in the sense of something being made. "You got the kettle going?" = "Do you have water boiling in the kettle?" "Got the coffee going?" = "Are you brewing coffee?" "You got the noodles going?" = "are you boiling the noodles?" Where I come it's specifically for a process of something being made. Usually food, drink, but it can more infrequently be used for other general processes. Fixing up a house, a car, getting a garden planted, etc etc. Hope that helps!

Yes, using "going" like this is very common in everyday speech here in the UK - it means "on offer", "up for grabs", "available". I don't know about the US.

It does, but I think you're probably better off avoiding this expression until you get more comfortable. It could come across as odd or even a bit rude in the wrong situation. Better to just say "Do you have any tea?"

Kinda yes, but it's more specific. They're asking if a pot of tea is being made, or, more precisely, if there is a pot of hot water from which to make tea. Having the materials to make one would not necessarily make the answer "yes" while that would almost certainly count as being "available."

It’s more than “being prepared” in British English. One can ask “are there any jobs going?” for instance. I think the nuance is that it’s asking for some commodity which might be given to the asker as a sort of favour in circumstances where it’s entirely possible that the answer is no. Cyst’s “up for grabs” captures that idea too. And in the sort of indirect way of the British, it’s not directly saying “I’d like some tea, can you make me some?” Even though if there isn’t tea in the pot the response might be “I’ll make some” !

From Ireland . Going would be a fairly common informal way to say this. Never heard tea called char though.

i won't comment on what is \*common\* in this particular example, but tea/coffee/<enter fav homemade concoction here> 'going' is absolutely a synonym, for, available. synonym, almost?

Brit: dunno about char, or going. I'd say "Any tea on the go, I fancy a brew."

for the american version, (as there’s plenty of uk people saying yes), it doesn’t translate to “available” but rather “if there any tea being made right now”, and that references more of “have you started making the tea already” rather than asking if it’s available.

In the US, we don’t talk about tea very much. The British explanation here seems short for “going around” and that’s definitely the correct understanding here (again, tea.) To my American ears though, “is there tea going?” would be more equivalent to “is tea being made?” With “going” referring loosely to water boiling, or more generally a process in progress. Maybe more comparable to “going on.”

Cha is slang for tea, which I assume comes from the Chinese word for tea. I've heard it used occasionally.

I'm a North American English speaker, and I would use "going" in this context to replace "brewing" or "cooking". For example, "do you have any coffee brewing" vs "do you have the coffee \[machine\] going". Or even, "someone is using the toaster" vs "the toaster is going". Available is a great translation! I personally would not use this phrasing since it is a bit confusing for me, but it does make sense.

Boiling/brewing. Prepared.

I am extremely confused

In the context of something like a hot drink, I would interpret this to mean brewing. Like if someone said they had a pot of coffee going, I would think that they started the coffee maker a few minutes ago and it's still brewing. Nebraska, if that makes a difference.

As a Canadian I would understand this as “being prepared/ready to take some of” but it’s not something people say here. We also don’t call tea char so this must be regional to somewhere else.

It’s not something I think you’d very often see in the US but the meaning is clear from context.