tea-server; tea-serving attendant
Historical term for a person who served tea, especially in a temple, noble household, or shogunate. Now mostly encountered in historical contexts.
flatterer; sycophant; brown-noser
Derogatory figurative use, likening someone to a servile tea-server who ingratiates themselves with superiors. Often used for political or workplace toadies.
In the Edo period, tea-servers prepared tea beside the shogun.
That guy is a sycophant who sucks up to the boss.
Stop acting like a brown-noser.
Compound of 茶 (tea) and 坊主 (Buddhist monk, or more broadly a servant boy). Originally referred to a young male servant who prepared and served tea in temples or noble households. The figurative sense of 'flatterer' arose from the perception of such attendants as obsequious.